Eduardo Perez hugs ex-teammate Aaron Boone before the game. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Eduardo Perez understands the frustration of childhood friend Ken Griffey Jr.

        Griffey, sidelined since April7 with a partially torn right patellar tendon, has been upset with how Cincinnati fans and media have treated him.

        “It's unfortunate that it's going on, especially in his hometown,” Perez, a Cardinals reserve first baseman/outfielder, said Friday at Cinergy Field before the opener of a three-game series against Griffey's Reds. “But at the same time, that's just how the business works. When guys do well, everybody loves you. When guys don't ...

        “There's no one else that wants to be out there more than he does. He wants to play, and it's frustrating when you're not. You just have to be patient and let it heal.”

        Griffey said he wasn't surprised by his friend's comments. They have known each other since running around then-Riverfront Stadium as adolescents. Their fathers, Tony Perez and Ken Griffey Sr., played for the Big Red Machine.

        “Guys you grow up with know you don't change,” Griffey said. “I appreciate that. I'm hanging in there, and it's going to get better.”

        Perez struggled with his own injury last season. After playing for the California Angels (1993-95), Reds (1996-98) and Cardinals (1999-2000), his contract was sold to the Hanshin Tigers of Japan. But Perez batted just .222 with three home runs and 19 RBI in 167 at-bats in 2001 before undergoing knee surgery.

        “It was frustrating,” Perez, 32, said. “I wanted to prove to the Japanese front office and the fans that I could go out there and make a living in Japan. But it wasn't the case.

        “They were expecting me to go out there and compete every day and produce. With my knee injury, it was tough for me to do that. I went out there, and I wasn't myself. I didn't have any power behind my swing. Without your legs, you're pretty much nothing.”

        While he was rehabbing in Puerto Rico, his wife called him on his birthday with bad news. It was Sept. 11, 2001, the date of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

        “It definitely put a damper on my birthday,” said Perez. “I feel for anyone else that was born on that day ... it's a day that people are going to remember.”

        Perez says he is fully recovered from his injury. He landed in St. Louis backing up former New York Yankee Tino Martinez at first base, the position held by Mark McGwire until he retired after last season.

        “We had him here before,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “He's got good ability. He's a very smart player. He's got a great personality. We knew the kind of player he was."

        Entering Friday, Perez was batting just .125 in 32 at-bats. But of his four hits, three were home runs and the other was a double.

        Perez said his situation should improve — and so should Griffey's.

        “He knows what he can do, and the fans know what he can do,” Perez said. “They just want to see it. It's frustrating to him and the city. But at the same time, everybody knows the talent that he has.”

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