IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
The 65-year-old manager of the St. Louis Cardinals asks himself the same questions every year: Does ownership want me back? Do the players want me back? After all these years, are they still responding to my brand of leadership?
"Those thoughts go through your mind," La Russa said yesterday.
St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said La Russa has a job if he wants one, but he said he had not spoken with the manager about the future.
The Cardinals were the first team to clinch a divisional title but the first to be eliminated. They batted .133 (4 for 30) with runners in scoring position and were swept in three games by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Besides a disastrous fielding gaffe, slugger Matt Holliday was 2 for 12 with a solo homer. MVP candidate Albert Pujols was a nonfactor, too, going 3 for 10 with an RBI. Pujols did not homer in his final 89 at-bats after Sept. 9.
Expand replay? There are sure to be calls for baseball to take a further look at instant replay.
Under current rules, umpires can turn to replay only when potential home runs are involved - did the ball clear the wall; was it fair or foul?
There is no provision for plays such the ball hit by Minnesota's Joe Mauer on Friday night, where the debate centered on whether his drive down the left-field line was a fair ball. (Replays showed that it was touched in fair territory by the Yankees' Melky Cabrera; the umpires ruled it foul.)
Dodgers manager Joe Torre said he could see baseball taking an extra look at replay.
"The fair-foul thing I think could be expanded," he said. "For plays where maybe umpires are blocked out. They're human."
Musical managers. With La Russa's contract up in St. Louis, reports from Cincinnati say the Reds - who have suffered nine consecutive losing seasons - will make a pitch to hire him. That means Dusty Baker's tenure with the Reds could be over. . . . ESPN.com reported that former Phillies general manager Ed Wade, now with the Houston Astros, will interview former Phils manager Jim Fregosi. The 67-year-old last managed with the Blue Jays in 1999-2000.
Photos: 2009 Phillies 
