BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Perez Says He’s Unhappy in Vancouver

Third baseman Eduardo Perez figured he would be back to the big leagues within two weeks. He didn’t even bother to get an apartment in Vancouver, figuring it was senseless to get a lease.

Well, two weeks have turned into three, which have turned into a month, which has now turned into seven weeks since he was optioned on June 3.

Perez, batting .299 with one homer and 15 RBIs, remains at Vancouver, where he will probably stay until September, in no small part because of the play of veteran Spike Owen.

It has left Perez frustrated, agent Brian Goldberg bitter, and the Angels wondering what the problem is.

“At this point, neither Eduardo or I feel comfortable that what the Angel front office is telling us is 100% the truth,” Goldberg said, “because of what they’ve said in the past. It has become very, very confusing.

“I hate to be the griping agent, but I have to be honest about it. I don’t know who to believe, and what to believe from that front office. If they don’t like what I’m saying, they should be more honest, or we wouldn’t feel this way.”

Goldberg’s primary complaint is that Perez says he was told that he was going to the minors for a few weeks. Yet, Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi vehemently denied that anyone told Perez that, saying instead that Perez would come up only when he was ready.

“There was no timetable,” Bavasi said. “Nothing was ever said about two weeks. I’m sure he’s frustrated. Nobody likes staying in the minor leagues, but I can tell you that I’ve been very honest and very fair.”

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Right fielder Tim Salmon probably will be out of the starting lineup until at least Tuesday because of his strained right hamstring. He tested the hamstring for the first time while jogging before Friday night’s game and was in more pain than he expected.

“I sure thought it would be further along than this,” Salmon said. “It feels like I have a pulled hamstring. I know I have to be careful, or else I could be done for six weeks.

“It’s frustrating, but the thing that is helping is that we’re playing pretty well offensively. I feel like I’m being missed, but it’s not as bad as it could have been.”