March 3, 2000

Take good care of your mother
One of the great people who ever put on a uniform is 39-year old Casey Candele, who is in spring training with the Cardinals.

Asked about his late mother, Helen St. Aubin, the former pro ballplayer played by Madonna in A League of Their Own, Candele said, "She was a lot better than me. I've got my dad's talent. He was a minor league hockey goalie."

Please, please, please
Angels season-ticket sales are down 25 percent, so they've offered a new plan. If one purchases a season ticket and isn't happy after April, the club will refund the money on the remaining 65 home dates.

Walk a mile in my shoes
Tampa Bay's 18-year old OF phenom Josh Hamilton, the first pick in the draft last June, has size 19 feet that so amazed the Rays' clubhouse attendants that they got him to autograph a pair of those shoes.

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Willie Greene's tenure with the Cubs may be brief. He missed the first week of spring training for personal reasons. In his first workout, he collapsed with dehydration after 15 minutes of stretching. He missed two more days, then told reporters he didn't want to go to Japan to open the season against the Mets and thought he'd help the Cubs win in the States. "I wasn't aware that he'd made the team," said Don Baylor.

Mauch-ing the best of things
Gene Mauch has the most wins -- 1,902 -- of any manager not in the Hall of Fame.

Non-roster invitee?
In Thursday's intrasquad scrimmage, Cardinals AA pitching coach Dave LaPoint, 40, threw four shutout innings. He retired Mark McGwire twice and got him to swing and miss three times. Of course, he was pitching from 55 feet.