Giants think they'll be in the hunt

Apparently the San Francisco Giants expect to be in the hunt in a very tough NL West division. The same division they finished 19 games behind in 2007.

Newcomer Aaron Rowand, "Nobody in here expects to be at the bottom of the barrel in the NL West. We expect to be in the hunt. That's the outlook we're going into the season with. That's why we're here working as hard as we are. It's going to take a group effort, a collective effort."

Veteran outfielder Dave Roberts, "If you look at the numbers, we were in virtually every game last year. If we get the pitching that we're capable of getting, we're going to be in every game like we were last year."

No offense to Dave Roberts and Aaron Rowand, but they fail to realize that there are 4 other teams that are much better than the Giants. The Giants had the starters to get it done, just ask Matt Cain, but their bullpen was awful and won't be much better this year.

The team might be more relaxed than years past, especially due to the fact that there's no Barry Bonds in the locker room for the media hords to surround.

"Obviously, nothing against Barry as a person or a player, but it's a lot more relaxed now," Roberts said. "I think that anyone with his status, in all walks of life, they command that kind of respect and people are more uneasy. I thought he was a great teammate and he's a very good friend of mine, but it seems like now people can be themselves more so."

The Giants still have one Barry that should concern them. That being left-hander Barry Zito. Zito has gone from being the ace of the staff, to probably a #3 at best behind Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Can he be effective for the Giants in 2008, more so than he was last season?

I wonder about Aaron Rowand myself. There's no question this guy outhustles anyone in the major leagues, noone works harder than Rowand, but will he really make that much of a difference for the Giants. His numbers were put up in a bandbox in Philadelphia, now he has to try and duplicate those efforts in some of the biggest pitcher's parks in baseball. I have a hard time believing that he can do that.

The Giants will be in the hunt alright....in 2010 maybe.

Rowand wants Giants to acquire Crede

Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports, new Giant Aaron Rowand was apparently asked for a character reference for former teammate, and free agent 3rd baseman, Joe Crede from the Giants front office.

Though Rowand does admit he may be biased because of being teammates he said "They inquired and asked about what kind of guy he is," Rowand said. "They obviously know what he can do as a baseball player."

Crede was limited to only 47 games in 2007 due to injury and underwent surgery to fix a herniated disk in June of last year.

"He's one of the most clutch hitters I've ever played with," Rowand said. "I can't tell you how many ballgames he won for us in '05. He makes adjustments, he hits home runs, he hits in the clutch and he plays Gold Glove third base."

Rowand guarantees title hunt with Giants

Aaron Rowand may have let his excitement of being with a new team scramble his brain. According to Chris Haft of MLB.com, Rowand has guaranteed that the Giants will contend for the NL West title.

Now, I'm not a Giants fan, nor a Giants hater, but Rowand may be biting off a little more than he can chew. To guarantee anything at this point is both ludicrious and dumb.

Things the Giants do have going for them...their pitching staff is young and talented. Their front 4 boasts Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Noah Lowry and Matt Cain, a fearsome foursome to be sure, but where is their offense going to come from? Rowand can not carry an offense, most people say he's a ballpark created hitter. Moving from a very hitter friendly ballpark in Philadelphia to one of the best pitchers parks in baseball isn't going to do him any favors.

Last season, the Giants ranked 27th in Team Batting Average (.254), 29th in Runs (683), 25th in HR's (131), 28th in OBP (.322) and dead last in Slugging Percentage (.387).

There's no doubt the Giants have pitching, but with their only addition being Aaron Rowand, I just don't see how the Giants are going to compete for anything but last place.

Phillies sign Werth, avoid arbitration

The Phillies avoided going to arbitration when they, and outfielder Jayson Werth, agreed on a 1-year $1.7M deal according to the Associated Press.

Werth shared time last season with Shane Victorino and is expected to share time next season with newly acquired Geoff Jenkins while Victorino will replace Aaron Rowand in center field.

Phillies could sign Sidney Ponson?

Not sure if this is a desperation move on the part of the Phillies, but they are apparently looking into signing free agent Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal.

Ponson is currently pitching in the Dominican Winter League and is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 2 starts.

The Phillies have also started talks with free agent center fielder Mike Cameron. The two sides have had previous discussions, but Cameron was looking for more years than the Phillies were willing to give. With the departure of Aaron Rowand, that apparently has changed.

Giants sign Aaron Rowand

The San Francisco Giants just took another center fielder off the free agent list after they signed Aaron Rowand to a 5-year $60M deal.

The Giants now have $200M in total payroll due to 2 players (Rowand, Zito).

Giants interested in Fukudome, Rowand

According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, the Giants have talked about making a late push for Japanese free agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and would consider offering a 4-year $44M deal.

The Giants could also make a run at another free agent center fielder in Aaron Rowand and could possibly offer him a 5-year deal.

Rowand returning to Phillies?

With Aaron Rowand asking for a 5-year deal, there aren't a lot of teams that are willing to give that many years to a 30-year old.

The Phillies could be willing to overpay for a 3-year deal for the free agent center fielder. The other teams interested are the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, but both teams have said they are unwilling to go more than 3 years.

In the same article, Paul Hagen says the Phillies have no interest in bringing back Jon Lieber, but they are having discussions with Kyle Lohse who's asking for 5-years $50M.