STRAWBERRY UNABLE TO APPEAR IN COURT

TAMPA, Fla. -- Darryl Strawberry has "very severe depression" and will be
physically unable to appear in court for at least three weeks, his lawyer
told a judge today during a hearing.

Judge Florence Foster of Hillsborough County Circuit Court set a date of
May 4 for the next hearing on whether Strawberry had violated his probation
on a drug-related conviction. His lawyer, Joseph H. Ficarrotta, said it was
his intention that Strawberry would admit at some point to a probation
violation.

After the hearing, Assistant State Attorney Darrell Dirks said he would
recommend that Strawberry be sentenced to prison "based upon what we know
about Mr. Strawberry and his criminal history."

In September, Strawberry, 39, was sentenced to two years of house arrest at
a drug treatment facility after crashing his car while driving under the
influence of sleeping pills, and for violating his probation. Strawberry
disappeared from the center for four days before surrendering to the police
in April. He was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital. Strawberry remains in
seclusion at the hospital while receiving a potent new medication
prescribed by a psychiatrist, Ficarrotta told the judge.

When the judge asked if the new medication would affect Strawberry's
ability to understand a court hearing, Ficarrotta replied, "In talking to
him, some days, he's very coherent; some days, he's not."

Ficarrotta said Strawberry was under the care of a psychiatrist, and he
submitted a letter detailing Strawberry's medical situation.

Strawberry has battled addiction for years, and in 1998 he learned he had
colon cancer. He undergoes chemotherapy three times a month, in addition to
treatment for addiction, Ficarrotta said before the hearing at the
Hillsborough County Courthouse Annex.

"It makes him real sick," Ficarrotta said. "Anxiety and depression triggers
the craving for drugs; and drug addiction has a reverse effect on the chemo."