Just more than a week after the Cardinals' World Series victory, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., and general manager John Mozeliak already are in attack mode to find a new manager, which they hope to do in the next 10 days, but surely before Thanksgiving. Later, they'll deal with the Albert Pujols free agency elephant and other players.

DeWitt paused for a few moments Friday for a Q-and-A session with the Post-Dispatch, first looking back and then ahead.

Q • Can you believe what actually happened in September and October?

A • "It was a remarkable run and fun to watch. When we started to win and looked at some of the series, we all said to ourselves, 'If we can beat this team and then Milwaukee and then sweep Atlanta and go into Philadelphia and win three out of four ... it seemed feasible. We felt we had the club to do it, but that was a tall order. All those things came true.

"And then when we were three out with five to play, we said, 'If we win four out of five or win them all, maybe (Atlanta) will struggle and maybe we'll get into a playoff situation with them.' It turns out that we got in outright.

"Obviously, it helped not being in a (one-game) playoff. That helped us in the first round."

Q • But how did it feel riding this wave and knowing your manager was going to retire when it was over, no matter how long it lasted?

A • "We hoped the inevitable was as far down the road as possible. And it turned out that it was. We got to the seventh game (of the World Series) and it was after a win."

Q — Did you try to talk Tony La Russa out of retiring?

A • "We talked along the way, with the success we were having. Mo would talk to him and then I'd talk. There were a couple of meetings after particularly good results on the field. I said, 'Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to talk you into something you don't want to do.' He said there was no turning back. That's how he makes every decision. That's what makes him a great manager. He said, it was the right decision and he was making it for the right reason.

"Tony was very decisive. He said it was the right thing, win or lose and (winning) wouldn't change the outcome. That's the way it played out.

"He's a man of principles and conviction. And before he makes any decision, I know he thinks through all the ramifications before he comes to a conclusion. That's why he's so confident when he makes a decision because he knows he's made the correct one.

"Look at how the playoffs played out. All the moves he made worked out. All those games that came down to a given inning or a given pitch or a given at-bat. We survived it all. We won when we had to. We performed when we had to."

Q • What do your managerial candidates say about having to replace Tony?

A • "In the interviews we've had, they all will say, 'I'm not Tony La Russa. I'm a different person. And I can do a good job as your manager.' You're talking about a legendary figure. He's had a remarkable career, 33 years."

Q • What kind of man or manager are you seeking?

A • "A good leader who has the respect of the club. He understands the Cardinal franchise and the Cardinal organization and what it means. Not only to the city but through an entire area where the Cardinals are such a big part of daily life. Everybody who is part of baseball recognizes the stature of the Cardinals."

Q • How many candidates have been interviewed?

A • "Three (as of Friday). All with Cardinals connections — Chris Maloney, Joe McEwing and Mike Matheny."

Q • How many more to go?

A • "Three. We have a bigger list of potential candidates. But we don't have anything set up beyond this point."

Q • Since you've had the franchise for 16 years, you've never had to hire a manager (La Russa was hired by Anheuser-Busch). Do you wish you had some experience with this?

A • "We knew at some point we'd have to go through it. We've been fortunate. It's rare to have a manager for 16 years in this era of baseball. We hope the new manager is here for a number of years."

Q • Do you have to run the new manager by Albert Pujols?

A • "Certainly any manager we hire would be happy if we had Albert under contract. I know he would be interested in who the new manager is. But the guys we're looking at, he knows a bunch of them, and he has a good relationship with them."

Q • Ryne Sandberg seems an interesting candidate. Why is he being considered?

A • "He's impressive. He has to earn a lot of credit for being a Hall of Famer and going down to the minors to manage for several years. He gets high marks for that. We just felt he was a good person to have on our list."

Q • How are things going with any Pujols negotiations and how long will they take?

A • "I don't think that type of signing will happen all that fast. We did make an effort the last two years.

"The free agent period is just upon us. That will take little bit of time to play out in terms of where the market is. I couldn't quantify it. We're prepared to sit down and discuss the situation and make an offer. What the offer was the last time ... I don't know that we want to get into where it was or where we are, or whether it's shorter or longer. It depends on the feedback we get from Albert and his agent."

Q • What will the payroll be?

A • "The $110 (million) number is probably a good working number. We'll have to see how that shakes out and it depends if Albert re-signs. It's not a hard and fast rule. It's up a little bit from this year. At the end, when all was said and done, it ended up at $105 (million)."

Q • Will ticket prices be raised?

A • "We haven't sent out the ticket stuff. We haven't really thought about it. It's probably a little late. But we've been focusing on other things and haven't really thought about the situation."

Q • No National League team has repeated a World Series title since 1976. Isn't that a big daunting?

A • "With 30 teams, it's hard to repeat. It's hard to win. We'll certainly make an effort. The (Texas) Rangers won back-to-back pennants and they certainly came close to winning the world championship. I think we have the club to do that."

Q • Did you have enough time to enjoy the World Series title?

A • "It's not hard to enjoy it on a daily basis. Not only did we win the world championship ... the way we did it made it even more enjoyable. Every time we looked down or done we came back and won a game.

"It's a story that if you told people about this season 25 or 50 years now, they'd think you were exaggerating."