Florida Marlins: Right-hander A.J. Burnett will be examined by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday after leaving his last spring start with tightness in his forearm.

	Burnett

But Burnett, the Marlins' scheduled Opening Day starter, said Monday he believes the visit is just a precaution. Marlins doctors have not detected any problem with the elbow or the ligaments.

"Every test we did, there's no reason to suspect anything else," Burnett said. "We just want to get further consultation and make sure there's nothing else."

Burnett had planned to play catch Monday if he felt OK, and was set to make his next spring start Friday.

"I'm not going to worry about that start right now," he said. "I'll worry about the season. I want to get another spring training game but setting my sights on the season is more important."

Burnett is 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA in four spring starts this spring, covering 11 2/3 innings. He left Saturday's game against the Orioles after walking Gary Matthews Jr. with two outs in the third inning.

St. Louis Cardinals: No matter how wild Rick Ankiel might be, the Cardinals will probably give him a chance -- likely starting off as a specialist in the bullpen.

"You think a left-hander is really going to enjoy hitting against him?" manager Tony La Russa said, adding that "if he's really sharp he can pitch to the next guy, too."

Ankiel has made five relief appearances this spring, pitching effectively in two of them and struggling to find the plate at times in two.

His one-inning appearance Sunday against the Braves, his first road test, was a mixed bag. He struck out the first two batters, walked the next two on four pitches each, then settled down after a visit from catcher Mike Matheny and got the final out.

Overall, Ankiel has a spring ERA of 9.00, allowing six runs in six innings with seven walks and seven strikeouts.

"It's going good so far," he said. "It's good, I think. I get to get in there every three days instead of once every five days."

Isringhausen might make spring debut this week: After another successful batting practice session Monday, St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen could make his spring training debut this week, putting him on track to be ready by Opening Day.

"I would say I'm optimistic about that,'' pitching coach Dave Duncan said.

Isringhausen, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, threw 25 pitches on a back field at Roger Dean Stadium, his second time throwing to hitters this spring.

Unofficially, 16 pitches were strikes and the two batters -- Kurt Abbott and Todd Dunwoody -- combined for four fair balls and one foul.

Unlike Friday, when Isringhausen wasn't worried about location, he backed off a bit Monday in an effort to hit spots.

"Probably velocity-wise he wasn't quite as good, but he said he was more conscious of trying to put the ball where he wanted to, and that's what he did,'' Duncan said.

Colorado Rockies: Left-hander Denny Neagle's preparation for his Opening Day start at Houston has been put on hold.

	Neagle

Neagle, who has left his last two spring starts early because of problems with his left elbow, was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday against the San Francisco Giants, the Rocky Mountain News reports. Darren Oliver will start that game instead.

That leaves Neagle with only one more start -- March 26 against the Chicago White Sox -- before Colorado's regular season starts April.

If Neagle isn't ready to pitch against Chicago, the Rockies will have to retool their rotation for the start of the season, most likely giving 2002 NL rookie of the year Jason Jennings the Opening Day honor.

"We'll have to see how Neagle progresses," manager Clint Hurdle told the newspaper.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Kenny Lofton made his Pirates' debut Monday, only it wasn't in a Pittsburgh uniform.

Getting at-bats against live pitching before playing a major league exhibition game, Lofton had a single, double and a walk in his first six plate appearances in a minor league intrasquad game.

Lofton, the Pirates' new center fielder, is expected to spend the next couple of days at the minor league complex before playing in a major league exhibition game later this week.

That would give Lofton more than a week of exhibition games before the Pirates open March 31 in Cincinnati. Lofton worked out on his own before signing Friday, but said he needed some time to get back into game shape.

Ramirez has hamstring injury: Third baseman Aramis Ramirez has a sore right hamstring and probably will not play until Wednesday.

Ramirez was scheduled to be the team's designated hitter when Pittsburgh played the Red Sox on Sunday, but coaches decided to keep him out of his fourth consecutive game.

Ramirez also sat out Monday's exhibition against the Twins. The Pirates have Tuesday off. Ramirez's 2002 season was marred by a right ankle sprain. The previous year, he hit .300 with 34 homers and 112 RBI.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Closer Eric Gagne, pitching in a game for the first time in two weeks, had his third injury of the spring when he was struck in the right calf with a line drive during Monday's 4-1 loss to the Montreal Expos.

Gagne, who had an MRI for a sore groin muscle last month and another for a stiff lower back earlier this month, threw just five pitches before getting hit with a ball off the bat of Scott Hodges. Gagne was diagnosed with a bruised calf.

"It's part of the game, I guess,'' he said. "I'll be all right. I just didn't get to work on my curveball.''

Gagne said he hopes to pitch again Thursday as originally scheduled.

"It happens,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. "He got hit in the calf and not the knee. He wanted to continue, but that doesn't make sense on March 17th in the Grapefruit League.''

Reggie Sanders also played in the intrasquad game and hit a pair of homers.

New York Yankees: Reliever Steve Karsay has sore right shoulder again, and won't pitch until the pain subsides.

Karsay looked tentative in walking one batter over a scoreless inning in Sunday's 1-0 win over Houston.

"This morning he felt something,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said Monday. "He said warming up and in the game he didn't feel anything. But the fact he came in with a little cranky shoulder -- we just need to shut him down.''

It was Karsay's first outing since hurting the shoulder on March 13. Torre said trainer Gene Monahan recommended rest and treatment, but the manager didn't rule out any tests.

Karsay had back surgery last November and earlier said he tried to do too much in his initial appearance two weeks ago.

There is no timetable for when Karsay will be able to pitch again, placing his status for opening day in doubt. If Karsay is not ready, Juan Acevedo could take the spot.

Left-hander Chris Hammond, slowed by discomfort behind his throwing shoulder, reported no problems one day after throwing a bullpen mound.

Atlanta Braves: Mike Hampton had another shaky outing, but Julio Franco strengthened his bid to make Atlanta's Opening-Day roster by going 3-for-3 as the Braves beat a split squad of St. Louis Cardinals 8-7 Monday.

Hampton, acquired in a three-way trade during the offseason, gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits and four walks in five innings. His spring ERA is 7.07.

"I threw more good pitches than bad today,'' Hampton said.

Jason Marquis, who relieved Hampton, allowed five hits and three runs in four innings but earned the victory when Adam LaRoche drove in Billy McCarthy with the winning run in the ninth.

Franco hit an RBI double and pushed his spring batting average to .333. Andruw Jones went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Atlanta, raising his average to .500.

St. Louis starter Cal Eldred, trying to lock up a spot in the rotation, gave up six runs on nine hits in three innings. Albert Pujols, who had had hit safely in all 15 games he had played, was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks.

Franco, one of three candidates for the first-base job, had two singles, stole a base and scored a run. Franco's age is listed as 41, but some think he is even older. His first minor league season was 1978.

Cincinnati Reds: Danny Graves had no problems with his right knee as he pitched five innings Monday, taking the loss as the Florida Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-1 in a split-squad game.

Graves, being turned into a starter after spending his major league career as a closer, had to miss his previous scheduled start because of an inflamed tendon in his right knee.

He gave up two runs and five hits in the first inning, when Brian Banks and Todd Hollandsworth had RBI singles. Graves allowed only three more hits in the next four innings, showing no problem with the knee.

"The knee was totally fine,'' said Graves, who has a 6.91 ERA.

The biggest test came in the third, when Al Martin grounded sharply to first baseman Adam Dunn and the ball deflected back toward the mound as Graves ran to cover first. Graves planted and quickly changed course to try to get to the ball.

"Everybody was screaming for me not to do that,'' Graves said. "It was just instinct. That was a true test.''