GW’s MLB Power Rankings (week 19)

Beyond Golf — 04 August 2013 by Jim Street

GW’s MLB West Power Rankings (Week 19)

1. Dodgers (2): A franchise-record 14-game road winning streak is reason enough for elevate the Dodgers to the top of the GW Power Rankings list for the first time in GW Power Rankings history (almost two years). Well done, Dodgers.

2. Athletics (1): Who could blame catcher John Jaso if he asked for a position change. Jaso, who caught Felix Hernandez’s perfect game nearly one year ago (August 15) is on the 15-day DL with concussion signs after getting hit in the mask three times in a four-game stretch.

3. Rangers (4): The eyes of Texas are fixed on outfielder Nelson Cruz, who could be suspended for the remainder on the season on Monday for his rumored connection to Biogenesis. A leg injury
aggravated on Saturday night just might have given Cruz a head-start on his unscheduled hiatus.

A really bad word throughout baseball

4. Diamondbacks (3): Sipp rhymes with ship, which is what happened to lefty reliever Tony Sipp. He was designated for assignment, perhaps just a paper move, to send him to Triple-A Reno – provided he doesn’t get claimed on waivers.

5. Angels (7): If the two teams ahead of them cool off big-time, the Angels are counting on a hot streak of their own to reverse what happened to them in 1995, when the Mariners overcame a 12 ½ game deficit in August to wrestle the AL West title from the team then known as the California Angels.

6. Mariners (5): There might not be another team in the big-leagues that can match the Mariners’ way of turning on their fan base one week with exciting, winning baseball, and then follow it up with a steady dose of head-scratching losses.

7. Rockies (6): As the season slips into oblivion yet again, Rockies fans are hoping that 23-year-old Kyle Parker, the first-round draft choice in 2010, is the real deal. But it appears that the slugger – and his fans – must wait until next season at the earliest.

8. Giants (9): Kudos to Madison Bumgarner for getting his name mentioned in the same sentence as Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry – pitching at least seven innings without allowing more than three runs. Madison is at nine straight and with one more, will match Perry’s club record, set in 1969.

9. Padres (8): It’s a pretty sad statement when any team must make a roster move predicated on a key player being sent to the sidelines for the remainder of the season because of a scandal. But the Padres find themselves in that predicament with All-Star shortstop Everth Cabrera likely getting caught in the Biogenesis mess. Well-traveled veteran Ronny Cedeno is now a Padre.

10. Astros (10): On a day one Cris Carter was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, another Chris Carter was trying to figure out how to conquer a hitting slump that had reached 3-for-38 as of Saturday night. Yikes.

(Last week’s ranking 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.