FRIDAY ANGELS ROUNDUP: Bobby Abreu Likes Being An Angel, Yankees Should Fear The Halos

Up next for Angels: Friday at Toronto Blue Jays -- latimes.com
Sean O'Sullivan vs. Marc Rzepczynski

Lackey hit hard in sixth as Halos fall - angelsbaseball.com
The Angels were on the wrong end of some thunder and lightning on Thursday night, and that was after the rain stopped falling and the skies cleared over Progressive Field.

Angels lose to Cleveland - OCRegister.com
Well, the original 300 didn't exactly sweep the Persians at Thermopylae either. Down to "only" seven .300 hitters in their lineup Thursday — with Gary Matthews Jr. and Jeff Mathis starting — the Angels managed just seven hits and were handed an 11-3 beating by the Cleveland Indians.

Angels-Blue Jays Preview - FOX Sports on MSN
The Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays each have a rookie pitcher making his ninth career start Friday night at Rogers Centre. While Toronto's Marc Rzepczynski has been pitching better than Los Angeles' Sean O'Sullivan, he hasn't had the same luck.

NBC SPORTS & COVERS.COM: Matchups, Odds, and Injuries

Team Reports - CBSSports.com
CF Torii Hunter got Thursday off -- in keeping with manager Mike Scioscia's plan to work him back into the lineup slowly after he missed 32 games with a groin injury. Hunter will not play all three games on the artificial turf in Toronto this weekend, either.

Team Reports II - CBSSports.com
Manager Mike Scioscia said he has "never lobbied and never been lobbied" on behalf of a player when Gold Glove ballots go out to managers and coaches each year. But he clearly thinks the left side of his infield is manned by two worthy candidates: third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar.

Angels pose biggest threat to Yankees - FOX Sports on MSN
We know this about the Angels: They have a great manager, a deep lineup, an admirable organization-wide ethic, and no fear of playing the Yankees once the leaves turn brown. For those reasons, among others, they represent the biggest threat to the Pinstripes this October. To clarify: I'm talking about both leagues.

Hammering Halos: The Top Three L.A. Angels Who Won't Win AL MVP Honors - Bleacher Report
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim suffer from a rare curse. They are just too good.

NBC Sports -  Circling the Bases
Kudos to the Angels and Yankees, who have put together a couple of the most well-rounded lineups of all-time. Or at least it's headed that way. As noted on Baseball-Reference Blog, the Angels could have 10 players with 100 hits. The only other team to do so was the 2004 Tigers.

Morales in midst of breakout season - angelsbaseball.com
"I knew he was going to be this good," Izturis said as rain fell on Progressive Field before Thursday night's series finale against the Indians. "I remember telling you that during Spring Training.

Angels Rumors: Abreu, Reagins, Free Agency: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Some Angels rumors, from around the league

Owlz match franchise mark - angelsbaseball.com
After 31 seasons in professional baseball, including the last 26 in the Angels organization, Orem manager Tom Kotchman still can't figure out how his current team put together a franchise record-tying 14-game winning streak.

The Angels and Pythag - Beyond the Box Score
If you'll head over to Halo's Heaven and search for "Pythag", you'll be greeted with much disdain for the word. The most recent example of that is a FanPost which laments the fact that, once again, the Angels are being called lucky this year.

August 21 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on August 21.
1996 - Derek Jeter hits a home run off Jason Dickson's first ML pitch, but that's all the scoring for the slumping Yankees as the Angels' rookie wins, 7 - 1. Chili Davis has a pair of homers, the first off loser Jimmy Key (9 - 10).