Rowand: Harder and Harder

I was going to post this photo but for some reason blogger wouldn't comply, so here is a link: photo of Rowand at park.

Aaron Rowand met the press of the Bay Area newspapers yesterday and there were accounts of his visit in the Merc, the Chron, and sfgiants.com. Again, each account gives a similar account but with different details that each thought was important.

All in all, it was a "feel-good" session, a "meet-n-greet" with the Giants new star (highest paid position player), in order to get to know him better. Didn't know this, but apparently he once had a dirt-bike accident that damaged his shoulder in the off-season but luckily for him it healed enough to enable him to play the season. Apparently he was millimeters away from dying in that incident (lots more than the shoulder was broken/hurt) and he swore off dirt-biking, and presumably other dangerous activities, see this good quote from the Merc:

"More than anything, I learned that it's not worth risking the future of my family," said Rowand, who is married with two kids. "I almost ended my career - and my life."

But it was that charge-hard attitude that he brings when he crosses the white lines that got him injured twice, first with his collision with the CF fence (but he still caught the ball) and then his collision with Chase Utley.

Still, he felt that he was unfairly characterized as injury prone (Phillies, in the contract negotiations), for he noted that the only two times he was on the DL was for the two aforementioned collisions, which was the same season, and that he played 161 games last season. It sounds like he has learned from his hard knocks in life and, while he will always try his hardest to get things done, perform well, and win games, he knows that he has to amp it down sometimes too, so that he doesn't get injured.

He sounds like he takes the team leader label to heart and is taking the challenge that Bochy gave to lead the team by example, to have that "warrior" attitude that Bochy spoke about after the season. One version noted that there was a dichotomy between Rowand's professed "one-of-the-guys" attitude and the Giants wanting him to represent the club, but I don't see it nor do I see any problem with that. It was noted that Rowand could hide behind outsized personalities with the White Sox or stay in Ryan Howard's shadow, but when Rowand busted his nose/face catching that ball, Howard wasn't much more than a highly hyped, unproven prospect, who did very well (VERY well) the season before, but there was still some question how he would do over a full season. At that point, they were pretty much on the same footing, if anything, Rowand was the vet, he had a great season just two seasons before. And being the new kid on the White Sox, yeah, he probably didn't go up front, but that wasn't his place either.

I see no problem with him being both "one-of-the-guys" and being a leader, the face of the franchise. He can do that in the clubhouse by acting normal and like one of the guys, but then when the Giants PR beckons, go out and be the glib funny star of the team, the guy the media will go to for quotes and stuff. Some players have too much ego for that, and is aloof from the rest of the team, or worse, think that they are above everyone else, but there are still people who have checked their egos permanently at the door and can be one of the guys. Rowand sounds like one of them, based on what I read in the accounts and previous articles.

I like this quote from the Chron's account, which appears to be in response to a question about why he joined the Giants, partly for the 5th year that other teams didn't offer, partly because Bochy told him he wants Rowand to infuse his style of play into what has been a staid team:

"Boch wanted to get the team going in a direction of playing the game hard, getting dirty, being aggressive," Rowand said. "He wants to build this team around that style of play, and that's the way I play. It's a very good fit for me as a player. In Chicago, they called it grinder style."

The Merc version had a good take on what the Giants are hoping to get from Rowand beyond what he brings to the table as a player, the elusive intangibles label that is used to sell a new player:

In creating their post-Barry Bonds locker room, the Giants wanted someone who could rejuvenate the sagging atmosphere. They wanted a gritty, selfless, hustling, nose-to-the-wall, heart-on-his-sleeve maniac who would show younger players what it means to be a professional.

In addition, Chron noted that he feels that teammates need to be close. So he organizes things with teammates in order to get them to know each other and be closer. He feels that establishing cohesion would translate into wins:

"That's how you create chemistry," he said. "That's how you can hold people accountable, because you go up and say something to them and they're not going to get pissed off at you because they think you're attacking them. You're saying it to them as a friend and a teammate."

He sounds, overall, like he will do what Mark Sweeney had tried to do for the team the past two seasons with his Giants Idol competition, except that he'll be one of the leaders of the team, and not (no offense to Sweeney) one of the scrubs, the reserves. It takes one of the stars to create such an environment in the clubhouse, as admirable a job as Sweeney did, and Rowand now has the mandate to do such a thing.

I like this quote from the sfgiants.com account, as Rowand noted:

"I have a passion for the history of the game."

I love history, you can learn a lot from history, and I think it is good when players know the history of the game and not just think about the money they make from the game. That, to me, shows proper respect for the game.

Rowand also appears to read my blog. :^) Here are his thoughts about how the Giants can be competitive in 2008:

"This team is going to be very competitive this year. I guarantee it," Rowand said. "Who knows? If guys have some good years, this team can win the division."

"Pitching is No. 1," Rowand said, recalling some of his Chicago White Sox teams that finished second despite robust hitting. "Everybody [asks], if you're all about winning, why did you go to San Francisco? I'm like, take a look! Look closer. Don't just look at the fact that they were in last place. Look at the pieces they have, the young guys who are going to be here for a long time. It makes sense to me."

It is going to take a heck of a lot of good years, but I like that he thinks that way, or are at least is willing to smile cheerily for the press and say good things about his new team. Hopefully he can convince the Giants to never entertain the idea or even the thought of trading Lincecum or Cain. Yes, TINSTAAPP, but you have to roll your dices somewhere, I would rather we roll it with our young pitching prospects and see where it leads us than trade them for the comforts of a nice hitter.

Thought I would end with a quote from the Merc, I think it captures Rowand's essence well:

"When I go home every night, I can put my head on my pillow and go to sleep," he said. "I don't lay there and wonder: What if I'd tried harder? What if I'd given more?

"That's how I play. That's the game that I bring."