May 3 -- IS BURRELL THIS YEAR'S ROWAND?

OK, we get it.

Pat Burrell is hot.

How hot? Well, consider Burrell's at-bat last night in the 10th inning. By now, you've undoubtedly seen/heard how it turned out. Burrell bashed his third career walk-off home run -- and his first since April 10, 2002 -- to spoil Aaron Rowand's return to The Bank. But instead of focusing on the result of the at-bat, let's examine how Burrell got there.

With the Phillies trailing 5-4, Chase Utley on first base and two out, Burrell stepped to the plate against hard-throwing Giants closer Brian Wilson. The first three pitches were fastballs, all in the upper-90s and all out of the strike zone. Most hitters, staring at a 3-0 count in that situation, would automatically take a pitch, even though they know they're almost certainly going to get another fastball. But Burrell has been seeing the ball so well and feeling so good at the plate that he swung away -- and missed. He fouled Wilson's next pitch, another heater, straight back, a sign that he was beginning to get his timing.

Then, boom.

"He was throwing really hard," Burrell said. "I got to 3-0 and said, 'I've got to take a chance at this.' Just take a swing and see where I'm at. Kind of gauge the speed to the swing."

So, Burrell is batting .330 with nine home runs and a league-leading 28 RBIs in exactly 100 at-bats. With runners in scoring position, he's batting .478 (11-for-23) with two homers and 17 RBIs, and after getting down 0-2 in the count, he's batting .357 (5-for-14) with six RBIs.

All of which leads me to my larger point: Burrell will be a free agent after the season. Rowand, in the same position last year, had the best season of his career and cashed in with a five-year, $60 million contract from the Giants. Burrell, in the final season of a six-year, $50 million extension, is making $14 million in 2008.

If he continues to produce at this rate, what sort of contract could he reasonably expect to get? And, if you were the Phillies, how much is it worth for you to re-sign Burrell?

Just a few questions to ponder as the weekend begins. More later from The Bank.

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Also, in your Saturday paper, Jimmy Rollins says he's aiming to be ready to play by next Thursday in Arizona. That would mean he could go home to the Bay Area for Mother's Day weekend and play against the Giants in San Francisco. His mother would like that. And, within the same notebook, there's news that the Phillies have moved lefty Josh Outman to the bullpen at Class AA Reading. They've done the same with Fabio Castro. With only one lefty in the bullpen (J.C. Romero), it's possible Outman and/or Castro could help the Phillies later this season.

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Finally, moving to a new team meant getting a new pair of batting-practice wristbands for Rowand. Finding them, however, wasn't easy. Rowand said he took a $40 cab ride to a mall in Illinois during a recent road trip to St. Louis to find a Spencer's, where he purchased black wristbands with a logo of "The Punisher," a Marvel comics character.