Things are starting to get established down in Jupiter.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, it was Tony LaRussa’s time<\/a> in front of the media.\u00c2\u00a0 You can hear some of his remarks here<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 A lot of what you’d expect out of TLR, a lot of working hard, have a chance to compete, etc.\u00c2\u00a0 Tony’s not likely to tip his hand or give anyone on the team a reason to slack off.<\/p>\n It’s also not surprising that he’s defending Mark McGwire<\/a>, even as he admits 1998 means something different to him now.\u00c2\u00a0 Hopefully between McGwire on Wednesday (and yesterday as well) and TLR, this can get taken care of.\u00c2\u00a0 Because it’s an unnecessary shadow over the spring if reporters keep on and on.<\/p>\n Some other Cardinal news came out yesterday, as the team officially hired Mitchell Page as the hitting coach at Quad Cities.\u00c2\u00a0 Many remember Page from his time at the major league level with the club before personal issues drove him away from the game for a time.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s been in Washington since and gives the club solid depth in its teaching ranks.<\/p>\n The hire that got the most attention, however, was that Mike Matheny was going to be a special assistant to the GM<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Matheny was a class act in St. Louis and it looks like he’s creeping closer to being a managerial prospect.\u00c2\u00a0 It’ll be interesting to see how his career develops, though right now a lot of his work will be off the radar.<\/p>\n If you want to keep up with what is happening in Jupiter, Fox Sports Midwest has up a notebook<\/a> they update during the day.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s always good to see Jim Hayes back in action, isn’t it?\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve got an entirely new web site<\/a>, as well.<\/p>\n