■ Cardinals: Nearly two weeks after his team was swept in the first round of the playoffs, Tony La Russa is still trying to decide if he wants to return for a 15th season as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
In a telephone interview yesterday with The Associated Press, La Russa promised the team that he'd make a decision fairly soon. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and General Manager John Mozeliak have said they'd like La Russa back.
"I know the organization needs an answer," La Russa said. "I told them when I figure out whether there's fire in there or not, I'll let them know. I'm not going to take forever."
■ Red Sox: Right-hander Tim Wakefield said he's looking forward to next season after undergoing back surgery. The veteran knuckleballer said he has no plans to retire after Wednesday's operation for a herniated disk.
Wakefield, 43, had an outstanding first half of the season and was picked for the All-Star game for the first time. But he had no wins in limited action after that and finished the season at 11-5 with a 4.58 ERA.
He has 175 wins in his 15 seasons with the Red Sox and said yesterday that he wants to pass Roger Clemens and Cy Young for the club record of 192 and would like to get 200. The Red Sox have the option to renew his contract on a year-to-year basis for $4 million annually.
■ Tigers: All-Star third baseman Brandon Inge will have surgery on both knees Nov. 3 to address patella tendinitis that plagued him all season. He is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in February. Inge, 32, hit .230 with 27 home runs and 84 RBIs in 161 games.
■ Padres: Randy Ready, who remains a candidate to become manager of the Houston Astros, was one of six coaches agreeing to contracts to return to San Diego's staff. Padres manager Bud Black said yesterday that if Ready doesn't get the Astros job, he'll return to the Padres.
Ready was named Padres hitting coach on July 31 to replace the fired Jim Lefebvre. He had been managing Class AAA Portland.
Black's staff returns intact. Also agreeing to one-year contract extensions were bench coach Ted Simmons, pitching coach Darren Balsley, first-base coach Rick Renteria, third base coach Glenn Hoffman and bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds.
In August, Black received a contract extension through 2010, with a team option for 2011.
■ Indians: Bobby Valentine, a former manager of the New York Mets who spent the past six seasons in Japan, had his second interview with Cleveland yesterday. He admits he has a lot of catching up to do after being away from the major leagues, but says he would embrace the chance to take over the Indians. Valentine led the Mets to the World Series in 2000 and has a record of 1,117-1,072 as a manager for Texas and New York.
On Tuesday, former Washington manager Manny Acta met with Cleveland's owners and front-office members. Torey Lovullo, the club's Class AAA manager in Columbus, will be interviewed today, and the club is trying to schedule a meeting with Don Mattingly, the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
■ Umpires: Major League Baseball is breaking tradition and will stick with only experienced umpires in the World Series after a rash of blown calls in the playoffs. Longtime crew chiefs Joe West, Dana DeMuth and Gerry Davis, along with Brian Gorman, Jeff Nelson and Mike Everitt will handle the games, three people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press this week.
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