Giants sign Rowand for five years

[BigWeiner]

If we got Rolen and Sexson, and the Cards and Mariners paid half their salaries, and we gave up say Lowery and Corria. I'd be happy paying to watch that team, even though we'd have injures cause we're old. With Cain, Lincecum and Zito, we can be competitive.

[BigWeiner]

I really like the Rowand signing. I was shocked that S.F. Ponied up and signed him. They have to over pay for FA's right now and until they get a little younger (In the lineup), and the young pitching takes off. Rowand will bring GREAT Energy to that team (IMO) and he will be a fan favorite!


I understand more than anyone outside of my area does about ticket prices too. The Red Sox are the highest priced ticket in baseball by a landslide and that's because getting them for Fenway is nearly impossible without giving up $400-$500 a ticket. Sure, you can get a SRO ticket on a Monday night in April against T.B. for $100 but who the fuck wants that? Not me. lol

I remember when they sucked and you could easily get face value or close to face value tickets for any game. Now i only go about twice a year compared to 6 or 7 in the past and i'll tell you what ......... Give me less visits and more wins anyday over what used to be.

I think S.F. fans should smile about this deal. I would.

It's growing on me, but I can't get over the 12 homeruns per season every year besides last. I like the hustle though.

[wayne1218]

It's growing on me, but I can't get over the 12 homeruns per season every year besides last. I like the hustle though.

You had the HR King and Won nothing. This new direction may be a positive one! lol

[ctt8410]

It's not a bad signing, but I'm not sure it improves the 2nd worst offense in the National League even if you get the 2007 Rowand and not the 2006 version.

Does this mean they don't like what they saw out of Rajai Davis last year or will he be stealing Dave Roberts' time as the year goes on?

[BigWeiner]

they don't like raja

[BettorsChat]

Being a Giants fan, I'm pissed. Rowand has a career year and we sign him for 5 years. He won't hit 20 homeruns at Pac Bell.

Seems to usually work that way. These guys have great years then don't do shit after signing a big contract.

[reeserich]

Its a bullshit deal. This guy put up decent, not great, numbers in PHILLY, the biggest joke of a ballpark in the league. He is going from there to the toughest hitters park in the league. His numbers will likely be nowhere near where they were last year, especially considering the fact that they have absolutely nobody in the lineup to offer any protection for him. Sabean blows. He hasnt made a decent deal since getting Kent, but for some reason everyone has given him a free pass out here for years.

[thesandman]

BigWeiner. Yeah, I like Walnut Creek a lot, especially after growing up in San Francisco and spending summer vacation wearing a jacket and freezing in the fog. I'm in the older part of Walnut Creek where it's non-track and we have half acre lots. It's an amazing place weather wise in the Bay Area. I'm 30 miles from SF and it's over 30 degrees warmer here in the summer.

All of Marin is pretty and weather wise you are right in the middle between hot where I am and cold in SF. I've driven thru Marin to get to the coast. Where in Marin are you.

Back to the Giants. I see what Wayne is saying but in the Red Sox case, it's the rich getting richer. With the Giant's it's more the opposite. They paid the full cost to build AT&T and any profit they make, goes into paying off the ballpark. They have made money since moving to AT&T because fans came both because of the park and the Giants. Now that the newness of the park has worn off, the sellouts are mostly gone. Last season, they drew well because all the season ticket plans were tied in to tickets to the All Star game. That's not going to happen this year. They are going to have to raise ticket prices at some point, win or lose, because of the heavy debt they still have to pay off.

The A's are not going to have that problem in Fremont because they are going to develop all the land around the ballpark and make big bucks that way. At least it's been a long time since we kept hearing we can't support two teams here.

[reeserich]

We need to find a sucker for Zito and then just go straight up youth movement for a year or two. Zito's contract is a huge drain on the club because as Dogfather said ownership is still paying through the nose for the ballpark. And they've got at least two starters that are better than him. They will finish in last place with Rowand and they would finish in last without him.

[BigWeiner]

BigWeiner. Yeah, I like Walnut Creek a lot, especially after growing up in San Francisco and spending summer vacation wearing a jacket and freezing in the fog. I'm in the older part of Walnut Creek where it's non-track and we have half acre lots. It's an amazing place weather wise in the Bay Area. I'm 30 miles from SF and it's over 30 degrees warmer here in the summer.

All of Marin is pretty and weather wise you are right in the middle between hot where I am and cold in SF. I've driven thru Marin to get to the coast. Where in Marin are you.

Back to the Giants. I see what Wayne is saying but in the Red Sox case, it's the rich getting richer. With the Giant's it's more the opposite. They paid the full cost to build AT&T and any profit they make, goes into paying off the ballpark. They have made money since moving to AT&T because fans came both because of the park and the Giants. Now that the newness of the park has worn off, the sellouts are mostly gone. Last season, they drew well because all the season ticket plans were tied in to tickets to the All Star game. That's not going to happen this year. They are going to have to raise ticket prices at some point, win or lose, because of the heavy debt they still have to pay off.

The A's are not going to have that problem in Fremont because they are going to develop all the land around the ballpark and make big bucks that way. At least it's been a long time since we kept hearing we can't support two teams here.

I live in Novato, work in Larkspur. They paid off a lot of the ball park by not signing any big named free agents when they should've to compliment Bonds. I remember reading about it all the time. People in SF like to go to that park, even people in Marin like to go, it's a great park. If they get two more players, like Sexson and Rolen, the people will come.

[LVJimmy]

You guys who don't think signing Rowand is a good move don't know anything about baseball. 1st off, look at last year's top 30 HR hitters and tell me how many CFs are on the list, 2nd, your other options were Dave Roberts or Rajai Davis, nuff said there, 3rd, Rowand is a gold-glove CFer and in that outfield at Pacbell, you need a great fielding CFer, 4th, being a huge Phillies fan and watching all but 3 games last year, HE IS WHAT MADE THAT TEAM (besides Rollins) due to his leadership and clubhouse demeanor...the guy is a balls out player, and there's a reason everywhere he goes, he quickly becomes a fan favorite.

Andruw Jones got 36.2 Mil for 2 years after hitting .222 last year which I think was actually the worst batting average for any position player.

Gary Matthews Jr signed a 5 yr, 50 Mil contract last offseason after having exactly 1 good season for Texas.

Comparatively speaking, I think this is a steal for the Giants.

[ELJUGO]

Nothing wrong w signing a gold glover in center...Sexston would be great, we already have a poor man's version of him in Phil Neikro...Lowry can go, or Sanchez. We need a solid set up man or closer and one big bat to give us enough to compete in this division

[thesandman]

BigWeiner said

They paid off a lot of the ball park by not signing any big named free agents when they should've to compliment Bonds. I remember reading about it all the time. People in SF like to go to that park, even people in Marin like to go, it's a great park. If they get two more players, like Sexson and Rolen, the people will come.

They didn't have the money to sign a big name free agent because they were already paying Bonds 18M a year. I don't think Sexson is worth signing. He made 15.5 M this year while batting .205. Looks like its now a moot issue anyway. Seattle just traded Ben Broussard to Texas, who would have played first for Seattle if Sexton left.

No question, the park is nice. But so is the new park in Cleveland and the sellouts of the first couple of years are gone and they had a winning team. Sometimes I don't know what it takes to sell out most games. Maybe the A's idea is the way to go. I'm sure you know, living here, that their park will only have 32,000 seats, the idea being that the less seats, the harder to get a ticket and people will buy into the various season ticket plans to make sure they have tickets.

Your lucky working close to home. That commute into SF is a bitch. I was also lucky living in Walnut Creek and working in Martinez. If you want, let me know next time you are out this way. I'll buy.

LVJimmy said

Andruw Jones got 36.2 Mil for 2 years after hitting .222 last year which I think was actually the worst batting average for any position player.

Sextons .205 avg was worse but LA paying Jones 18M a year is as bad as the Giants overpaying Zito. If they only gave Jones curveballs in the dirt, he may never hit another HR.

[ctt8410]

4th, being a huge Phillies fan and watching all but 3 games last year, HE IS WHAT MADE THAT TEAM

Umm, I think Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Cole Hamels might have something to say about that.