JUPITER, Fla. -- It's never good when a trainer or manager hears the words "pop" and "elbow" in the same sentence, but the Cardinals are remaining cautiously optimistic about John Mabry just the same.

The lefty-swinging utility man felt significant pain in his right elbow after an awkward swing on Saturday afternoon, and was immediately removed from St. Louis' 3-0 win over Florida.

For now, Mabry's condition is being called an "elbow sprain" by the team's medical staff, and he will be re-evaluated on Sunday morning. He said he felt a "pop" in the back of his elbow before coming out of the contest.

"A pitcher tells you he feels a pop when he's throwing a ball, you worry about his ligament," said Dr. George Paletta, the Cardinals' head team physician. "In this case, given what he looks like right now, I have a moderate level of concern -- but not the same as if a pitcher came in and said, 'I was throwing a curveball and felt a pop and things hurt.' We'll look at him in the morning, re-examine him and go from there."

Mabry's pain resides in the back of his right elbow, near the end of his triceps. Paletta said he was confident that the condition is not a ruptured triceps, since Mabry can still extend his arm fully. However, it's painful for Mabry to attempt to extend his arm against resistance.

"He may have just strained his triceps, he may have done more than that," Paletta said. "We'll re-examine him in the morning, and depending on what he looks like, if there's worry about anything like his ligament or anything else, then we'll get an MRI. But if it's obvious that he just strained his triceps in the morning, then we'll just go day-to-day and see where he is."

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Mabry played a vital role for the 2004 Cardinals, backing up at first base, third base, left field and right field while serving as the team's most dangerous left-handed threat off the bench.

Different look: Adam Wainwright, who threw two near-spotless innings on Saturday against the Marlins, is coming at hitters in an almost completely different way this season. The 6-foot-7 right-hander, who once relied on a four-seam fastball, curve and changeup, is now trying to throw a sinking fastball more often. In addition, he's moved over from the extreme right of the pitcher's rubber.

"I think that pitch is gonna make my four-seamer and everything else better, too," said Wainwright. "Even if my ball comes back over the plate, it's moving and it's down. It's harder for a hitter to put that in play with anything on it. Hopefully they'll beat it into the ground. That'll make my four-seamer that much more effective, my changeup that much more effective."

The plan worked in Wainwright's first appearance of the spring, as he induced four ground outs (including a sacrifice bunt) to go with a strikeout and a popup.

Morris moving along: Matt Morris made his third appearance against hitters on Saturday, and the rehabbing righty continues to impress. He threw 43 pitches, 28 of which went for strikes, over two sessions of simulated at-bats. Morris threw 22 pitches, sat down for a rest, then threw 21 more against a group that included Gabe Johnson, Cody McKay, Brad Cresse, Mike Mahoney and Jason Motte.

"Once I get loose," Morris said, "repeating the delivery is the main thing. I zero in on the spot, and I know instead of concentrating so hard to throw it and get it to that area, I'm just following my brain. That tells me that I've got a good arm slot."

Morris threw sinkers, curveballs and changeups, but said he has shelved his cut fastball for the time being. He added a cutter last season to allow him to pitch to both sides of the plate more effectively, but was unsatisfied with how he had been throwing the pitch.

The plan is for Morris to face his own teammates one more time, then pitch in a game -- likely March 12 against the Mets or possibly in one of the split-squad games March 13.

Ankiel update: Rick Ankiel said Saturday that his schedule has been tweaked a bit. Rather than throwing a bullpen session on Saturday, he threw on Friday and will pitch off a mound again on Sunday. Then on Tuesday, the left-hander expects to make his first game appearance of the spring. It is uncertain whether that would be in the main game, which is scheduled to be started by Mark Mulder, or in a 'B' game.

Hart on the way: Bo Hart participated in Saturday's pregame workout, though his name was scratched out on the lineup card. However, Hart is expected to be ready to play on Sunday.

Paletta said the infielder had been cleared after a full morning of activity. Hart had been bothered by a sore calf, originally sustained on Monday in the Cards' "coaches' game."

Record ticket sales: The Cardinals' record-setting 2004 season has apparently led to a similarly standard-shattering start to ticket sales for 2005. The club announced on Saturday that 130,000 tickets had been sold on the first day of single-game sales, obliterating the previous first-day mark of 61,000. That brings the season total up to 2.4 million tickets already sold.

Individual tickets are sold out for the following games: the April 8 home opener against Philadelphia, June 10-11 against the Yankees, July 22-24 against the Cubs and the final regular-season game at the current Busch Stadium, Oct. 2 against Cincinnati. Only standing-room tickets remain for the June 12 game against the Yankees, the Sept. 5 matchup against Chicago and Oct. 1 against the Reds.

Fans may purchase tickets online at StLCardinals.com. Other ticketing options include by phone (314-421-2400), Cardinals Clubhouse Stores and participating Schnuck's Video Clubs. The Busch Stadium box office opens for individual-game sales on Sunday.

Bits and pieces: The Cardinals are having a difficult time scheduling a 'B' game for Monday, as they had hoped, since most of the teams that train on Florida's west coast have split squads that day. Instead, St. Louis may play an intrasquad game on Monday morning. ... KMOX carried its first game of the spring on Saturday. Sunday's game will also be broadcast live, as will all weekend games for the remainder of the spring. ... Chris Carpenter will start against A.J. Burnett on Sunday afternoon.