According to ESPN news, manager Tony LaRussa is meeting with Cardinals management today to discuss his future with the team. In a story that appeared on stlcardinals.com, reporter Matt Leach says General Manager John Mozeliak would welcome back LaRussa.
If LaRussa does return, it would be his 15th season in St. Louis. In that article, LaRussa was quoted as saying, “The formula is still the same. 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.”
I would not be surprised if LaRussa does return. When there were hints that LaRussa would step down after this year, that all came down after the organization let Walt Jocketty go. Since then, the relationship between LaRussa and Mozeliak has gone better than expected.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if pitching coach Dave Duncan leaves. He has an option in his contract for next season, but is sour grapes over the way the club handled the departure of his son Chris Duncan.