Some of baseball's most distinguished elder statesmen are leaving the dugout. Atlanta's Bobby Cox will retire at the end of the year. Joe Torre has announced his departure from the LA Dodgers. Lou Piniella (Cubs) went home and called it a career late last month.

They represent the most accomplished managers of their generation. Cox is fourth, Torre is fifth and Piniella is 14th on baseball's all-time list for career victories. Torre hasn't ruled out taking another job, but the ongoing change among baseball's old guard is dramatic.

And Tony La Russa soon will be on the clock.

La Russa ranks third with 2,628 career wins, and his winning percentage (.535) ranks eighth in MLB history among managers that have logged at least 20 seasons.

Will TLR join his esteemed brethren and gracefully bow out at the end of the season? The decision must wait. The Cardinals face extreme odds in their pursuit of a postseason spot, but there's no retreat or surrender in La Russa.

But the question of La Russa's future won't go away, and it's high on the St. Louis sports list of current topics.

La Russa won't be pushed out. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and GM John Mozeliak have remained firm in their support of La Russa. If La Russa goes, it will be on his terms.

La Russa should stay. If the Cardinals are doomed to finish out of the money this season, he should be even more motivated to return his team to the winner's circle in 2011. In his 15 seasons here, La Russa has won more games than any manager in franchise history. His leadership has been paramount in one of the Cardinals' most successful eras.

For that reason, La Russa has earned the privilege of returning in 2011. He is still one of the best, and most respected, managers in the game.

You may not like him. You may never have liked him. You may be burned out on him. You may have turned on him this season. But La Russa is one of the giants of his profession; that hasn't changed. After all he's done in the majors, and in St. Louis, La Russa rates a healthy measure of deference. The Dodgers weren't going to fire Torre. The Braves didn't ease Cox out after the team failed to make the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, 2006-2009. Piniella was treated with respect after the Cubs' lousy 2009. Certain managers have established the kind of credibility that provides a little extra job security. And La Russa is one of them.

And he'd be the first to tell you that there are no free passes. La Russa turns 66 years old on Oct. 4. He's older and, in my opinion, more irritable now. I think the job tires him more than it once did. You can see that during his post-game "Question & Bully" (not question and answer) sessions on Fox Sports Midwest. They have gotten progressively worse and often make La Russa seem petty.

Much more relevant are some of the dugout flash fires we've seen this season between La Russa and stars Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter. La Russa's age is probably a factor in the cantankerous conduct that flares up on occasion. But this isn't exactly a new personality quirk; La Russa has always been combative when challenged.

The energy and intensity are still there. La Russa may be a senior citizen, but he's hardly Casey Stengel nodding off in the NY Mets' dugout. That formidable La Russa flame still burns, even if it is misdirected at times. And I have no doubt that the team's leaders — Pujols, Carpenter, Yadier Molina and other veterans — remain steadfast in their allegiance to La Russa.

And I don't know if the Cardinals will be able to sign Pujols to a contract extension over the winter. If not, he will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season. If Pujols departs, then a new era will truly be underway, and that might be the best time to change the leadership. But for at least one more season, let this play out.

Not that this should eliminate all concerns.

Torre said something interesting Friday in announcing his exit from LA.

"I just felt this ballclub needed a different voice," he explained. "A younger voice."

Does Torre's realization also apply to La Russa? Actually, I believe the issue with TLR is more about freshness and flexibility. Has his message gotten stale? And if so, can he adapt and renew?

TLR has strong core principles. It is one of his greatest strengths. He doesn't waver much. He is not a weak man. But he has, at least in the past, proven capable of modifying his approach.

Go back to 2003, the Cardinals fell apart and La Russa's player relations were significantly strained. Before 2004 TLR reached out to veterans, improved communications, restored the morale, and led the Cardinals to an exceptional three-year breakout that included two 100-win seasons, two NL pennants and a World Series championship.

Can he do it again?

If La Russa decides to stay, here are some areas to look at:

• We've seen too much shoddy base-running and defense this season. Do the Cardinals need some new voices to instruct them? Should La Russa make changes to his coaching staff? We've seen some of the most successful managers and head coaches in all sports shake things up on their own staffs from time to time.

• The Cardinals have had late-season problems for several consecutive seasons. It's an important issue. It shouldn't be ignored. Why does it happen? For the most part, La Russa gives regulars days off during the season. But could Pujols use more breaks? What about Molina, who is catches in almost constant pain? Or is the spring-training regimen a factor? The Cardinals work hard in spring training. I wonder if it is too much. TLR and the players and the GM can probably answer that best. But they should look at it. Would it be wise to lessen the work load with the goal of keeping the talent fresh for 162 games?

• Can TLR resist his instinct to turn to veteran backups such as Aaron Miles and Randy Winn when he has younger players available to add energy and enthusiasm to the mix? Guys like Tyler Greene and Bryan Anderson may be raw, but they should be given expanded opportunities to grow. They have more upside.

• Earlier this season, Mozeliak suggested that the team needed to have more fun in a quiet and subdued clubhouse. Mozeliak will be part of solving that as he tweaks the roster before 2011. But what can La Russa do to lighten the atmosphere?

• Does La Russa fully comprehend that there are distinct personality differences among young players? A Jon Jay can get chewed out and shake it off. But Colby Ramsus is more sensitive and tends to lose confidence when barked at. Some kids respond to unsparing candor. Others thrive when encouraged. Perhaps La Russa is more reassuring to young players than I am giving him credit for. But he has to think about this.

• I've never criticized La Russa for not having a set lineup. But we've seen some strange, random combinations this season. He should cut down on the experiments and stick with something for a while. It may help the lineup flow better.

• Should the hitting philosophy be reviewed? The Cardinals seem addicted to video study. And crafting an approach based on what they see on the video monitor instead of concentrating on making adjustments from pitch to pitch, and from one at-bat to the next.

Every manager has a list of things to work on; every manager can improve. La Russa included. He can be stubborn, but he's also smart. And more than anything, he loves to win. Unless the Cardinals stage a miracle rally, they'll miss the postseason for the third time in the last four seasons. I can't believe La Russa would want to go out like this and voluntarily end his managing career on such a disappointing final phase. Even those who vigorously dislike him would have to concede that the man is a warrior.

La Russa isn't alone. If he returns, he'll need a more complete  25-man roster. But 2011 will also be influenced by La Russa's willingness to analyze and adjust where necessary. He's done it before. And he can do it again.