BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS : In a Sense, Many Expos Made Playoffs

Marquis Grissom, center fielder for the Atlanta Braves, is not surprised that all four players involved in the Montreal Expos’ spring payroll purge ended up in the playoffs. He referred to Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies, John Wetteland of the New York Yankees, Ken Hill of the Cleveland Indians (originally traded to the St. Louis Cardinals) and himself.

“I’m happy for all those guys,” Grissom said. “We finally got a chance. I told them before we left Montreal, ‘It’s going to work out.’ ”

Other former Expos in the playoffs: Andres Galarraga (Rockies), Randy Johnson (Seattle Mariners), Dennis Martinez (Indians) and Delino DeShields of the Dodgers.

Said Colorado General Manager Bob Gebhard, who spent 13 years in the Expos’ organization: “For a number of years, they’ve had as good a developmental system as anybody. But they’ve had to keep letting players go for financial reasons. It’s absolutely a no-win situation.”

Montreal General Manager Kevin Malone recently came to that conclusion and resigned, which saddened Grissom.

“Kevin Malone was my first coach in the minor leagues,” he said. “You could say he developed my talents. He got me out for extra batting practice, trying to make me a better player. He knows what I went through to get where I am. I feel bad for him, but I saw this coming. I know he worked his butt off up there.”