Throughout spring training, Aaron Rowand was the go-to expert inside the Marlins’ clubhouse on Showtime’s “The Franchise” series. The veteran outfielder played with San Francisco last year when production crews were filming behind-the-scenes episodes on the Giants.
Rowand told everyone — teammates, staff members and even reporters — that they’d get so used to the production crews that eventually they’d forget they were even there. As it turns out, Rowand’s final breath as a big-leaguer could now end up in the series, which is taking an inside look at the Marlins this time around. With cameras rolling and pointed at his face for the reaction, Rowand on Thursday was released.
“I’ll either go somewhere else if another teams needs an outfielder,” Rowand said, dressed in street clothes as he prepared to leave the Marlins’ spring training complex. “And, if not, I’ll probably take it to the house, call it a career. Not everybody gets to decide when they’re going to hang ’em up.”
...Releasing Rowand was especially difficult for Guillen, as the outfielder was a starter on his 2005 Chicago White Sox team that won the World Series.
“It was very hard,” Guillen said. “I felt, when we brought him here, I was pretty sure he would make the club. But it’s not what I say. It’s what we say. There [were] better guys than him during spring training.”
Repoz
Posted: March 29, 2012 at 11:09 PM |
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1. A triple short of the cycleIn his youth he was a remarkable defensive center fielder and good base runner, and had enough power and a decent enough average to be an excellent player.
I guess Don Mattingly is right.
Eh...those moves both smelled way more like Kenny Williams.
Kenny Lofton actually came pretty cheap really late in the offseason the year before. So even in hindsight, I don't know that I'd fault the Sox for making a move that "blocked" a guy with only a half season of AAA under his belt and no overwhelming offensive tools.
Rowand was fun to watch.
SP Johnson
SP Buehrle
SP Nolasco
SP Zambrano
SP Sanchez
CL Bell
RP Ceda
RP Choate
RP Chisek
RP Dunn
RP LeBlanc
RP Mujica
RP Webb
C Buck
1B Sanchez
2B Infante
SS Reyes
3B Ramirez
LF Morrison
CF Coghlan
RF Stanton
C Hayes
1/3 Dobbs
UT Bonifacio
2/3 Murphy
Man. Eight relievers? Is that really the plan? No legit outfielders off the bench. I have to imagine they'll drop a reliever and bring up someone to fake the fourth outfielder role.
Typical Marlins team though--looks promising and young, just has no depth whatsoever.
If he'd take a walk once in a while, it seems like Zambrano would absolutely have the bat to be a bench outfielder.
My favorite Rowand moment as a Giants fan came when they cut his ass.
I think he's OK. I saw him in a ST game last week. Pitched 3-4 innings and hit 97 on the gun.
You and me both.
I laughed.
And "retiring" because nobody wants to give you a job means you don't get to either.
I thought that was his point, no?
With Coglan starting in center they have NO legit CFs anywhere on the roster.
Hell, Mike Stanton is the only guy on the roster who played the OF prior to the 2009 season.
Didn't the Giants pretty much pre-empt any opportunity they had?
The Giants specialize in that.
I was at the last game of that Yankee series. He took the air out of the stadium by making seven catches, while the Sox scored the winning run when Bernie played a single into a triple.
Not to mention Rowand opened that series with a diving catch on the warning track in left center, followed by an over-the-shoulder grab in right-center against the first two Yankee hitters.
And then the day before that Yankee series, Rowand had an awesome catch against the wall to rob Sexson. All the highlights are on this page, Aug. 7-10.
Creating MLB outfielders on the fly is the new market inefficiency.
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