CARRYING A BIG STICK GETTING IT ALL STARTED MORALES' ADDITION TO LINEUP ENERGIZES ANGELS.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

The Angels' offensive revival has Kendry Morales' fingerprints all over it, yet the rookie does not want to be heralded as the savior.

He won't accept being the guy credited with shocking some life into a flatlined club, even though the timeline looks rather suspicious.

Morales is more inclined to look at himself as more of the anchor instead of the sail. Morales might be from Cuba, but he isn't about to put himself out on an island.

``Earlier when I got here, I was doing a better job of driving guys in, I feel,'' Morales said this week through Angels broadcaster Jose Mota, who was serving as translator. ``Right now, I think I've left too many guys on base.

``But overall, I've learned with so many guys who are good here that even if I miss, the other guys can pick me up. That's the one thing that's good about this team because I hear all the time about guys picking each other up.''

Until Morales arrived, though, it was as if everybody was down for the count. Desperate for somebody who could at least make productive outs, the Angels made yet another call to Triple-A Salt Lake and summoned Morales, who was a prodigy in his home country.

Since Morales' arrival May 23, when the Angels were in Texas, the team has averaged 6.5 runs per game. Before the switch-hitter was given a regular spot in the lineup, the Angels were scoring 4.1runs per game.

It's not as if Morales has just come in and overpowered American League pitching, although he did hit a home run in his second major-league at-bat and had at least one hit in his first five games.

Morales is batting .279 with three home runs (including one Wednesday) and 11 RBIs. But his placement in the middle of the order -- just after mainstays Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson -- has caused somewhat of a chain reaction.

``It's not just one guy, looking at his production, but sometimes when you can add depth to your lineup it helps everybody in that mix,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``In think that Kendry came in and started swinging the bat well. I think that's helped Garret, I think it's help Vlad, I think it's helped Timmy (Salmon).''

It also has helped that another rookie, Mike Napoli, is doing the same thing for the bottom of the order.

But it is Morales who is accomplishing some heady stuff by batting behind some proven run producers. On the flight to join his new team, Morales did the math and calculated that pushing himself could lead to a modest impact that might equal abundant momentum.

``Maximum effort -- that's what I was thinking when I got here,'' Morales said. ``This is the big leagues. I knew the competition was going to be hard but I knew what the team was going through before. I knew that if I made an early impact, at least to contribute and mix in with the guys, it was going to make a difference.''

Back home in Cuba, the country it took Morales eight attempts to successfully flee, friends and family get word of his recent accomplishments and are flush with pride. They track his efforts through Internet reports, and a few have even caught glimpses of games on television.

``They are in tune to what I've done so far,'' he said.

The person Morales would like to share his accomplishments with most, however, no longer is around. Morales' father Rafael, a former catcher in Cuba, died 14years ago of intestinal cancer but had already set his son on a course for baseball success.

``It's such a great satisfaction because he almost pushed baseball as an obligation for me, as a job,'' Morales said. ``I do feel like I'm actually complimenting him for everything he wanted me to do, which is to do my job. That happens to be baseball, which he loved.''

The leaps Morales has made this year have been remarkable. The Angels never questioned Morales' bat, but they wondered about his glove. First base, it was reasoned, would be his quickest route to the major leagues, but this spring his play there was stiff, at best.

Less than two months into the Triple-A season, Morales was transformed.

``He's a young player and there are things he's getting acclimated with at the first-base position, let alone trying to do it at the major leagues,'' Scioscia said. ``But he's been terrific and that's part of the reason why we had the confidence to play him. In Triple-A he was very comfortable around the bag. That has been a pleasant surprise because when he began spring training you could see he needed a lot of work around there and he's worked hard.''

His father would be proud.

``This is what he wanted for me,'' Morales said. ``I do feel bad he can't see me play, but at the same time I think there is an understanding that I am doing something he always wanted me to do and that really fills my heart with a lot of love and a lot of appreciation for what he did for me.''

doug.padilla(at)sgvn.com

[phone], Ext. 2731

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Since Kendry Morales joined the Angels on May 23, the team is averaging more than two additional runs per game.

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ANGELS vs. SEATTLE

- Doug Padilla