MLB Power Ratings: Giants climb

Beyond Golf — 14 May 2012 by Jim Street

GW’s MLB Power Ratings (Week 5):

1. Rangers (1): If I was a free-agent-to-be starting pitcher, I would be pro-active and insist that my agent call the Rangers right now and have a little chit-chat with Nolan Ryan.

2. Dodgers (2): Wouldn’t it be something if there are Triple Crown winners in both the National (Matt Kemp) and American (Josh Hamilton) Leagues this season.

3. Giants (5): With Cain on the mound, the Giants finally were able to end their nine-game losing streak to the Diamondbacks.

4. Diamondbacks (3): SS Stephen Drew (broken ankle) has replaced baby steps on his comeback trail with confidence-building, real-life slides on the base paths.

5. Athletics (6): It’s only a matter of days before Manny can start being Manny again and the A’s start counting down the days that he takes center stage in their lineup.

6. Angels: (7): Albert Pujols is on pace to hit, oh, five or six home runs this season, which would calculate to a cool $4 million or so per circuit clout.

7. Rockies (4): Do you think age finally is catching up to veteran-plus Jamie Moyer? Five innings seems to be the max the 49-year-old can go these days.

8. Mariners (8): You can add Bryan LaHair to the long list of ex-Mariners excelling in new surroundings. How nice would it be for skipper Eric Wedge to write “Adam Jones” on his lineup card every day?

9. Padres (9): In the good news department, the Padres get to play their home games in the best overall weather in the Major Leagues. It’s never too hot, never too cold.

(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.