There were tears and boos. Some lobbed golf balls and bottles onto the field at Olympic Stadium in protest. Others took pictures of the Expos playing the Marlins.

It was a surprising range of emotions for a vagabond team stripped of its identity in recent years.

"It's like you had a loved one on life support and you knew he or she was going to pass on," Expos president Tony Tavarez said, "and you don't feel the impact until it actually occurs."

Today the Expos, who represented baseball's first expansion outside the United States, will play their final game at the place (Shea Stadium) they were born April 8, 1969.

"I'm terribly sorry about what happened," said Rusty Staub, who played for the first Expos team in 1969. "I have a wounded heart that baseball is going to leave that city (of Montreal)."

The Expos routinely developed some of baseball's top players - Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou, Larry Walker and Vladimir Guerrero - only to let them go when their price got too high.

That contributed to fan apathy in Montreal, where the Expos finished last in attendance this year for the seventh season in a row. But nothing stung like the 1994 season.

The Expos had the best record in baseball when the players' strike canceled the rest of the season and the World Series.

"That franchise has had some heartbreaking things happen to it," said Marlins infielder Mike Mordecai, who played for the Expos from 1998-2002. "For those folks, it seems like if it's not one thing it's another."

NOT DONE YET: Wednesday's announcement that baseball will return to Washington, D.C., next season does not mean the Expos' relocation is finished.

Among the most pressing issues are approval of the move by baseball's owners, the sale of the Expos and the approval of a $440 million plan that calls for construction of a new stadium and the refurbishment of RFK stadium by Washington's City Council.

"We have finally taken the first step," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. "Obviously there's a lot of work to be done.

"I'm going to very aggressively recommend in our November (owners) meetings that we go to Washington, and I hope that they will clear all the hurdles."

ANGER MANAGEMENT: The five-game suspension and undisclosed fine levied on him by Major League Baseball last week caught the attention of Milton Bradley.

The Dodgers outfielder, who earned the suspension for his bottle-throwing and uniform-undressing tantrum Tuesday, said he will seek help for his anger issues.

Bradley was ejected four times and suspended twice this season.

"Getting upset has caused me to hurt family, hurt friends, hurt my team and the fans out there," he said. "I need to talk to somebody about my anger and just try to find a way to channel that elsewhere."

LET GO: The Orioles fired Darrell "Doc" Rodgers, a former Reds front office member, as their director of minor-league operations last week.

Baltimore affiliates were 102 games below .500 in 2002 but improved by 81 games in Rodgers' first season in 2003. They fell to 59 games below .500 this year.

• The Phillies fired manager Larry Bowa on Saturday before their night game against Florida.

ODDS AND ENDS: Former Reds assistant trainer Lonnie Soloff, who works for the Indians, helped remove the bullet that struck pitcher Kyle Denney on the team bus Wednesday in Kansas City. The rookie was hit in the right calf by a random shot that came through the side of the Indians' bus as the team traveled to the airport. ...

The Astros have let Roger Clemens know they would like him back next season. The six-time Cy Young Award winner, who came out of retirement to pitch for the Astros this season, is 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 33 starts. He will make a decision during the offseason. ...

THE LAST WORDS: The White Sox lost seven of 10 road games against the Tigers. Manager Ozzie Guillen said the Tigers might have a hometown advantage.

"The reason we don't do well here is as soon as we land, we get depressed," he joked. "They should be an undefeated team. Everybody that comes here, they go, 'Oh my god, we're going back to Detroit.' "

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Information from other news organizations, and submitted by baseball writers, was used in this report.

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