Angels

Trying to add an impact bat before last year's trade deadline, the Los Angeles Angels called the Orioles and started negotiating a trade that they hoped would land Miguel Tejada. But Tejada didn't want to move from shortstop to third base for the Angels and Orioles owner Peter Angelos didn't want to trade his franchise player, so the talks stalled. The Angels still haven't found that dynamic offensive player to protect superstar Vladimir Guerrero in a lineup that has been one of the least productive in the American League this season.

Today, @Royals 8:10 p.m., MASN2 Tomorrow, @Royals 8:10 p.m., MASN2 Thursday, @Angels 10:05 p.m., MASN2 Friday, @Angels 10:05 p.m., MASN2 Saturday, @Angels 9:05 p.m., MASN2 [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

Today, Angels 7:05 p.m., MASN2 Tomorrow, Angels 7:05 p.m., MASN Sunday, Angels 1:35 p.m., MASN Monday, @White Sox 8:11 p.m., MASN2 Tuesday, @White Sox 8:11 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN2 [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

Orioles pitcher Scott Erickson was matched against the right team last night, but in the wrong place. Something had to give.As it turned out, the floor caved under closer Mike Timlin.Brought in to protect a one-run lead in the ninth, Timlin allowed a two-out double to No. 9 hitter Andy Sheets that scored two, handing the Anaheim Angels a 5-4 victory over the Orioles before 38,557.Winless at Camden Yards since last September, Erickson appeared to end the hex by retiring 15 of the last 16 batters he faced.

The Anaheim Angels may be living under a 38-year curse -- the circumstances of the early months of the 1999 season certainly point in that direction -- but there is another way to look at the rash of injuries that kept them from getting out of the gate in the American League West.They are a sleeping giant.The New York Yankees might have to agree. The Angels just swept a three-game series at Yankee Stadium for the first time in 15 years, and did it with a combination of solid pitching and timely hitting.

Quote: "It's nice to get great wood on the ball and see it go out, but I guarantee you I won't be among the home run hitters all year." -- Troy O'Leary of the Red Sox after hitting his sixth.It's a fact: Yesterday's crowd of 11,264 ended a string of three straight games under 10,000 fans at Comiskey Park.Who's hot: Tim Salmon is 9-for-12 (.750) with four homers, three doubles and 14 RBIs in the Angels' three afternoon games.Who's not: Angels shortstop Andy Sheets is in a 1-for-21 slump and has made six errors.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Obviously, Anaheim Angels general manager Bill Bavasi is a student of the great 19th century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.Disraeli is often credited for the famous indictment of statistical analysis, proclaiming that there are three kinds of lies -- "lies, damn lies and statistics." It was Bavasi who ignored the numbers on Wednesday and designated first baseman/designated hitter Cecil Fielder for assignment.Strange but true: Fielder was tied for the club lead with 68 RBIs, but the Angels had to move someone off the roster to make room for the return of catcher Todd Greene.

With little hope of pushing their season beyond September, the Orioles have been reduced to playing the role of spoilers. Last night, at least, it was a comfortable fit.Beginning their final homestand of the year, the Orioles got a combined seven RBIs from Eric Davis and Rafael Palmeiro, including back-to-back homers in the third inning that erased a three-run deficit and pinned an 8-3 loss on the Anaheim Angels before 46,832 at Camden Yards.Davis' blast, his 27th, came with two runners aboard and the count full to tie the score at 3. Palmeiro followed one pitch later with his 42nd, pulling another split-fingered fastball from Chuck Finley to the back of the flag court in right and ending his homerless streak at 11 games.

LOS ANGELES -- The first battle of the media giants went to Disney. The Anaheim Angels won three out of four games against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers last week and punctured -- perhaps forever -- the aura of Dodger Blue superiority that had prevailed over their long-standing regional rivalry.But it was not the outcome of the four-game home-and-home series that changed the way Southern California baseball fans look at the two franchises. That was just the punctuation mark. It was the way that Fox Sports, in just a matter of days, transformed the Dodgers from baseball royalty into back page curiosity.

Angels: Anaheim is 2-2 on its 10-game road trip.Pub Date: 8/11/98

Aubrey Huff, the Orioles' cleanup hitter over the last season and a half, had already cleaned out his locker and packed his bags after his trade to the Detroit Tigers when Vladimir Guerrero gave the latest demonstration on the importance of having a slugger in the middle of the lineup. Guerrero slammed two home runs and drove in five runs and the Los Angeles Angels scored all their runs via four long balls in an 8-5 victory over the Orioles in front of an announced 18,460 on Monday night at Camden Yards.

Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz has two reasons to be excited about his start today. It's the first time the club's 2008 first-round pick will pitch at Camden Yards. And he'll be facing the Los Angeles Angels, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2005. "Being my first start at home means a lot to me. And for it to be the Angels, that once drafted me back in high school, yeah, that means a lot to me, too," said Matusz, who will be making his third big league start in his first professional season.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - -The Orioles officially hit the midpoint of the 2009 season Saturday night with a defeat that could serve as a microcosm of a first half filled with frustrating losses. There was the blown four-run lead, the failure of a rookie starter to get deep into the game and a slew of defensive miscues that simply cannot happen for a team expecting to win anywhere, nevermind in the home ballpark of one of baseball's better teams. Orioles veteran second baseman Brian Roberts contributed to the Los Angeles Angels' three-run fifth inning with a key error.

Once again the popular preseason pick to win the American League West, Los Angeles has jumped ahead in the division with one of the best hitting lineups in the majors. The Angels are led by infielder Chone Figgins, who is in the top 10 in batting average and multi-hit games, and outfielder Torii Hunter, who is having another All-Star year with the glove and bat. The Angels' pitching has been disappointing - the staff has the third-worst ERA in the American League. The Orioles will catch a break as Los Angeles' hottest pitcher, Jered Weaver, isn't scheduled to start in the series.

They had been planning the trip for a couple of months now, since they saw the Los Angeles Angels' schedule. On Tuesday, April 28, Nick was supposed to come home. Ask anyone around Williamsport and Hagerstown: They had been gearing up for the hour-plus drive to Baltimore for months now. "That was the plan," said Jereme Leazier, 24, a former classmate of Nick Adenhart's at Williamsport High. "We were always going to be here, even if it wasn't his night to pitch." Sitting in the stands at Camden Yards on Tuesday night, Leazier was one of many fans wearing an Adenhart T-shirt.

WILLIAMSPORT -Catching his breath every few moments, Jim Adenhart explained to the hushed crowd that the greatest day of his life was when his 9-pound, 3-ounce baby boy was born. Then, in detail, he relayed his final conversation with his son last week, after Nick Adenhart had pitched the greatest game of his brief major league career. Father and son were in a hotel together in Southern California when the Los Angeles Angels rookie right-hander, 22, asked his father whether it was OK if he went out with friends for a little while to celebrate.

This shouldn't happen to anyone. But if a talented, 22-year-old pitcher was going to get killed hours after a brilliant performance, it figured it would be someone who played for the Los Angeles Angels. For a franchise only now entering middle age, the Angels - no matter their name - have endured more than their share of tragedy. From the murder of outfielder Lyman Bostock in Gary, Ind., in 1978 to the 1993 bus crash that left manager Buck Rodgers hospitalized for three months, they've weathered some awful storms.

Even as a youth, Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart stood out among his peers. David Warrenfeltz, who grew up with Adenhart outside Hagerstown and was his catcher at Williamsport High, knew him from the time they were 6 or 7 years old. "From a very young age, he was the best," said Warrenfeltz, who is a senior catcher at UMBC. "In Washington County, from the time he was 9 or 10, everybody knew who he was. "The hardest part about this is that he was the kind of guy you always wanted around.

The Los Angeles Angels, one of the most aggressive suitors for Miguel Tejada in the past couple of years, still are looking for a bat, and now they have a vacancy at shortstop with yesterday's trade of Orlando Cabrera to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Jon Garland. An industry source said yesterday that the Orioles and Angels have not had any significant discussions recently about Tejada, who is expected to be traded this offseason. However, another league source said the Angels would be interested in Tejada to potentially play third base if the club can't make a trade for Florida Marlins slugger Miguel Cabrera.

Not ready The Orioles were on the field for the first inning, but it didn't appear that their heads were in the game. They committed two errors and allowed a runner to reach second on a single to center field as part of the Los Angeles Angels' five-run inning that effectively decided the outcome before the Orioles came to bat. Daniel Cabrera didn't get much support, but he also won't get much sympathy after allowing three hits, including Garret Anderson's...