Aaron Rowand and Jayson Werth

Last year must have been a bittersweet one for Aaron Rowand. On the one hand, he had hit the jackpot when he signed a $60 million, five-year deal with the Giants after finishing 2007 in Philadelphia - a deal that probably would not have been possible when the national economy went south the following year. On the other hand, although the San Francisco center fielder does have a World Series ring from the '05 White Sox, he did have to watch from the outside as his former National League team won the 2008 world championship.

While Rowand was extremely popular in Philly, the Phils' front office certainly had no regrets. Rowand's replacement, Jayson Werth, had an excellent season hitting .273 with 24 home runs in just over 400 at-bats. Rowand hit just .271 last year with 13 home runs. And Werth came much cheaper. Even after his solid '08, Werth signed a two-year deal for only $10 million.

This year, Werth and Rowand, are having solid years. The latter is hitting around .300 in the leadoff spot. Werth has been maddeningly inconsistent at the plate but with his recent spurt is batting about .270 and is on pace to surpass 30 home runs. They both strike out too much but are excellent in the field. So again, they are equally productive, but the Phillies are getting Werth at a fraction of the cost.

But irony is lurking. If the Fightin's don't win their division, they are going to be in a real dog fight for the wild card. And if the Giants don't overtake the Dodgers in the Western Division, San Francisco is shaping up to be one of the primary wild card contenders. Either way, Rowand could end up playing a key role in preventing his old teammates from repeating.

Revisiting Aaron Rowand and Kyle Lohse

With a break in the Phillies' action, let's revisit, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, two personnel decisions the Phils made late last year, the failures to resign both Aaron Rowand and Kyle Lohse.

Rowand had a career season in 2007, batting .309 with 27 home runs. He was a popular, hard-nosed player but he wanted a big, multiyear contract which he got with the Giants. This year he batted .271 with 13 home runs. Not exactly lights out. His replacement with the Phils this year was effectively Jason Werth. Werth hit .273 with 24 home runs on a less than full-time basis. Rowand and Werth are both excellent defensive outfielders but Werth's excellent speed makes him much more dangerous on the bases. They both struck out well over 100 times. Clearly this move worked to the Phillies' advantage in 2008. The catch is that Werth will now probably be looking for the kind of contract Rowand was seeking last year.

The Phils acquired Kyle Lohse in mid-season last year. He pitched well, primarily as a starter, with a 3-0 record in 13 appearances with an ERA of 4.72. However, he did have a couple of late-game blowups which were very costly. He too sought a large contract which Philadelphia was unwilling to provide. But the Cardinals were and Lohse did not disappoint - he compiled a 15-6 record with an ERA of 3.78 in 2008 helping to keep St. Louis in the race for most of the season. Admittedly, this was accomplished in a much more pitcher-friendly ballpark; how this would translate to Citizens Bank Park is anyone's guess. Even 20/20 hindsight has its limits.

CORRECTION: Kyle Lohse did NOT sign a large (relatively speaking) deal with the Cardinals for 2008. He RECENTLY (9/30) signed a large multiyear deal with the Cards for four years.