ANGELS NOTEBOOK: FULLMER UPSET ABOUT PAY CUT.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. - Brad Fullmer isn't expecting any sympathy because he had to take a pay cut from $3.75 million to $1 million to return as the Angels' designated hitter.

But the Montclair Prep of Van Nuys product said it's only natural for an employee to expect at least similar compensation after a solid year. Instead, Fullmer is going backward financially after a glut of designated hitters and first basemen hit the market this winter, which is why his salary dropped nearly $3 million despite batting .289 and hitting 19 home runs during a season in which he played mostly against right-handed starters.

``I'm not going to be scraping under the cushions of the couch for change to get by,'' Fullmer said Wednesday, leaning against the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz. ``But it's less the dollars and more the principle of it. You work your way up and do the job, and expect to get paid for it. It (stinks). The only thing I can do is have a good year and hopefully it will be better for me next year.''

Fullmer became a free agent when Angels general manager Bill Stoneman read the market correctly and did not offer Fullmer, who was eligible for arbitration, a contract by Dec. 20. Fullmer could have commanded around $5 million per year in arbitration, but instead was on the open market with left-handed power hitters like Robert Fick, the product of Newbury Park High and Cal State Northridge who accepted a $1 million offer from Atlanta, and David Ortiz ($1.25 million, Boston).

Fullmer said he didn't expect the Angels to offer him arbitration, but also didn't anticipate such a tepid market for his services. Without a better offer, he returned to the defending world champions.

``To say the least, it was a little surprising,'' he said. ``The situation wasn't what I'd hoped for. It's certainly a strange time to be a free agent; I had higher hopes being a free agent, and it didn't work out. But it's good we have everybody back and have a chance to contend. It would've (stunk) to get cut and then have to go to a last-place team.''

--Eckstein has prominent fans: It's hard to find anyone who doesn't appreciate shortstop David Eckstein's hustling style of play. This offseason, he discovered two more significant members of his fan club - Barry Bonds and the president of the United States.

Eckstein, who checked into camp Wednesday, didn't get much rest after the World Series because he embarked on an eight-game tour of Japan with a major-league all-star team. Eckstein didn't soak up much of the Japanese culture, opting for McDonald's over sushi and his hotel room over the nightlife of Tokyo. He did, however, accept congratulations from Bonds, who told him he was a great player.

``That was a high compliment,'' Eckstein said. ``Hearing it from someone like him, as good a player as he is, is definitely a compliment.''

The good times were just beginning. In December, Eckstein was the grand marshall, along with the retiring Tim Raines, of a Christmas parade in his hometown of Sanford, Fla. And on Nov. 25, he and his mother Patricia had dinner at the White House along with major-leaguers Charles Johnson, Todd Helton, Curt Schilling and Boston Red Sox executive Larry Lucchin.

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BRAD FULLMER

Designated hitter took a pay cut of more than $2 million despite batting .289 and hitting 19 home runs last season.