DODGERS UPDATE: BLACK TURNS DOWN DODGERS' OVERTURE.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

The list of potential Dodgers managerial candidates decreased by one Tuesday when Angels pitching coach Bud Black removed himself from any consideration for the job.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti spoke informally with Angels counterpart Bill Stoneman to gauge Black's interest in the job, but the talks never reached the formal stages after Black told Stoneman he wasn't interested.

``Bud expressed those sentiments through (Stoneman),'' Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said.

Black has turned down managerial overtures from other teams in the past, and in each case cited family considerations for his lack of interest.

Colletti informally contacted two other teams to determine the interest of two more candidates, but had not heard back from either team before leaving for the Bay Area on Tuesday.

The frontrunner for the job remains Atlanta special assistant Jim Fregosi, who has 15 years of managerial experience with four clubs over his career.

The 63-year-old Fregosi, who guided Philadelphia to the 1993 World Series, was a special assistant to the general manager in San Francisco when Colletti worked with the Giants.

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com