Blake's contract aspirations
Three years, $20 million. While I'm certain Indians manager Eric Wedge would agree to it in a heartbeat, I'd like to think GM Mark Shapiro is smarter than that (and, honestly, Wedge is, too).

This isn't even about the money (though I don't think Casey Blake is worth that). The real hangup is the years. I can't imagine Blake being a $7 million player in two seasons. He's entering his late 30s, and with the drug era supposedly behind us, you probably won't get the strong production you did from guys that age, say, six years ago.

(For the record, I am not making any suggestion of Blake and steroids. He's a guy I believe is clean, and probably has always has been. I remember a few years ago he said he imagined the Indians hoped he'd test positive for steroids so they could get him out of the lineup. That's not the joke a user would make.)

Blake does have some value, but his days of 150 starts a year may be ending after this upcoming year, simply based on age.