Tony La Russa had chronically hedged for the previous week regarding his intention to return for a 15th season as Cardinals manager.

It wasn't until the club announced his return Monday to a one-year deal worth about $4.5 million plus incentives that he spilled the truth.

Hastily constructing a mental timeline during a Busch Stadium press conference, La Russa acknowledged approaching former Redbirds first baseman Mark McGwire on Oct. 19 about replacing Hal McRae as the team's hitting coach. The invitation signaled an end to La Russa's wrangling over whether to return; it also set in motion events that led to Big Mac's return to uniform eight years after he abruptly faxed word of his retirement.

"I would be here if Mark wasn't the coach," La Russa said. "The fact that he's here adds some more fire to the gut."

Actually, McGwire wasn't at Busch Stadium on Monday, leaving La Russa, general manager John Mozeliak and team chairman Bill DeWitt to parry questions about how the club and the game's former single-season home run champion would address the new coach's exit from an eight-year exile.

Mozeliak described it as "an unknown" before saying McGwire would make himself available in upcoming days, weeks or months. "Sooner probably than later," La Russa called it.

Considered one of the central figures in the game's so-called Steroid Era, McGwire has assumed a Garbo-like mystique. He will leave his gated California community for spring training in February virtually five years after refusing to give specific answers to questions about performance-enhancing drugs before a congressional subcommittee. The third question posed during Monday's press conference focused on the topic. It never went away.

"By no means is he trying to hide," Mozeliak said, "and by no means are we trying to hide him."

Scrutiny of McGwire and Monday's move are certain to test Mozeliak's pledge. Mozeliak could not say when McGwire might appear in person to answer questions, suggesting a teleconference is more likely.

DeWitt personally notified Commissioner Bud Selig about McGwire's hiring — not for his blessing but to get authorization for a significant announcement during the postseason. DeWitt described Selig's reaction as positive, adding that he expects minimal public backlash.

"There are a lot of people in the world, so you're going to get someone somewhere talking about Mark's testimony or something like that. It just comes with the territory," DeWitt said. "But I think overwhelmingly you'll see good things from our fans, the city and a lot of people in baseball."

Accusations levied by former Oakland A's teammate Jose Canseco and McGwire's brother, Jay, portrayed him as an avid steroid user. La Russa, who managed McGwire for all but one year of his career, has repeatedly denied knowledge or even suspicion of McGwire using PEDs.

McGwire's silence has left him as something of an outcast unable to receive 25 percent support in Hall of Fame balloting, well shy of the 75 percent required for induction.

DeWitt acknowledged having no knowledge of McGwire's training habits but believes his return to the game represents an opportunity to enhance his standing. "We don't know what any player did for some period of time prior to testing and all those issues," DeWitt conceded. "It's a very arm's-length thing. We have someone who Tony thinks will be a great coach, and I support him on that. I happen to like Mark a lot. He was a great Cardinal when he was here. I think he's got a lot to offer."

Added La Russa: "I've been fortunate that I've been around him more than any other manager. I have more up-close knowledge of what he has to give. I haven't thought, 'What can I do to have him regain his stature in the game?' No. I thought that whenever he got back that would be part of the good things that happened, because he's a good guy. He's a great guy."

La Russa declined to say whether McRae would have survived as hitting coach had McGwire declined his offer. However, a belief shared by La Russa and the front office that a retooled lineup underachieved even after the July trade for Matt Holliday made McRae's ouster all but certain, according to club sources.

Since 2004, La Russa had extended an annual invitation to McGwire to attend spring training as a guest instructor. And each year McGwire declined, citing family concerns. When La Russa phoned McGwire with a coaching job, he found a more receptive audience.

McGwire, who earned more than $75 million during a 16-year playing career with the Oakland A's and Cardinals, accepted a standard one-year coach's contract. The Cardinals announced they would retain the balance of La Russa's coaching staff, including assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete.

La Russa said he spoke with first baseman Albert Pujols, second baseman Skip Schumaker and pending free-agent outfielder Holliday as he and McGwire discussed the arrangement.

Pujols, NL Rookie of the Year during McGwire's final season, has maintained a strong relationship with McGwire. In recent years, Schumaker and Holliday have been among a number of major- and minor-league hitters to attend a winter hitting clinic organized by McGwire near his Orange County home. La Russa has attended on occasion and always left impressed.

"I watched some sessions and I said, 'Wow, he really has a good approach.' He's got the whole thing: mechanics ... the power of the mind. So I asked him," he said.

McGwire never has coached beyond the private tutorials, leaving his experience an open question.

Much of the drama surrounding La Russa's decision to return evaporated within days upon his return to his East Bay home in California. That didn't prevent La Russa from cloaking his decision for at least another week. "I just had to get away," he said. "Here, we lost. I wanted to find the players. Soon after I got home I found out that I still wanted to manage. It's a great situation. I'm selfish. I want to be part of it."

La Russa, 65, declined a two-year contract plus an option for 2012. It is the first time he has negotiated a one-year deal since becoming Cardinals manager on Oct. 23, 1995.

La Russa insists the one-year arrangement only formalizes his longstanding policy of pondering his tenure after each season.

"We've had this understanding for eight or nine years now: If you don't want me, I'll leave. If I want to leave, let me go," La Russa said.