Pressler Backs Stoneman, Scioscia

As the Angels tumble to the worst start in club history behind the largest payroll in club history, the team’s chief executive said Wednesday he stands behind General Manager Bill Stoneman and Manager Mike Scioscia.

“We’ve got the same belief in this talent that we had in spring training,” said Paul Pressler, who oversees the Angels and Mighty Ducks for Disney. “What it’s going to take to tweak it, that’s Bill’s job and Mike’s job. I’m not second-guessing at this point.”

Neither Stoneman nor Scioscia is in the final season of his contract. Pressler last year approved an extension for Scioscia through 2005. The contract of Stoneman, hired by former club president Tony Tavares, extends through next year.

Pressler last week fired Pierre Gauthier, the Ducks’ president and general manager. Under Gauthier, the Ducks finished in last place in their division in each of the past three seasons, and even then Pressler said the decision to fire Gauthier “was a tough one.”

Pressler said he could not imagine evaluating Stoneman or Scioscia before season’s end.

Teams with high expectations and poor results often fire the manager, but infielder Scott Spiezio said he believed such a move would serve no purpose for the Angels.

“I would not think that would help,” he said. “It’s not his fault that we’re losing. It’s the players’ fault.

“I know how the game is nowadays, and that’s usually the first thing people change. In some cases, that might be OK. In this case, it’s not the way to go.”

The Angels assumed they had filled their vacancy at designated hitter when they traded for Brad Fullmer. Sixteen players started at least one game at DH last year, sometimes batting ninth. The DH line: a .212 average and eight home runs.

The DH line through 20 games this year: .174, with no homers. Fullmer is batting .183 with two runs batted in; Scioscia benched him Wednesday.

“I think he works hard almost to a fault,” Scioscia said. “I think he maybe needs to work a little smarter on things instead of just going out and pounding some more.”

The Angels considered Fullmer an everyday hitter despite his .202 average against left-handers last season.

The Angels, once content to wait for the injured Shawn Wooten to return in another month or two, are actively searching for a right-handed bat. They have discussed several players, including Wil Cordero, designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians, and Shane Spencer of the New York Yankees. Cordero batted just 18 times for Cleveland this season.

Still, Cordero’s 1997 guilty plea on four felony counts of spousal abuse makes him an unlikely Disney employee, and the New York Post reported the Yankees are not interested in trading Spencer to the Angels for Orlando Palmeiro.

Five days after suffering a mild concussion, outfielder Darin Erstad was cleared Wednesday to resume workouts. If he remains free of headaches, Scioscia said, Erstad could return to the lineup Sunday or Tuesday.