WEDNESDAY ANGELS ROUNDUP: Kendry Morales Getting MVP Talk, Scott Kazmir Starts Angel Career, Wonder Dog's B-Day

Up next for Angels: Wednesday at Seattle -- latimes.com
Scott Kazmir vs. Felix Hernandez.

Failure to execute is costly for the Angels -- latimes.com
The Angels have been pounding so many opponents into submission, clubbing 105 home runs in their previous 72 games, that they haven't had to resort much to the little-ball attack that was such a prominent part of their offense in recent years.

Mariners 2, Angels 1 - nbcsports.msnbc.com
When Beltre batted for the first time, after a hard ground ball severely bruised his testicle last month, the stadium public address system had a replacement for Beltre's usual walk-up music: the theme from "The Nutcracker."

Kazmir opposes Felix in Halos debut - angelsbaseball.com
Two nights before his Angels debut, Scott Kazmir went to school, studying intently every move new teammate Joe Saunders made in shutting out the Mariners for seven innings at Safeco Field.

Team Reports - MLB at CBSSports.com
2B Maicer Izturis, partially screened by the second-base umpire, misplayed Adrian Beltre's fourth-inning groundball for an error Tuesday. It was Izturis' first error since June 25, a stretch of 43 errorless games. He has made only four errors in 72 starts at second base and shortstop this season.

Team Reports - MLB at CBSSports.com
Infielder Sean Rodriguez was announced as the player to be named in the deal, joining Double-A left-hander Alex Torres and Class A infielder Matt Sweeney in going from the Angels to the Rays. Rodriguez has spent time with the Angels in each of the last two seasons. This year, he was batting .299 with 29 home runs (second in the PCL) and 93 RBIs in 103 games at Triple-A Salt Lake.

The Hot Stone League - Kendry Morales: Stealth MVP candidate - Seattle Times Newspaper
Here's Player A, a first baseman:
127 games, 501 at-bats, 81 runs, 142 hits, 35 doubles, 0 triples, 32 homers, 101 RBIs, 71 walks, 90 strikeouts, .283 average, .380 on-base percentage, .545 slugging percentage, .925 OPS, 140 OPS-plus.

Here's Player B, also a first baseman:
122 games, 458 at-bats, 72 runs, 144 hits, 36 doubles, 2 triples, 30 homers, 94 RBIs, 35 walks, 85 strikeouts, .314 average, .359 on-base percentage, .598 slugging percentage, .957 OPS, 142 OPS-plus.

Angels slugger Morales could be hitting his way to AL MVP candidacy - LA Daily News
"If you look at the numbers, there's no question that he's as much an MVP candidate as anyone," Scioscia said before Tuesday's game.

Angels' Kendry Morales making a bid to be MVP -- latimes.com
With 30 home runs and 94 RBIs, the first baseman is on a par with Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, says Manager Mike Scioscia.

It's All-Opinions day - Angels Unplugged - Los Angeles Times
Personally, I'm not so sure Morales shouldn't be batting cleanup, with Vladimir Guerrero hitting fifth. Right now, Morales is the more dangerous hitter night in and night out . . .

Angels have hit, miss on late-season deals - OCRegister.com
Kazmir, acquired from Tampa Bay in time to be eligible for the playoffs, will make his first start for the Angels today in Seattle. And if he goes on to win one playoff game, he'll tie Tommy John for most postseason victories by an Angels pitcher acquired in late July or late August of any year.

MLB Network to broadcast "Pennant Race" series of national game broadcasts in September - MLB.com
MLB Network will nationally broadcast an additional series of "Pennant Race" games in September featuring teams in contention for the MLB Postseason, as announced today by Major League Baseball. The games will be in addition to MLB Network's schedule of Thursday Afternoon Baseball, Thursday Night Baseball and Saturday Night Baseball, and will be determined each week based on the standings and playoff implications at the time.

LA fires hit home for Angels' Bell - angelsbaseball.com
"La Crescenta is evacuated now. My friends are in Glendale. My parents live in Shadow Hills, below Foothill. I was staying there on Sunday, and when I left [for Angel Stadium] that morning, I had my lights on. That's probably why I'm sick now."

Into the next dimension with HIT f/x
Warren Spahn once said: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." And for all that PITCHf/x has told us about who has the nastiest pitches and what locations hitters feast off of, it has had very little to say about such a critical aspect of the hitter-pitcher duel as timing. As a result, while PITCHf/x can easily tell where in the strike zone batters are succeeding or struggling to make solid contact, for the most part why that is the case is just guesswork.

In Baseball, Friendship or Betrayal Inside the Lines? - NYTimes.com
A series of events on the field led several players to believe that the star shortstop Miguel Tejada had been helping friends on opposing teams by tipping off pitches and by allowing balls they hit to get past him occasionally during games with lopsided scores.

Toy plane takes off at Dodger Stadium - MLB.com
"That was tight -- I liked that," Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp said. "That stayed in the air for a cool two or three minutes."

September 2 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on September 2.
1968 - In the last PCL game played in Seattle, WA, Jim Bouton of the Seattle Angels (a combined PCL team of the Pilots and California Angels) tops Spokane, 4 - 1.
1960 - Rex Hudler, infielder