He Was Paying Close Attention and Made Them Pay the Price

In dealing with Oakland’s Rickey Henderson, Boston catcher Tony Pena discovered that it doesn’t pay to play it straight.

After a game in which Henderson hit a game-opening home run off Red Sox pitcher Eric Hetzel, Henderson told the Boston Globe: “When the count was 3-and-2, Pena was out there yelling, ‘Throw the ball right down the middle. I want you to throw the ball right down the middle and let him hit it.’

“I thought that maybe they were trying to trick me. They’ll do that sometimes with you. I thought he probably would throw me the curve, but he threw me the fastball, and I hit it out. When I got back, Pena said, ‘I didn’t mean hit it like that.’ ”

Add A’s: Outfielder Dave Henderson, always looking for an edge, told the Oakland Tribune: “Mike Witt was one of the toughest starting pitchers in the league three years ago. Well, I watched him and watched him, and found that his finger stuck out a little bit on his breaking ball. He doesn’t do that anymore.”

More A’s: From St. Louis Cardinal pitcher John Tudor, revealing that Oakland tried hard to sign him after he left the Dodgers: “Anyone in their right mind would want to play for the A’s, being the world champions. But not being in my right mind, I didn’t want to learn a new league.”

Of his stay in Los Angeles, he said: “Nothing against the ballpark, nothing against the team, but I’m not a patient person. I don’t like sitting in traffic. I don’t like waking up in the morning with my eyes burning. That lifestyle was not for me.”

Trivia time: Who is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in three decades?

Call of the wild: Blazermania has overtaken the city of Portland, and Trail Blazer media director John Lashway wondered if it had gone too far when he answered the press room telephone during the final playoff game against San Antonio.

Lashway: “This woman on the other end had gotten the number, I don’t know how. Suddenly she starts tearing into the officiating. She wants me to get a message to referee Joey Crawford that he stinks.”

How about it?: Cincinnati Red outfielder Paul O’Neil, on the crackdown on oversized gloves: “Back in the old days, players used their bare hands instead of gloves. If you had big hands, did that mean you couldn’t play.”

Mark it down: From Chicago Coach Mike Ditka, promising that Mark Carrier, the Bears’ No. 1 draft choice from USC, will be a starter at safety: “If anyone keeps Mark off the field, he’ll be on his way to Canton.”

Canton, Ohio, is the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Who asked that?: Said New York Giant Coach Bill Parcells, when somebody asked if he was concerned that Lawrence Taylor might hold out: “He’s only the best player we’ve got. It wouldn’t bother me at all.”

Trivia answer: Bobby Unser, in 1968, 1975 and 1981.

Quotebook: Raider executive Al LoCasale, on the reacquisition of former Navy running back Napoleon McCallum from the San Diego Chargers: “It’s an unbelievable deal for us. When we traded him, he was an ensign. Now we get him back as a lieutenant.”