BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Strike Would Come as No Surprise

The Angels still are awaiting the official word, but they conceded Thursday that they are bracing themselves for a players’ strike in September, prematurely ending their season.

“I’ve told everyone to prepare for the strike,” said Mark Langston, Angel player representative, “because it’s a real possibility. Obviously, we hope it can be worked out, but I can’t say right now that it looks good. The longer this goes on, the more pressure there is on the situation.

“When the (Basic Agreement) was reopened, the owners told us it was to reopen negotiations. Well, it’s been nine months, and there has been no negotiations yet. We’ll have no choice but to strike if there are no negotiations.”

Said Torey Lovullo, assistant player representative: “I really didn’t think anything would happen, but the way everyone’s talking now, it sounds inevitable.”

If there indeed is a strike, the prevailing theory is that it will occur Sept. 16, one day after the season’s second-to-last payday.

“Around the 15th would be my guess,” said Whitey Herzog, Angel vice president. “That way, they get all but two weeks pay. They wouldn’t want to wait until the playoffs actually are ready to start because then you’ve just got four teams and a 100 players involved. They’ll want everybody to share in this thing.

“What you may wind up with is the World Series being played next spring.”

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Angel Manager Buck Rodgers is hesitant to say rookie Eduardo Perez will be the heir apparent to the third-base job for 1994, but Perez’s play has stopped any thoughts of acquiring a third baseman this winter.

Perez entered Thursday’s play batting .278 with two homers and 10 runs batted in, and has been a pleasant surprise with his defensive play.

“It’s too early to say the job is his,” Rodgers said, “because of what happened to J.T. (Snow). I thought J.T. would be unflappable and that he could handle any situation, and I was wrong about that kid.

“But if (Perez) continues to make improvements, he has an excellent chance to be an excellent third baseman.”

Snow went three for four with two doubles Wednesday night at triple-A Vancouver, raising his batting average to .269.