They haven't been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but after losing six of their last eight games, the Cardinals are quickly falling out of it. They have no real hope of winning their division, as they currently trail the Cubs by ten games, and their wild card hopes are fading as well with Milwaukee sporting a nice five-game cushion.

So if members of the Cardinals start looking toward next season, you can't really blame them. One of the big questions about the Cardinals in 2009 has been Tony LaRussa, and whether or not he's going to return to the bench and manage the team next season. Well, while he doesn't want to talk about it right now, Tony's not denying that he may leave the Cardinals organization, though it won't be for a managerial position somewhere else.

"If I'm managing next year, I'm managing here," he said.

However, La Russa does not discount growing speculation that he could eventually go elsewhere as general manager. A crush of GM jobs is expected to become available shortly after this season, including in Seattle, Toronto and potentially Washington and San Francisco.

La Russa said any question about a future front office move was "not absurd; but right now it's just not pertinent."

A move to the front office could be an interesting, and no doubt appealing, option for LaRussa. He really doesn't have too much more to prove as a manager, and he might enjoy the challenge of building a team from scratch. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Tony end up as a general manager next season.