MLB NOTEBOOK: LA RUSSA EXPECTS TO RETURN TO ST. LOUIS.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa expects to return for a 13th season with St. Louis, and may commit to the team before it selects a new general manager.

La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he'd be back barring complications in discussions with team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. His three- year deal expired at the end of the season.

"The fact that we're talking pretty much daily and everything is progressing tells you where it's heading and where we'd like it to end up," La Russa said in a story that appeared in Saturday's editions.

"Obviously, that's assuming nothing falls through the cracks."

La Russa left a message for The Associated Press on Saturday saying he was only talking to the Post-Dispatch about his situation.

La Russa told the newspaper he has not delayed his decision to gauge possible interest from the New York Yankees, who parted ways with manager Joe Torre on Thursday.

"I'm talking to Bill because that's where I want to be," the 63-year-old La Russa said. "Frankly, I'm offended the question is even being asked."

La Russa said he may sign before a replacement is found for former GM Walt Jocketty because of concerns entering free agency.

"If you wait until someone is hired, a player or two we have interest in could have headed down another road," La Russa said. "You take some of this on faith. But I'm glad Bill has confided in me."

John Mozeliak, interim GM under Jocketty the last five seasons, is the lone in-house candidate. Mozeliak previously interviewed for GM openings with the Reds and Astros.

Bowa to Seattle? Now that Joe Torre is finished as the New York Yankees' manager, his coaching staff may begin to scatter.

Larry Bowa, the third-base and infield coach for the past two seasons, said he was considering an offer from the Seattle Mariners, according to a New York Times report.

"I haven't committed one way or the other," Bowa said. "They'd like to have their staff finalized, but I can't do that right now."

As the Yankees are just beginning their search for a new manager, Bowa may not be able to wait. Although they have contacted Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi and Tony Pena about the vacancy, the Yankees do not expect to name Torre's successor until after the World Series.

"My first choice is to stay with the Yankees, but you learn in this game that there's a process they have to go through," Bowa said. "I think Seattle has a team with a chance to win."

Bowa would be the Mariners' third-base coach, a position he had in 2000, when the current Mariners manager, John McLaren, was the bench coach.

Rockies contemplate adding Cook to roster: Aaron Cook pronounced himself ready to return to the Colorado Rockies rotation after pitching a simulated game.

Whether the Rockies decide to add him to their World Series roster is still uncertain.

Cook hasn't pitched in a major league game since Aug. 10, sidelined by a strained muscle in his side, and had mixed results against the Rockies' regulars. He walked the first two batters he faced and surrendered a home run to Kaz Matsui. Cook, who faced 16 batters and allowed four hits, didn't see his performance in the simulated game as an audition for the playoff roster.

"No, I feel like I've done enough to audition," Cook said. "I was the opening-day starter this year. I've been in the organization 12 years now. So, today is just going out there and proving that I'm still healthy."

The Rockies, who successfully reinserted Willy Taveras into the lineup for the National League Championship Series, are contemplating adding Cook to the rotation and bumping rookie Franklin Morales to the bullpen.