Mozeliak knows many questions to come after Series

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The St. Louis Cardinals will play their last game within a matter of days. Then the work really begins for general manager John Mozeliak, who will have little time to relish the success of a World Series season.

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?" Mozeliak said Monday before Game 5. "When you look at this job, it's sort of getting here and just trying to enjoy this moment as best you can. ... Special as this is, it's going to be a fleeting moment. And in time it's going to be right back to it."

Among the first things on the offseason agenda for Mozeliak will be deciding on the mutual contract option for manager Tony La Russa for 2012, an item that should be determined by both parties within two weeks after the end of the World Series.

"At this point, hopeful that we can wrap that up rather quickly," Mozeliak said. "And right now as far as what's going to happen, every time he and I start to sit down and talk about it, we always realize and we sort of pinch ourselves that here we are in the World Series or having success in the postseason. So we just really haven't stopped to focus on it at this time."

There's also the pending free agency for Albert Pujols.

"Our offseason strategy, it hasn't changed dramatically just due to the postseason success," Mozeliak said. "There's certainly some things that when you look at putting this club together, the big question marks are going to be, will we get Albert Pujols re-signed or not? ... There's no doubt, he's been the identity of this organization for the past decade."

The Cardinals already have signed former Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter to a $21 million, two-year contract through 2013, and Lance Berkman to a $12 million dollar deal next year.

Overlooked out

Rafael Furcal led off Game 4 for the Cardinals with a liner that appeared headed toward the left-field corner.

All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre snagged it for the first out of the game -- which was greatly overlooked after Derek Holland pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings for Texas.

"A game-changer," manager Ron Washington said Monday. "You never know what may happen if that ball get up. ... [Furcal] swung at two fastballs and caught one, and Beltre made the play. That ball gets down the line, you don't know what may have happened. You don't know if Derek would have been able to control himself."