The Zo Zone

Losing Rowand's production will hurt more than people think. Victorino will be a strong everyday CF, but Werth everyday in RF scares me...I believe he needs a platoon partner.

Improving the pitching is important, but that pitching is going to be pissed when the butchers at 3rd base botch countless plays.

The phils need to sign Rowand. Play him in center this season and move him to left in 2009. Rowand's value goes way beyond his on field performance.

Losing Rowand will hurt more than everyone realizes. Why do you think the Sox kept talking about how much they'd love having him back? His impact is more than stats or even defense. He plays like Philly Phans NEED our players to play.... busting his ass every day , in every way.

Sign him for more than his stats say he's worth PLEASE. He is the anti-JD Drew ( He's better than Drew ,Too ) , hell he's the anti - Rolen.

4 core players under contract in their primes ? Perfect. Rollins , Utley , Howard and Rowand , what's not to love ? Build around them , Hamels and Myers , the Braves have done it like that for years. Just supplement them with hard working players and let the core guys set the tone day in and day out.

Victorino is a good player , but not better than Rowand. Sign Rowand and use Victorino to get a young arm or two.

PLEASE !!!

i agree that Rowand needs to be resigned. Manuel may be comfortable with Wes Helms hittin' a lil' more, but I am not. There needs to be one offensive improvement before the season starts, either in the outfield or at 3B. I understand that the draft pick compensation the Phils would get for Rowand may be preferable in the long run to paying an exorbitant rate for him on the open-market, but does that thinking change if Rowand appears to be signing a contract with Washington or Houston or the White Sox? those are some of the teams rumored to be interested in him and all three of those teams' first round picks are protected. in the case he signs with one of them, the Phillies would be denied their compensatory first round pick and instead be awarded a 2nd round pick. a second round pick just doesn't seem like value to the Phillies for the loss of productin and clubhouse leadership that the Phils would suffer.

Todd:

Peter Gammons said yesterday that the Phils are going strong for Mike Lowell. Could this possibly (please, please, please) be true?

if the white sox miss Rowand so much, why are all the rumors poiting towards hunter signing there?

Let him walk he is not worth the money. forget about what he did in a contract year look at his numbers every other year and that production will be replaced by howard and utley not missing a month of the season.

Buster Olney is reporting the same about Phils and Lowell.

Glad to hear Buster Olney has the same story. Can you give any details about what Olney said, Bryan?

Bryan, you raise a good point about why the white sox are so hot after Hunter, but I think you're being quite cynical to think a guy who would break his face to make a catch in a non-contract year would only put up the numbers he did last year because it was a contract year...

look at his lines since 2004, when he started to play a full season:
2004- .361OBP .544SLG .310AVG
2005- .329OBP .407SLG .270AVG
2006- .321OBP .425SLG .262AVG
2007- .374OBP .515SLG .309AVG

his worst year there was 2006, but he was batting .310 on the night he infamously crashed into the outfield wall and broke his nose, cheekbone and two orbital bones in his face. we'll never know if he could have maintained that production, but his other numbers suggest he could have. maybe Aaron Rowand is a late bloomer offensively or maybe you can chalk it up to park effects, but either way, the guy produces.

Why do the Phils keep saying they filled 2 needs by getting Lidge ? That bugs me.

They filled one "need" ..a starter. They already had a closer , a good one too. So they did not fill the closer role , it was already filled.

They still need another good starter to compete and WIN. Use Victorino to trade for Dontrelle and re-sign Rowand. Then you dont give up draft picks to sign free agents.

You have three young starters with Hamels / Myers and Willis and a set core group of position players.

Rowand is a 'blood and guts' player, much like Dykstra, only with more natural talent. He is a 'lead-by-example' player that thrives in a city like Philly and I believe he will get better. He has at least five good years left in the tank and should be signed for them -- here in Philly, of course. If the Phils ownership does not tender a competitive offer for Rowand, then they are truly NOT PLANNING TO WIN IN THE FUTURE. It's that simple.

You know, buy saying the Phillies need to sign Rowand because he leads the “busting it” charge and his leadership skills, speaks volumes of what fans think of Burrell’s, Rollins’ Howard’s and Utley’s leadership skills. Do we honestly think that Victorino, Utley, Werth, Rollins and the rest of the will stop playing hard because Rowand leaves?

Trade Vic for Willies? Why would you trade for Willis? He’s been very hittable and no pitching coach can help him with his mechanics because his delivery is so screwed up with in the first place.

Trading young talent and over paying older talent is exactly how the Phillies lost all their financial flexibility in the first place. I’m kind of shocked that this approach being endorsed by a lot of fans here and on other boards.

Rowand is a lesser version of Johnny Damon when the Sox let him go.

I hope they can make a deal with Rowand that makes sense, but there is no reason to go much higher then what Eric Burns got...

The same with Mike Lowell… any long term commitment (more then 3 years) is a little bit nutty, unless you plan on moving him to first in a few years.

From a line-up perspective, if you can put Lowell in front of R. Howard, and Lowell hits as well as he did in 2007, most Philly Phans will be saying "Aaron Who" by May 15, 2008.

Even Mr. Utley's may benefit by that bat in this line-up. And, Pat the Bat may finally learn how to hit an outside pitch .... Nahhhhh.

Before we finally forget about Charlie until next year, is it my imagination or was Mr. Williams always the guy who was whispering in his ear right before he made most of his famous "why did he do that" moves??

Okay, I am going to run for cover now...

I kinda agree with ol'charlie boy, I think wessy has some hitting in him. He may or may not produce,but I think he can. I would love to have Lowell and or Rowand, but Lowell and Rowand are kinds the same where you dont know what you may get now that they're in their 30's. They both had not so great years before they left the marlins and sox, and both did better with new teams. Lowell benefited big time from the green monster, and same for Rowand in CBP. As always, it comes down to money, and those two may be asking to much for the Phils to handle. I think they are both solid players, but also something about them makes me scratch my head too, i guess the whole Burrell deal left me itchy!!

Clint:

All those dents that Lowell put in the Green Monster would have ended 5 rows deep in CBP.

Okay, even half would give him about 40 HR in CBP.

Philly fans, are like teeagers fallin in and out of love, all the time. Enough of all this puppy love. Lets move on. You'd think were talking about Bonds, the way you love birds are chirping. How did the Red Sox make, out without, Johnny Damon ? Or better yet,how'd the Yankees make out, 54 million bucks later ? One more thing, quit with the "He's a Philadelphia type player 110%" How many Championships, has this city won with those type players ? It says their over-achievers, We don't need that , we need great talent ! !

Buster Olney is saying on his blog that the Dodgers are making a big push for Rowand and the Phillies are making a big push for Lowell.

I would think if the Dodgers want Rowand, he is gone. LA can easily out spend the Phillies and their need for outfield help is much greater then the Phillies. I see the end of Rowand as an offensive force if he goes to LA.

I'll be interested to see what Lowell gets from the Phillies if it happens.

Thank you Pat H on both comments. Although that might be an alias for Pat G. But I agree 110% about the comments people make about players being "Philly type players..." What does that mean? They try hard but lose all the time? I like Rowand too, and would like to have him back, but the "philly guy" argument doesn't justify overpaying.

Here's an idea out of left field.. Move Burrell back to 3B. Sign Rowand and another pitcher, then platoon Dobbs in LF with Bruntlett or another utility FA. Burell was a good third baseman before the Phils forced him to play 1B (Rolen), then LF (Thome).

Rumor is swirling on WIP that phils have a 4yr / $50M offer on the table for Mike Lowell.

That rumor on WIP is what Buster Olney -- the man himself -- said on 950 earlier today.

Olney sounded pretty sure about it.