Stoneman Mum on 2nd-Half Plans

Are the Angels good enough to win the American League West? Who knows?

Could they use a little help? Who couldn’t?

General Manager Bill Stoneman, though, stuck to pat answers about whether he would seek help for a possible stretch run before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. The Angels hit the All-Star break with a better-than-expected 47-41 record, five games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners. They are also a possibility for the wild-card playoff spot.

“We are always looking, it’s not just a July thing,” Stoneman said.

Pitching is what most contenders are looking for in July. But pitching depth does not seem to concern Stoneman.

“We’re in a unique position of having a lot of young pitchers and a number of them have done well for us this year,” he said. “We have many of them here and many who are ready to come up here. What I would really like to see, maybe, is for them to continue to go out there and have a strong second half.”

Which makes Stoneman sound more like a general manger looking to unload a veteran pitcher or two.

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Left-hander Scott Schoeneweis, who hasn’t pitched since June 16 because of a strained rib cage muscle, threw a three-inning simulated game, with mixed reviews.

For once, it was the pitcher we seemed more pessimistic about his performance.

“It was all right,” he said after throwing 47 pitches. “It was so-so.”

Manager Mike Scioscia had a different view.

“He was great, as far as what we expected to see from him,” Scioscia said. “It was very encouraging.”

So much so that Schoeneweis is scheduled to make a rehabilitation start for Lake Elsinore on Friday, provided there are no complications from Sunday’s workout.

Scioscia said Schoeneweis will make at least two rehab starts. Whether he rejoins the Angel rotation or makes a third rehab start depends on how quickly Schoeneweis can build up his arm strength.

“I feel fine,” Schoeneweis said. “I’m just tired of being injured.”

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One need the Angels do have is for a player who can hit second in the batting order. Scioscia used four players--Scott Speizio, Benji Gil, Orlando Palmeiro and Kevin Stocker--in the No. 2 spot during the 10-game homestand.

“Until someone goes out and shows the ability to do the job, we’ll go by matchups,” Scioscia said.

Second baseman Adam Kennedy was doing the job, but when his average plummeted, he was dropped in the batting order.

“Adam is a young player and he needs to be a little more disciplined at the plate,” Scioscia said. “He will be a guy who can hit first, second or third.”

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Left-hander Kent Mercker, sidelined since suffering a cerebral hemorrhage May 11, threw in the bullpen for the second time. “This is like the first week of spring training for him,” Scioscia said. “He has a lot more building up to do before he’s ready to pitch in a major league game. He is way ahead of our expectations. After the first day we saw him in the hospital, if you would have told me he might pitch for us two or three months later, I would have said you were crazy. Now it’s a definite possibility.” . . . The Angels will start Ken Hill, Kent Bottenfield and Seth Etherton against the Dodgers in the first three games after the All-Star break. . . . Stocker’s RBI double in the sixth inning ended Colorado pitcher Gabe White’s scoreless-inning streak at 29 1/3 innings, a franchise record.