In the fine print of Monday’s announcement of the return of manager Tony La Russa for his 16^th season at the helm of the St. Louis Cardinals was the word that bullpen coach Marty Mason was being fired for having made what was later disclosed to be internal remarks critical of the organization’s player development processes.

In contrast with past La Russa return announcements, there was no statement made about contracts for next season having been offered to and accepted by the remainder of the major league coaches. There had been earlier speculation that one reason for La Russa’s 15-day delay since the end of the season to make his decision was over the future of his staff.

One major question surrounds first-year hitting coach Mark McGwire, a controversial choice from the start due to his past steroid use, lack of professional coaching experience and later because of the offensive inconsistency demonstrated by the Cardinals this past season. Two of McGwire’s holdover students from his private hitting instruction days, Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumaker, were among the club’s biggest disappointments in 2010. The new coach also publicly criticized the organization’s long-standing reliance on video. Mac’s hiring was originally announced last October 26 in conjunction with La Russa’s decision to return for 2010.

Late Monday evening, Post-Dispatch beat writer Joe Strauss tweeted the following:

“According to TLR, McGwire “really torn” about return as hitting coach. (Family reasons.) My guess: He doesn’t.”

This seems very strange.

Just six weeks ago, the Post-Dispatch ran an article by Derrick Goold entitled “McGwire finds he loves coaching,” in which the rookie hitting coach was extremely positive. Among his remarks:

“I know one thing after this, I would really love to be a hitting coach for many, many years,” McGwire said.

Big Mac’s closing comment (highlighting is mine):

“I’ve learned a great deal of stuff throughout this whole season, and I’d love to continue doing this for a long time,” McGwire said. “But I’ve got to be offered the job first.”

Nine days later, Strauss penned another positive McGwire piece, this time from La Russa’s perspective, “La Russa gives McGwire high marks.” Strauss’ opening sentence said it all.

“Mac is back, at least if Cardinals manager Tony La Russa factors in the decision.”

What changed since September 11? Big Mac didn’t mention family matters pulling him away from his work. La Russa was pushing for his return. The outcome of the Cardinals disappointing season was already all but officially decided.

Reading between the lines, perhaps McGwire isn’t being offered the job in 2011.

In other words, could La Russa have lost an internal battle to keep McGwire, with the Cardinals offering the hitting coach a far more gracious exit than given Mason? Or did Big Mac have a 180 degree change of heart since last month?

We’ll see over the upcoming days.

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That in itself is hardly news, as the former Royals and Devil Rays manager has been on the hot seat as the team’s offense sputtered down the stretch and in the post-season despite the addition of three new, high-profile players.

What is news however, is that ESPN is labeling secluded slugger Mark McGwire as the leading replacement.

On one hand, that is not new either, as La Russa has stated on several occasions that he has tried to get his former first baseman into coaching. Yet becoming the full-time hitting coach would be light-years ahead of what appeared to be the previous target – just getting Big Mac to show up at spring training camp as a special instructor.

In fact, McGwire actually agreed to assist La Russa in spring training 2008, but had to back out at the last minute, reportedly over a family matter.

There are a number of reasons the 46-year-old McGwire would be a good and inspired choice to replace McRae.

1. Freshness in the coaching ranks. The continuity that La Russa has fostered in his staff is admirable and a contributor to the team’s success. Yet, no turnover could lead to some stagnation. McGwire, while a long-time La Russa favorite, would clearly change that.
2. Coaching familiarity. Though he has no formal professional coaching credentials, McGwire has worked with current Cardinals Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker and former Redbird Chris Duncan in California in recent off-seasons. All have been very positive about the instruction given.
3. The Holliday factor. In his evaluation of where to sign a new contract, impending free agent Holliday might give a slight increase in consideration to the Cardinals with McGwire in the dugout. I don’t want to oversell this however, as I sincerely doubt agent Scott Boras cares one way or another enough to increase the value of any “hometown discount” for Holliday’s continued services.
4. The Pujols factor. Albert Pujols came up from the minors in spring training, 2001 and learned the ropes of being a major leaguer at the knee of McGwire, who was then starting what would be his final season. In fact, I have often wondered if Pujols hadn’t learned how to deal with the media from Big Mac, too. Then there is that not-so-little issue of Albert’s contract extension. Having McGwire around again every day surely couldn’t hurt Pujols’ feelings about the Cardinals’ commitment to win.

So, what is not to like?

It’s that 800-pound gorilla in the room – McGwire’s unwillingness to discuss the past. Those darned media types won’t let him alone. And that is the problem, a huge one.

Unless Mac deals head on with the questions that have smudged his reputation since his appearance in front of a congressional committee in March, 2005, his mere presence as a coach could turn the 2010 Cardinals into either a circus, a high-security prison camp or both.

There are two ways this could go. In their zeal to get McGwire out of hiding, the Cardinals may have decided to take the careful path – not addressing the off-field issues directly. Instead, they could decide to build an even stronger protective cocoon around McGwire than they did when he was an active player.

I think most of us can imagine what a distraction that could become and ultimately, how unsuccessful it would be.

The other way to move ahead is for McGwire to do precisely what even La Russa himself suggested this past spring – for Big Mac to provide some closure to the open questions about his past.

“I think if he came to spring training and was seen, so the writers and the fans could say, ‘There’s Mark,’ and answer whatever they want, I think that would go a long way, in my opinion,” La Russa told the New York Times in January.

It is an interesting theory that the prolonged delay on the part of La Russa to announce his return as manager for 2010 is not totally due to his own indecision, but instead to buy time to come up with a workable plan to get McGwire onto his coaching staff.

Here is hoping it is successful, but only if McGwire steps up and allows us all to move ahead.

Update: The Cardinals will be holding an 11 a.m. press conference on Monday. Subject not disclosed.