While his Pirates teammates were playing the Nationals in Washington yesterday, Oliver Perez was in the quiet PNC Park clubhouse, getting treatment on his broken left big toe and talking about the injury.

	Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez talks about how he broke his toe when he kicked a laundry basket in St. Louis. Click photo for larger image.

Perez, wearing a walking boot, is out for up to six weeks. He kicked a laundry cart in the clubhouse Sunday in Busch Stadium after he was pulled from what turned out to be a 5-4, 10-inning victory against the Cardinals.

"When you get mad, you don't think about anything," Perez said. "You're just angry.

"It's part of baseball. I'm not the only one who has done this. You see [Texas pitcher] Kenny Rogers, he [punched] the cooler. When you're mad, you lose everything and you don't think.

"It's not just baseball. That's part of life. Somebody, people in an office, gets mad and they do something, maybe punch something."

Now, Perez is, well, kicking himself over the incident.

"I feel bad right now because I can't help the team and I can't pitch," he said. "I got mad [about the injury]. Why did I do this? It's a lesson you learn. I have to train to get ready as quickly as I can."

Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon and general manager David Littlefield publicly criticized Perez for doing something immature and unprofessional and letting down his teammates.

"That's why I feel bad now," Perez said when asked about his bosses' comments.

He said he has not spoken to team officials and doesn't know if he might be fined or suspended by the Pirates. He also has not heard anything about the possibility of surgery on the toe.

Perez, 23, was expected to be the Pirates' top pitcher this season, but he has struggled since being underprepared at the start of spring training.

He is 6-5 with a 6.16 ERA. He has struck out 81 and walked 51. He has given up 20 home runs, including two Sunday.

Perez's anger Sunday stemmed from being lifted after six innings. He had given up four runs on seven hits and had thrown 92 pitches. The Pirates trailed, 4-3.

"When they took me out, I went into the clubhouse," he said. "I was mad. It was a close game and I wanted to continue to pitch, but they took me out because I had [thrown] too many pitches."

He vented on the laundry cart.

"When I kicked it, it hurt," he said. "I kicked it hard, and the laundry basket was hard. At the moment, I didn't think it was broken."

After the game, Perez was walking without a noticeable limp. He was still in his spikes when he talked briefly with a group of reporters.

It wasn't until after the team had flown to Washington that night that he went to the team trainers, who sent him to a hospital.

Perez will continue treatment, rehabilitation and workouts that exclude pitching because he can't push off of his left foot.

"Maybe I can pitch with this [boot]," he said playfully.