LaRussa mulling future as Cardinals' manager

Just a couple of days removed from the St. Louis Cardinals' exit from the 2009 Playoffs, talks of Tony LaRussa's future as manager are starting to emerge.

LaRussa said he's not sure whether he wants to return for a 15th season with the Cardinals, where has has won seven division titles, two National League Pennants and the Cardinals' 10th franchise World Championship in 2006.

After pondering his team's play in the final two weeks of the season, which carried over to the Playoffs, LaRussa said he's been questioning his effectiveness as a manager.

But the management says they fully expect LaRussa to be back, and would welcome him back if he chooses to stay.

"The formula is still the same," La Russa said to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. "Do the guys still respond to your leadership? You've got to think about it. If the answer is yes, then you go to the next steps. I don't know. We'll see. I just started thinking about it, so I can't give you an answer. I know what the formula is."

General Manager John Mozeliak said LaRussa has a job if he still wants it, but said he has not yet spoken with him about the future.

"We need to sit down and talk," Mozeliak said in a story on ESPN.com. "We don't need to do it today because it's still pretty fresh, the wound."

LaRussa isn't the only member of the Cardinal family who could possibly be on the move this off-season. In fact, quite a number of Cardinals could depart before next season.

It's been well documented that pitching coach Dave Duncan could be on his way out of St. Louis. To say Duncan was upset about his son's departure and the fan's reaction to the trade would be an understatement. Also, other organization problems were cited regarding Duncan's situation. However, Mozeliak said he felt confident that Duncan would return next season as the pitching coach.

If Duncan leaves, St. Louis would lose one of the best pitching coaches in the league. Duncan has single-handedly revived many pitchers careers once they arrived in St. Louis. The success of the 2006 World Series Championship team's pitching staff was very much due the to work of Duncan. Jeff Weaver, Jason Marquis, and Jeff Suppan all saw their stats improve drastically during their time in St. Louis. This year, John Smoltz has seen his career revived by Duncan's abilities.

Smoltz is also among the list of players who could possibly be moving elsewhere. He is joined by third baseman Mark DeRosa, Joel Pineiro, Matt Holliday, Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer.

Smoltz and the Cardinals seem to share mutual interest in a one-year contract. They would also like to resign Mark DeRosa, who is the epitome of a utility man and is a perfect fit for Tony LaRussa's style of baseball.

However, it's almost a given that they will depart with injury-stricken third baseman Troy Glaus, as well as shortstop turned third basemen Khalil Greene, who's had his own set of problems.

It's also very unlikely that they will resign pitcher Joel Pineiro as they will look for a cheaper option. Pitchers like Pineiro are a dime a dozen in the Majors, so his departure wouldn't have as much impact as that of Matt Holliday.

Resigning Holliday will be the primary focus of the off-season for Mozeliak and the Cardinals management. After trading away two of the top prospects in the farm system for Holliday, Cardinals fans would be very disappointed if a deal doesn't get done involving Holliday returning to the club.

He's consistently stayed undecisive when questioned about his plans for next season, but my guess is that he will not return to the Cardinals.

Holliday will want more money, but Albert Pujols is also looking for a contract extension and more money. So that willl make it tough to sign Holliday, who will likely be a hot commodity for many teams looking for a big bat in the middle of their lineup. Since the Cardinals don't have an expandable amount of money like many of the bigger markets, it's going to be a tough task for Mozeliak and his team to convince Holliday to stick around.

Outfielder Ryan Ludwick said he would like to see Holliday return in 2010.

"If they get something done, they get something done," Ludwick said. "I think he knows everyone likes him."

Nevertheless, it's looking like the 2010 St. Louis Cardinals could be a very different team than this year's, but it's all depends on the wonderful game that is free agency.