Halos Heaven

Angels call up outfield prospect Peter Bourjos - latimes.com
Though Juan Rivera had the team's top batting average (.319) in July and drove in four runs in Friday night's win over Texas, the Angels have been unhappy with his sluggish play in left field. In anticipation of a possible switch, the Angels moved Bourjos, a 10th-round pick in 2005, from center field to left field at Salt Lake last week.

Two things need to happen; 1) Bourjos needs to play, and 2) he needs to continue his hot hitting.

Angels-Orioles Preview -  FOX Sports on MSN
Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie (4-11, 4.23) looks for another solid start in the series opener. He is 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA in three outings since the All-Star break after giving up one run and six hits over seven innings of Wednesday's 5-0 loss at Toronto. Guthrie is 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA in five starts against Los Angeles, which will counter with Trevor Bell (1-2, 6.46). Making his first start since Aug. 28, the right-hander was tagged for four runs and eight hits in 3 1-3 innings of a 6-4 loss at Texas on July 25. Bell was sent to Triple-A Salt Lake following that start but was called up Friday when he threw one inning of scoreless relief in a 9-7 win over Texas. This will be the first time Bell faces Baltimore.

The Angels need to "beat up" on the weaker teams in the A.L., starting with the Orioles, if they have any chance of getting back into the division race.  (Obvious guy is obvious)

What deadline? Deals will still happen in August -  FOX Sports on MSN
Indeed, trades — big, memorable, seasons-altering trades — can still unfold even though the waiver period has begun. Players acquired by Aug. 31 are eligible for postseason rosters, and that means contenders are still looking to shore up their hopes, even though the calendar has flipped. The only wrinkle is that players must first pass through revocable waivers before being dealt.Just last season, we saw 27 trades or waiver claims within the month of August — moves that involved notables such as Billy Wagner, Scott Kazmir, Jon Rauch, Carl Pavano, Jim Thome, Alex Rios, Ivan Rodriguez, Jon Garland and Jose Contreras. So history suggests the trading game in 2010 is far from over.

How the waiver wire works - SFGate - The Splash
First of all, just about every player in the majors will be put through waivers this month, so if you see a story or item that says, "The Cardinals have placed Albert Pujols on waivers," don't have a coronary. (Thanks Sam Miller)

Ozzie Guillen: Asian players treated better than Latinos -  FOX Sports on MSN
Guillen said it's unfair that Japanese players are assigned translators when they come to the U.S. to play pro ball, but Latinos are not.

I think Ozzie missed the fact that most translators are hired as part of the players' contract.  Many Latino players don't feel the need to have that negotiated into their contract as there are many players/coaches who speak their language.

What’s In Store for the Texas Rangers Auction - FanGraphs Baseball
A bit of history will be made on Weds. when the Texas Rangers will be put up for auction, with its outcome determined at a hearing on Thurs. To place this in perspective, the last time an MLB club was auctioned out of bankruptcy was the Baltimore Orioles in 1993. Here’s some key information to know leading up to the auction

Very informative article about the upcoming Ranger auction.  It's going to get very interesting if someone, such as Mark Cuban, wins the bidding and MLB doesn't approve of the new owner.

David Eckstein's wife creates a Star Wars clothing business - ESPN
The wife of San Diego Padres infielder David Eckstein, Ashley also is the voice of Ahsoka Tano on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and the founder of Her Universe, a company that makes Star Wars-themed clothing for women.

Does she make a "Princess Lay-me" outfit?

Yikes:

August 3 - BR Bullpen
1914 - Yankee catcher Les Nunamaker throws out three Tigers trying to steal second base. It will be the only time a backstop has accomplished the feat in a single inning this century.
1957 - Listening to the radio, Pirates manager Bobby Bragan hears he has been fired and replaced by Danny Murtaugh.  That'll teach ya, watch more television!
1967 - Manager Alvin Dark is fired and outfielder Ken Harrelson is released by A's owner Charlie Finley due to reports of rowdy behavior on a team flight.  HE GONE!
1982 - At California, Doug DeCinces cracks homers in his first three at bats, but the Angels still lose to the Twins, 5 - 4.  Figures.
1983 - Nolan Ryan pitches his 9th career one-hitter, striking out 10 Padres on the way to a 1 - 0 victory.
1987 - The Twins' Joe Niekro is caught with a file on the mound and is ejected during the 4th inning of Minnesota's 11 - 3 win over California. He will be suspended for 10 games by American League president Bobby Brown, who doesn't buy Niekro's story that he had been filing his nails on the bench and stuck the file in his back pocket when the inning started.  I remember this because of how funny Niekro is when he pulls his hand from his pocket and kind of tosses the files away (only to be seen by the umpire)
2001 - A jury orders Anheuser-Busch to pay the family of the late Roger Maris $50 million for improperly taking away a beer distributorship. Both sides plan to appeal the ruling, as attorneys for the Maris family said the panel meant to award the family $139 million, but were confused by the judge's instructions to the jury.   "We would have awarded you more money, but we're stupid."  The Maris family then sued the jury for $139 million.
2002 -  Darin Erstad agrees to a four-year contract extension worth $32 million to stay in Anaheim through 2006. The Angels' center fielder joins Troy Glaus, Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon as one of the key players the organization has signed at least through the 2004 season.
Happy b-day:
1976 - Troy Glaus, infielder; All-Star