Beyond Golf — 13 May 2013 by Jim Street
GW MLB Power Rankings (Week 7)

GW’s MLB West Power Rankings (Week 7)

1. Rangers (2): As the only team in the Major Leagues without a blown save, the Rangers return to the coveted top-dog spot in GW’s renowned Power Rankings.

2. Giants (1): If there was a “best No. 2 hitter” award in the big leagues, Marco Scuturo would be at, or near, the top of the list of candidates.

3. Diamondbacks (4): When it comes to gunning down potential base-stealers, catcher Miguel Montero is about as good as it gets. Between his quickness and arm, and the way D-Backs pitchers keep runners close, opposing teams are reluctant to even try to steal a base.

4. Rockies (3): The temperature swings in Denver so far this season mirror the difference between surprising success in April and struggles thus far in May.

5. Mariners (6): Lefty starter Joe Saunders is on pace to have a 16-16 record this season, going undefeated at home and winless on the road.

6. Athletics (5): You have to wonder just how long it will be before hard-of-seeing umpire Angel Hernandez and his equally sight-challenged crew will be assigned to work a series in Oakland.

7. Angels (8): If things don’t work out for embattled skipper Mike Scioscia and he receives a pink slip, perhaps he could find instant employment as a Major League umpire. At least he knows the rules, which obviously isn’t the case with some current arbiters.

8. Dodgers (7): The good news in La-La-Land is that right-handed starter Zack Greinke could rejoin the starting rotation as soon as Wednesday. The bad news is that this under-achieving team needs much more than just Zack.

9. Padres (9): It’s always a lousy day when “adopted” kinfolk Huston watches a potential save turn into an instant blown save and loss the way it happened at the Tropicana Dome on Saturday night. Ah, the life of a closer.

10 Astros (10): Perhaps it was only fitting that one-time perfect game pitcher Philip Humber received his pink slip on Mother’s Day – when that is the color of the day throughout our national pastime.

(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis)

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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.

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