Power Rankings: A’s steal trade show

Beyond Golf — 04 August 2014 by Jim Street

The dust has settled following the non-waiver trade deadline and of all the West Coast teams, the American League West Division-leading Athletics made the most headlines, especially trading their cleanup hitter for a starting pitcher.

General manager Billy Beane raised some serious eyebrows sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox for Jon Lester. The deal is somewhat reminiscent of a deal that went terribly sour for the Mariners, who traded Adam Jones, among others, to the Orioles for left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard.

That was the swap that finally got GM Bill Bavasi out of the Mariners’ front office – not a moment too soon.

The Angels improved with the addition of closer Huston Street and the Mariners went up a notch with the acquisition of center fielder Austin Jackson.

The Athletics and Angels have the two best records in the American League as of August 1, making them near shoo-ins for post-season play while the Mariners are in the hunt for one of the two Wild Card playoff positions.

Jackson should help what has been the worst offense in the Majors, but he needs help from the likes of Kendrys Morales, acquired from the Twins several days prior to the trade deadline. He played for Seattle last season and was one of the best run-producers on the team. But he rejected a one-year $14.1 million offer (perhaps on the advice of his agent) and sat out most of the season.

The NL West was, for the most part, quiet. The division-leading Dodgers did nothing and the second-place Giants added right-handed pitcher Jake Peavy, who brought with him a 1-10 record, from the Red Sox. Not a blockbuster.

Now for the GW Power Rankings:

1. Athletics (1): General Manager Billy Beane stole the show during July’s Major League Swap Meet.

2. Dodgers (3): Clayton Kershaw can make room in his trophy case for another Cy Young Award.

3. Angels (2): Closer Huston Street is a virtual lock to notch his first career 40-save season.

4. Mariners (5): Does anyone else think skipper Lloyd McClendon should hit-and-run more often?

5. Giants (4): Run support for Jake Peavy didn’t pick up much after his departure from the Red Sox.

6. Padres: (7): A 20-hit game against the Braves on Friday was the most hits in one game since 1995.

7. Astros (6): One of the most improved MLB teams in 2014 is on an uplifting second-half roll.

8. Diamondbacks (8): A painful season hurts even more with All-Star Paul Goldschmidt out of action.

9. Rockies (9): Hopes are a mile high that Jason Pridie can add some much-needed pride to the team.

10. Rangers (10): No fan of the DH, a bum ankle gives Shin-Soo Choo little choice but to play the role.

(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.