ANGELS NOTEBOOK: AS MERCKER RECOVERS, BELCHER LENDS SUPPORT.

Byline: Gordon Verrell Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - It wasn't exactly a ``go get 'em'' that Tim Belcher gave Angels teammate Kent Mercker Saturday night, when Mercker went out to face the New York Yankees just three months after suffering a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage.

``I told him what an enviable position he was in,'' Belcher said before Sunday's game at Edison Field.

``I said to him, `You're in a no-lose situation. It doesn't matter what you do, whether you pitch great or get hammered, people are going to applaud you. Enjoy it. It's the only time in your career that'll happen.' ''

Mercker said he felt fine Sunday, the day after his first big-league start since May 11, saying he can't wait for his next start. If the rotation remains as it is, it'll be Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.

Said Angels manager Mike Scioscia: ``He came out of (the first start) fine. I think in the near future, he'll be pitching much deeper into games. I think his confidence is fine.''

Mercker threw 74 pitches in 3 2/3 innings of a game the Angels eventually won 9-3.

--Quotable: Scioscia, talking about Jose Canseco's home run in the eighth inning Saturday night, which ended up deep into the left-center-field seats:

``Has it come down yet? I heard it hit the guy in the Pluto suit at Disneyland in the back of the neck.''

--Under the Halo: Right fielder Tim Salmon didn't start Sunday because of a strained right groin in Saturday's game but pinch hit in the eighth inning and singled. It was Salmon's first pinch-hit appearance of the season. Salmon is expected to be ready to start Tuesday night's game in Toronto, the start of a nine-game trip that includes stops in New York and Boston. . . . Disabled closer Troy Percival is expected to begin light throwing at midweek. He has been sidelined since Aug. 5 because of tendinitis in his right elbow. . . . The three games with the Yankees drew 129,974, an average of 43,325. But, despite being in the thick of the American League wild-card race, and with an explosive offensive club, the Angels are averaging 25,412, a drop of nearly a quarter-million fans from last year when they finished 22 games under .500. The series with the Yankees did establish an Edison Field (2-year-old) record for a three-game series, topping the 127,446 for the Dodgers in July 1999. . . . The grand slam by Troy Glaus Saturday night was the sixth allowed this season by the Yankees, equaling the second-highest total in club history. The record is eight in 1995. . . . Among rookie managers, and managers in their first season with a new club, the Angels' Scioscia is tied with Cleveland's Charlie Manuel for the most wins, 61. Others: Colorado's Buddy Bell is at 58, Detroit's Phil Garner 55, the Chicago Cubs' Don Baylor 53, Baltimore's Mike Hargrove 51 and Milwaukee's Davey Lopes 48.