I had to sit on this knowledge for a day, but it's now confirmed: Sam Querrey will replace James Blake on the US Davis Cup squad for the tie with Spain in about 10 days time. This was no slap in the face of James Blake; according to US team captain Patrick McEnroe, Blake feels "exhausted" after the summer, and McEnroe understands his position.
The Spanish will be prohibitive favorites on Blake's worst surface, red clay. So he now gets a pass on playing back to back singles matches on slow red clay against Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. He also gets an extra week rest before the indoor season - the portion during which the US number 2 will have a good chance to improve his ranking on the kind of fast surface that he prefers.
Querrey, meanwhile, gets thrown into the deep end. But it's not like he's under the kind of pressure that crashed over an unprepared Pete Sampras in his disastrous Davis Cup debut in the 1991 final vs. France, in Lyon. With little to lose and everything to gain, Querrey will be playing against heavily favored players in a tie that most people have already conceded to Spain. And while Sam has been a reliable practice partner for a few ties now, he'll now get to experience full-on Davis Cup mania as an actual competitor.
Wouldn't it be funny if by some twist of fate - an injury to Nadal, an unexpected upset (by Querrey?) - the US finds itself in a position to win? This strikes me as an excellent time to start building for the future, because how long can Blake and Roddick carry the US?