Angels Pass on Stoneman

The Angels have resumed their search for a general manager after serious problems arose in the negotiations that club executives believed would arrive at the hiring of Montreal executive Bill Stoneman.

Instead, former New York Yankee general manager Bob Watson will interview for a third time, on Tuesday at Disney’s corporate headquarters in Burbank, possibly with Disney chairman Michael Eisner. The club is also expected to contact other candidates.

The fall of Stoneman was left unexplained by the club Friday night, though several baseball officials believed talks broke down because of financial considerations. Former general manager Bill Bavasi and former manager Terry Collins were among baseball’s lowest-paid at their positions.

It would not be the first time a prospective Disney employee felt undersold.

In the summer of 1998, the Mighty Ducks offered their coaching vacancy to Butch Goring, then with the minor-league Utah Grizzlies. Goring not only considered Disney’s financial offer too low, but was only too pleased to spread the word.

Stoneman was so sure the job was his that he had began contacting baseball personnel to assemble a staff. However, after meeting with high-level Disney officials in New York on Thursday, a meeting one candidate presumed was for the benefit of Eisner, Stoneman returned to his home in suburban Montreal.

A reservation in his name at an Anaheim hotel was canceled, and an announcement many club officials expected Friday was not made, though team officials did not completely rule out revisiting Stoneman’s candidacy.

The Angels hoped to have Stoneman hired before the World Series, which begins tonight in Atlanta, so they could begin their search for a manager. The delay might have damaged their chance to hire Atlanta hitting instructor Don Baylor, who is believed to be close to an agreement with the Chicago Cubs.

Major league baseball prefers that such high-profile personnel announcements not be made during the Series, though it makes exceptions. The Seattle Mariners were granted permission to present their next general manager during the Series, if necessary, though Commissioner Bud Selig asked that they do it on an off day, Monday or Friday.

As of Friday night, the Angels had not contacted Selig’s office with such a request, according to two league officials.

If not the money, the reason for the sudden change of heart regarding Stoneman was unclear.

It is possible that Disney’s baseball people, notably Angel president Tony Tavares, simply were overruled by higher Disney authorities, Eisner among them.

Then too, Stoneman has two years remaining on a contract he signed last October, and Montreal already is in danger of losing General Manager Jim Beattie to the Mariners. The departure of Stoneman and Beattie in the same off-season would be devastating to the Expos, who could undergo an ownership change as well.

Also, Stoneman’s wife, Diane, is a French-Canadian with deep ties to Montreal.

Reached at his home in Quebec, Stoneman was typically tight-lipped when asked what could have fouled his candidacy in the 11th hour.

“All I can say,” Stoneman said, “is I’m with the Expos right now.”

Asked if he knew why he was in Montreal and not at an introductory news conference in Anaheim, Stoneman paused and said, “I’m not sure. I assume they haven’t made a decision.”

An Expo employee for 17 years, most recently as vice president for baseball operations, Stoneman was on the verge of stepping out of the shadows and into his first permanent job as general manager.

A former Angel pitcher who grew up in West Covina, Stoneman’s low-key style and business acumen had put him ahead of Watson, New York Met assistant general managers Omar Minaya and Jim Duquette and Houston assistant general manager Tim Purpura in a search that began Oct. 1 with Bavasi’s resignation.

His hiring was imminent, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, then, suddenly, his candidacy appeared over.

“These are searches conducted by the employer,” Stoneman said somberly. “I think they’re entitled to their privacy and entitled to conduct their searches without comment on it.”

“I can’t comment on prospective candidates,” Angel official Tim Mead said in the club’s only statement. “The process continues. There’s not a definitive time frame.”