Here is how Mark Rippetoe feels about replacing cleans with rows in a nutshell:
My opinion about barbell rows is as follows: fuck barbell rows. Really. Fuck them. Stop wasting time worrying about barbell rows and get your deadlift up to 500. By then you'll have your own opinion and you won't have to worry about mine.
Powercleans are taught before rows and pull-ups are taught before rows and Rip has demonstrated as much in the gym. Rippetoe doesn't even teach rows to novices. The rows were a change made by kethnaab because the original workout in SS had power cleans and he felt that power cleans were too difficult to be learned without a coach.
But with some of the new resources available (documentation, instructional videos and interactive video critiques), the power clean is definitely within reach of the novice trainee.
But even if for some reason the power cleans cannot be done, rows are harder to learn than chin ups. For a novice, the easier exercise is preferred. Also, chin ups are way more of an arm exercise than rows and everyone wants bigger arms. Believe it or not, shoulder width chin ups with a supine (palms facing you) grip work both biceps and triceps. But, the power clean is, without question, the preferred alternative for complete novice and pull-ups/chin-ups are the next best choice and both can be done in the same program.
So ideally, do the Power cleans, or both power cleans and chins, but if for some reason you can't (won't) do power cleans, the Practical Programming Novice Program leaves them out completely.
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Program