Having managed all or part of 29 seasons in the majors, including the past 12 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Tony La Russa knows permanence is a utopian ideal in baseball. Rosters change every year, and not just on the fringes.

La Russa recalls how the Cardinals lost catcher Mike Matheny, shortstop Edgar Renteria and pitcher Woody Williams after the 2004 season. Pitcher Matt Morris and outfielders Reggie Sanders and Larry Walker were gone after the next. And after 2006, when the Cardinals won the World Series, pitchers Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver and Jason Marquis left.

"That's the nature of baseball today," La Russa said. "So we've always gone through some version of this. Now, when you lose your general manager and lose three of your marquee guys, it's a different-looking club than it (otherwise) would be. It's more dramatic than other years."

The Cardinals start the season today against the Rockies after a taxing offseason. It began with a jolt when Walt Jocketty, their general manager for 13 years, was fired Oct. 3 with one year left on his contract. The Cardinals finished below .500 for the first time in eight years, but that wasn't what cost Jocketty his job.

He butted heads and differed philosophically with vice president of player development and scouting Jeff Luhnow, a proponent of statistical analysis who was hired from outside baseball in 2003 and whose influence with ownership had grown.

John Mozeliak, who had been Jocketty's assistant for six seasons, replaced Jocketty, first as interim general manager before being named permanently to the position Oct. 31.

At an even higher level of management, Bill DeWitt III, whose father is the club's chairman, rose in the front office to Cardinals president, replacing Mark Lamping, who earlier this month resigned to head a company that is building a football stadium in New Jersey for the New York Giants and Jets.

That move had nowhere near the seismic reverberations as the trades of third baseman Scott Rolen and center fielder Jim Edmonds and the decision not to re-sign free-agent shortstop David Eckstein. Edmonds spent eight seasons with the Cardinals, Rolen nearly 51/2 and Eckstein three.

While with the Cardinals, Rolen made four All-Star teams, Edmonds three and Eckstein one in addition to being named Most Valuable Player of the 2006 World Series.

"You play with a guy like Eckstein and you gain such respect for the way he goes about his business every day and the tenacity he brings to every play," second baseman Aaron Miles said. "And Scott Rolen the same. And Jimmy Edmonds was such a key figure in here to a lot of the guys. They're winning players, and it's tough to lose those guys. But all good things come to an end."

Transition season

Cardinals fans only can wonder if the good times they have come to expect have ended, at least temporarily.

The Cardinals have made the playoffs in seven of La Russa's 12 seasons. And before last season, they had won or shared the National League Central six of the previous seven years.

They won 78 games last year in a season that was an endless struggle.

La Russa was arrested on a charge of drunken driving during spring training. Pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in an auto accident April 29.

Ace Chris Carpenter started Opening Day, then missed the rest of the season because of an elbow injury. And left-hander Mark Mulder, recovering from shoulder surgery in September 2006, made three September appearances before undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery Sept. 24 to repair a rotator cuff.

The Cardinals hope Mulder will return in May, and Carpenter, who had ligament replacement surgery July 24, could be back after the All-Star break.

But Rolen, who turns 33 on Friday, Edmonds, 37, and Eckstein, 33, are gone. And with the Cardinals hoping their two best pitchers will be able to combine for 20 to 30 starts, it's understandable why many Cardinals fans see this as a year of transition.

"The fact is, the payroll's still going to be north of $100 million," said Mozeliak, who grew up in Boulder and went to Fairview High School. "And if we're looking at ways to take a step backwards this year, we could have pared it down a lot more.

"We really believe at some point Mulder and Carpenter are going to contribute to this club. We just want to make sure we're in a position that, early on, we stay close."

To that end, when the Cardinals learned a shoulder injury would sideline pitcher Joel Pineiro until mid-April, they signed Kyle Lohse for $4.25 million. Lohse won't be ready to start until Sunday.

By then, Cardinals fans will be more accustomed to the absences of Rolen, Edmonds and Eckstein.

Irreconcilable differences

The gap between Rolen and La Russa grew into a chasm, their differences irrevocable to the point a trade was the only option.

"I really didn't feel it was something that we necessarily could work through," Mozeliak said. "But by the same token, I didn't want to make a deal just to make a deal and then end up with a void at third and nothing in return."

On Jan. 14, Mozeliak traded Rolen, whose left shoulder bothered him last season when he hit eight home runs with 58 RBI in 112 games, to Toronto for third baseman Troy Glaus, 31, a four-time All-Star.

Injuries have slowed Edmonds the past two seasons. He hit .252 with 12 homers and 53 RBI in 117 games last year. Toward the end of 2007, La Russa was less inclined to start the left-handed-hitting Edmonds against left-handed pitchers. Edmonds wanted assurance he would play every day this season but didn't get it.

The Cardinals have younger outfielders such as Skip Schumaker, Rick Ankiel, who will start the season in center field, Chris Duncan, Brian Barton and Ryan Ludwick.

And they also have impressive Colby Rasmus, 21, regarded as the center fielder of the future, starting the season at Triple-A.

Edmonds spoke with Mozeliak about a possible trade, something Mozeliak initially didn't believe was worth exploring. But after determining it was time to give some of the young outfielders an opportunity, Mozeliak said that made a trade more logical.

"If I didn't feel it was something that was going to put us in a better situation, I wasn't going to do it," Mozeliak said. "It wasn't just to move the money."

Namely, $6 million. The Cardinals will pay $2 million of Edmonds' $8 million salary this year with San Diego.

He was traded Dec. 15 for third baseman David Freese, who played at high Single-A last year.

Injuries slow Eckstein

When the Cardinals signed Eckstein to a three-year, $10.25 million contract in December 2004, they grudgingly agreed to a third season because of the need to replace Renteria.

After injuries limited Eckstein to 123 games in 2006 and 117 last year, the Cardinals wanted no part of the multiyear deal he was seeking. Eckstein signed a one-year contract with Toronto for $4.5 million, identical to his 2007 salary.

To replace Eckstein, the Cardinals signed free agent Cesar Izturis, 28, who hasn't been a regular since he underwent reconstructive elbow surgery during the 2005 season. He'll make $2.85 million and could earn $650,000 more in incentives with 650 plate appearances.

"We really felt it was an opportunity to improve our defense," Mozeliak said. "It's a short-term solution. . . . We have young players coming through our system that are going to contribute at the major league level."

The Cardinals haven't had consecutive losing seasons since 1994 (53-61) and 1995 (62-81), the final years before La Russa's arrival.

Despite the generally baleful predictions about the Cardinals' season, La Russa emphasizes, "I don't care how smart you are as a prognosticator, you have no crystal ball."

And he said internally, the Cardinals have made the point of putting no limits on the club.

"I believe we're going to be competitive," La Russa said.

"Now, is that competitive enough to contend? We'll see; that's why you play the games. I'm not going to get into transition or rebuilding. We're just going to compete."

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Show of support

Before last season ended, Tony La Russa, whose contract was about to expire, met with his Cardinals players to see if they wanted him to return for a 13th season, aware there comes a time when players tire of listening to the same voice.

"If the owners and front office let you know they want you back, then you really have no self-respect if you know you lost the club and you just hang in there, stealing the money," La Russa said.

La Russa said the only negative vote about his return came from Scott Rolen, not unexpected considering their strained relationship.

Then came a surprise. General manager Walt Jocketty, whose relationship with La Russa dates to 1976, was fired after the season.

"You have that switch in the front office and I'm wondering, 'Wait a minute. Are they sending a message they want to change the management team?' " La Russa said.

La Russa said he asked that question of chairman and chief executive officer Bill DeWitt Jr. but was told that wasn't the case.

Meanwhile, interim general manager John Mozeliak and other candidates for the position, including Cleveland assistant general manager Chris Antonetti and San Diego special assistant in baseball operations Paul DePodesta, told DeWitt their choice to manage the Cardinals was La Russa.

He finalized matters by agreeing to a two-year contract Oct. 22, but before that, he received support that was humbling. Namely "some great phone calls" from St. Louis icons Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock.

"For a scumbag like me to have that kind of expression . . . that was pretty overwhelming," La Russa said.

Bleakest scenario

With Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds gone, first baseman Albert Pujols is bound to be pitched around more. But the Cardinals, whose run production has declined four straight years, have a bigger offensive fear lurking.

Pujols has what team doctor George Paletta classified as a "high-grade" tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Pujols and the Cardinals have been managing the elbow problem since a ligament strain was detected in 2003. But if and when that no longer can be done, reconstructive surgery is the option. For a position player such as Pujols, the rehabilitation process is seven to eight months.

Asked what the loss of Pujols would mean, general manager John Mozeliak said the season "would be almost a travesty. You don't replace Albert Pujols."

Then and now

The Cardinals' projected lineup against left-hander Jeff Francis and the Rockies today will be vastly different from the one that started the 2007 season against left-hander Tom Glavine and the New York Mets.

2007 . . . 2008

SS David Eckstein . . . RF Skip Schumaker

RF Preston Wilson . . . LF Ryan Ludwick

1B Albert Pujols . . . 1B Albert Pujols

3B Scott Rolen . . . 3B Troy Glaus

C Yadier Molina . . . CF Rick Ankiel

CF Jim Edmonds . . . C Yadier Molina

LF So Taguchi . . . SS Cesar Izturis

2B Adam Kennedy . . . RHP Adam Wainwright

RHP Chris Carpenter . . . 2B Aaron Miles

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