Odds and Ends: Villarreal, Cano, Rowand

I don't think its even good. If you are going to pay a guy that kind of money to be a middle of the order hitter, make sure he has put up middle of the order numbers for more than 1 year, which happens to be his contract year. I don't hate it, but they needed a better bat than that.

Agreed, much better than the Tori Hunter deal. I just think Rowand is more of a #6 hitter, not a 3 or 4, which he is in that awful lineup. They are rebuilding though, and have a pretty nasty rotation for years to come, I just think they need 2 big bats, and Rowand is a nice complement. He is not one of those big bats.

Rowand was not a good signing. They should've used the CF spot a for talented young player.

Better than Torii deal, I agree on that.

The thing I like best about this signing is the Bonds spectacle will be gone and a positive attitude/clubhouse guy is here!

The kids can learn tons from Rowand...Just glad he doesn't play RF, we have a brick wall there!!!

"This signing brings a leader to the Giants clubhouse. The Giants aren't going to contend this year or next but by 2010, Rowand will be a valuable piece to the Giants puzzle."

That is if Rowand is still even near the kind of player he was last year. With all the wear and tear he takes I think he'll decline quickly as he gets into his 30's. By 2010, when Upton, Kemp, Young, Loney, Tulo, Jackson, LaRoche, Reynolds, Headley, etc. are all establishing themselves as top players, Rowand will be nothing more than mediocre 7 hitter.

"Rowand was not a good signing. They should've used the CF spot a for talented young player."

And this is far easier said than done. Well duh you would rather use the spot on a cheaper "talented young player", but there really aren't ton of those out there, especially in San Francisco. Considering the Giants don't have really any talented young position players outside of Schierholtz and Villalona, if they didn't sign Rowand they probably would have Dave Roberts or Rajai Davis (age 27) in center. Personally I think the Giants missed a huge oppurtunity in Josh Hamilton. Hamilton has middle of the order potential and was avaliable at a reasonable price. If Texas got him for Edison Volquez and a prospect, then don't you think that the Giants could've gotten Hamilton for Jonathan Sanchez and a prospect.

Rotoworld:
Astros agreed to terms with RHP Oscar Villarreal to a two-year, $2.85 million contract with a club option for 2010.

Villarreal gets a $250,000 signing bonus, $1 million in 2008 and $1.6 million in 2009. The option, which doesn't in.clude a buyout, is worth $2 million. Signing middle relievers already under control to multiyear deals tends to be a poor strategy, but there's not much wrong with this one. If Villarreal turns out to be a bust, the Astros are only on the hook for an extra $1.5 million. Had he posted a sub-4.00 ERA in 2008, it might have taken something like $9 million for three years to re-sign him

I will take Arod and his contract every day over Rowand and his contract. That almost 900 OPS from 2007 should drop about 100 points or more this year. Absolutely awful lineup with no protection, in a terrible hitting park, after being in the best lineup in the NL and hitting in the best hitters park in the NL. He is on the opposite extreme here. Man, if Lincecum and Cain werent a part of the Giants they might be like the worst baseball team ever.

Scribble, I agree 100 percent on Hamilton. I was thinking exactly the same thing, it would have been great if the Giants could have picked him up for Correia or Sanchez plus 1. I like the way you think :).

It's not fair to treat Rowand as a contract-year wonder. He was excellent in '04 (his OPS was about .900). After a disappointing '05 in Chicago, he regained his form in Philly in '06. He hit 7 homers and had an OPS over .900 through April and part of May but then planted his face on the centerfield railing, missed a bunch of time and struggled mightily when he returned. I'm not sure if he's a guy you want hitting third over the long haul, but it's a joy watching him play the game. Giants fans are going to be happy the team spent the money to get him.

"nrmax...

And how do you field the rest of your team with Arod's contract? Only the Yanks can affor that."

Point taken. I like Rowand, I just think his numbers will take a hit big time. But, like you said, when a crappy team is trying to get better, the first big name sort of signing is usually questionable. You have to do it to show other future free agents you are serious. Mets did it with Pedro, Tigers with Pudge, Royals in the process of improving and signing Meche to big money, so hey, if it helps sign some more big time players next year, then it is easily worth it.

Winn has a NTC and is due over $16 million over the next two years. Davis would be good, but you have to ask if he's that much better than Owens, and then Ramirez. I'd love to see some of those extra arms gone, though.

Sanchez missed a lot of time with injury last year, and then got shelled in the NL West. His value is definitely lower than Volquez's right now.

Winn has a limited NTC...

10 teams he can't be traded to. Not sure which 10 though.

The Giants best deal of the winter was not trading Lincecum.

Rowand ranks well behind that.

Where's Tim? He ok today? No Villarreal update?

They have it at MLB Fleece Factor

I'm sorry, but Rowand's defense is totally overrated. Yeah every once in a while he makes a great play, but he also misplayed atleast 20 easy balls that got to the wall and turned into triples. He lost a lot. Also he did have a decent amount of assists, but his arm is pretty weak. I can't wait for people in San Fran to see his d daily. It's like Bobby Abreu. You can do by stats and get a gold glove. As long as you don't touch the ball in the outfield it isn't an error. So the 20 balls that Rowand misplayed go unnoticed. I watched all 162 games and I love his grit, but he is highly overrated.

Phillies, defensive metrics show that Rowand is a very good center fielder. He's not elite anymore like he was with the White Sox, but he's far from hurting his club. He also has a strong arm if I recall correctly, he threw into the stands a few times from mid center field. While grit and hustle might seem "totally overrated" at times, it looks like it is what makes guys like Aaron Rowand and Eric Byrnes very good defensively.

A) Saw Villarreal, passed on it because it's pretty boring and I have nothing to add

B) Please stop pimping the fleece factor here, it is getting old