TOWER GROVE -- The St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America is giving its annual dinner a spirited twist this season.

No, not just Albert Pujols sharing the Man of the Year Award or shifting the dinner to a different day.

OK, so there are a few twists. But one's a real crowd-pleaser.

To mark manager Tony La Russa's return for a 16th season in the Cardinals dugout, the writers have invited some of his close friends and formers players to join the dinner in a ... ahem ... toast to the club's winningest skipper. If some of those friends and players also choose to needle, jab, joke or otherwise tease TLR, well we can't be held responsible. They're men, not machines.

Scheduled to fete La Russa are actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton, basketball coach Bobby Knight, and former reliever Steve Kline. La Russa's managerial buddy Jim Leyland is expected to attend as well as some others from La Russa's baseball career.

The dinner is set for Jan. 16, moving to a Sunday night.

It will be held at The Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis. Tickets are $150, and that includes a pass to the Cardinals' annual Winter Warmup, which is held the same weekend downtown. Tables can be purchased for $1,500. There is still time to get tickets by sending a check or money order to St. Louis BBWAA, P.O. Box 605, St. Louis, Mo. 63188.

The major award winners are all confirmed to be in attendance. Pujols and pitcher Adam Wainwright will be honored as co-Men of the Year, both having finished second in the MVP and Cy Young award voting, respectively. Matt Holliday will receive the Darryl Kile Award, which is voted on by teammates and will be presented by last year's winner, Skip Schumaker.

Also scheduled to receive recogniitions or awards are Jaime Garcia, Yadier Molina, Houston center fielder Michael Bourn, and the Cardinals' two organizational players of the year, Shelby Miller and Matt Carpenter.

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