After the national anthem, the players in the bullpen had to sit down and pursue less vigorous activities, such as imitating the umpire and blowing bubbles. The home plate umpire bellowed his strike call very loudly, and Rick Miller imitated him for the first few innings. After becoming bored of that, Miller took to blowing huge bubblegum spheroids that would explode on his face.

During the bottom of the third, the Red Sox had men on first and third. Expos pitcher Steve Renko tried to get out of the situation by faking a pick-off to third and then wheeling around and throwing to first. The move didn't work. Outfielder John Balaz, who sat in the bullpen most of the game, said that the move was the same one used by some Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers. "The Dodgers use that, especially in the minor leagues," Balaz said. Less than one week later, the Sox gave Balaz the opportunity to see that move again by sending him down to the minors.

The afternoon wasn't totally relaxed, however. In the fourth inning, Gary Carter, playing left field for the Expos, chased a fly ball back to the warning track. The ball hit his glove and then he hit the wall, made of cinder blocks deceptively painted green. Immediately, the entire Expos squad dashed into left field and the chatter on the bullpen bench ceased, monentarily.

"Concussion city," pitcher Mark Bomback said as he walked over to the bullpen. "That's some bitch to hit that wall," another player said. "When he got up it looked like there was blood right here (pointing to his head)."

John Balaz recounted the time he ran into a chain-link fence during a minor league game. "I hit the crossbar, but I was luck I missed the upright because I would've been in real trouble."

After about twenty minutes, the ground crew sent a cart out to retrieve Carter, and the entire bullpen left the bench to see the fallen Expo for themselves. Carter lay on the flat back of the cart and a towel was wrapped around his face. Twenty-five minutes after arriving in the clubhouse, a Polk Country ambulance took Carter to the local hospital for treatment. "Do I get the siren and all that stuff?" Carter asked the attendants. "Sorry, but no," one attendant replied. Then as the door of the ambulance closed, Carter shouted to an Expo coach, "Hey, save my ups."

In the seventh inning, the public address announcer announced that Carter was back in Chain O'Lakes Park after having been sown up with 50 stiches. Everyone cheered.

*****

The great thing about spring training is that it's almost as important where the foul balls land as who wins the games. When a White Sox batter lofted one into the parking lot along the first base line of Payne Field in Sarasota, Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell turned to umpire Nestor Chylak and casually remarked, "Somebody got a nod on his car. Did it hit the top or the hood?"

*****

The Red Sox and the Expos were tied after the regulation nine innings, and as the extra frames were about to begin, newly acquired Sox reliever Tom House strolled down the right field line.

House had been responsible for holding the Expos at bay in the final innings, and was preparing to do a few wind sprints in the outfield when he was confronted by three reporters who were lounging in a nearby golf cart.

"Hey Tom, why didn't you take it easy so we could go home," one of them inquired of the John Denver look-a-like.

"Sorry," came the answer with a smile, "but not at my expense."

*****