Rowand On The River (Or Bay)

Aaron Rowand is headed west. The All-Star centerfielder signed a 5-year, $60 million dollar deal with the Giants today, saying he wanted to be in one place for a long time. That's fine. But it does not appear the team in that one place is going to be particularly competitive any time soon.

Yes, the Giants have a decent rotation with Cain, Lincecum, and Zito. But their offense, even with Rowand, remains thin at best. Bonds is gone, Pedro Feliz is a free agent and the players that remain (Vizquel, Aurilia, Winn, Dave Roberts, Bengie Molina) are all at least in their mid-to-late 30s. And let's not forget they play in the same division as the NL champion Rockies, the NL's best regular-season team (Arizona), and an LA club that's added Andruw Jones and might not be done wheeling and dealing.

That's not to say Rowand won't win at all in San Fran. If they add a few bats in a few places, they have the staff to be dangerous. But don't expect that to happen in 2008.