********* all to hell!! I like Rowand but only for a three year deal!! This is a terrible deal for the Giants. Giants now have a good #5 hitter but no 3-4 hitters. Rowand will likely be moved to LF in a couple of years. Too many years and I'm afraid of the $$ amount.Giants agreed to terms with outfielder Aaron Rowand, who had been with the Phillies, on a five-year contract.
The Giants were lucky last year when they missed out on Gary Matthews Jr. and Juan Pierre despite competitive offers. Still, no one really expected Brian Sabean to learn his lesson. Rowand gets a five-year deal at what's surely more than $10 million per season (probably at least $12 million) despite having just two particularly good seasons under his belt. He's a fine player even when he's posting 750 OPSs, but he's probably not going to age well because of the way he throws his body around and he's not the big-time middle-of-the-order threat the Giants needed. The team was already paying Randy Winn and Dave Roberts as if they were center fielders.