Terry Francona has won two World Series championships in five seasons, and he has these souvenirs of his time in Boston as well:

A foot infection, a knee replacement, staph infections in both knees, chest pains, several years on blood-thinners, a life-threatening blood clot in his lungs and now a back problem that will require surgery this offseason.

"This job takes an unbelievable amount [out of you]. Sometimes, it almost sucks the life out of you," he said yesterday.

Washington general manager Jim Bowden recently had surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his forehead. The skin cancer was discovered in June, but Bowden, 47, waited until the Nationals' season ended to have the operation.

St. Louis intends to cut ties with often-injured left-hander Mark Mulder, paying a $1.5 million buyout rather than exercising an $11 million option on his contract. General manager John Mozeliak said he sent a letter to Mulder's agent, Gregg Clifton, informing him of the franchise's intention. The Cardinals had until Nov. 15 to notify Mulder, 31, who is rehabbing from two shoulder operations and was limited to 1 2/3 innings last season after initially optimistic forecasts he could join the rotation as early as May. He made $13 million the past two seasons while totaling six appearances and four starts covering 12 2/3 innings.

Pete Van Wieren, whose longtime TV partner Skip Caray died Aug. 3, announced his retirement yesterday after 33 seasons as an Atlanta announcer. Van Wieren, 64, became a familiar face on the TBS team that broadcasts Atlanta games to a national television audience on Ted Turner's superstation. In recent years, he was phased out of TV work, spending this past season doing radio exclusively.