GW’s MLB Power Ratings (Week 18)

Beyond Golf — 12 August 2012 by Jim Street

GW MLB West Power Ratings (Week 18):

1. Rangers (1): A productive $eptember could give Josh Hamilton just what he needs to reach A-Rod territory in terms of future $alarie$.

2. Giants (2): Memories of Barry Bonds at his best have emerged with the second-half exploits of Buster Posey – without the juice rumors, of course.

3. Athletics (3): The undisputed under-the-radar team in the big-leagues this season has visions of chasing one of the two wild-card entries into the playoffs.

4. Dodgers (5): Part-owner Magic Johnson turned his attention away from the Dodgers for a bit to give his expertise on the newest superstar in town, Dwight Howard.

5. Angels (4): In Mike Trout, we could be watching the first Rookie of the Year/Most Valuable Player winner since Ichiro did it with the Mariners in 2001.

6. Diamondbacks (6): Not sure what the defending NL West champs expected from Willie Bloomquist, but doubt it was as much as he has delivered.

7. Padres (8): Much-traveled Jason Marquis has been one of the few feel-good stories for the Pads, who have experienced a mostly-poor campaign.

8. Mariners (7): When the season began, Justin Smoak was supposed to be the middle-of-the-lineup run producer the team needed in the worst way. Never mind.

9. Rockies (9): Three golferswest.com cheers for Todd Helton, who might have played his last game of a Hall of Fame career.

(Last Week’s rating in parenthesis)

About Author

Jim Street

Jim’s 40-year sportswriting career started with the San Jose Mercury-News in 1970 and ended on a full-time basis on October 31, 2010 following a 10-year stint with MLB.com. He grew up in Dorris, Calif., several long drives from the nearest golf course. His first tee shot was a week before being inducted into the Army in 1968. Upon his return from Vietnam, where he was a war correspondent for the 9th Infantry Division, Jim took up golf semi-seriously while working for the Mercury-News and covered numerous tournaments, including the U.S. Open in 1982, when Tom Watson made the shot of his life on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach. Jim also covered several Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournaments, the women’s U.S. Open, and other golfing events in the San Francisco area. He has a 17-handicap, made his first and only hole-in-one on March 12, 2018 at Sand Point Country Club in Seattle and witnessed the first round Ken Griffey Jr. ever played – at Arizona State during Spring Training in 1990. Pebble Beach Golf Links, the Kapalua Plantation Course, Pinehurst No. 2, Spyglass Hill, Winged Foot, Torrey Pines, Medinah, Chambers Bay, North Berwick, Gleneagles and Castle Stuart in Scotland, and numerous gems in Hawaii are among the courses he has had the pleasure of playing. Hitting the ball down the middle of the fairway is not a strong part of Jim’s game, but he is known (in his own mind) as the best putter not on tour. Most of Jim’s writing career was spent covering Major League Baseball, a tenure that started with the Oakland Athletics, who won 101 games in 1971, and ended with the Seattle Mariners, who lost 101 games in 2010. Symmetry is a wonderful thing. He currently lives in Seattle and has an 8-year-old grandson, Andrew, who is the club's current junior champion at his home course (Oakmont CC) in Glendale, Calif.