Tony La Russa Retires: Top 3 Replacements for Cardinals' Vacant Manager Position

Tony La Russa is going out on top. 

The St. Louis Cardinals manager, who ranks third all-time with 2,728 wins, is retiring. He made the announcement official at a press conference on Monday morning. 

La Russa won three World Series titles and six league championships in 33 seasons as a manager. 

The Cardinals have a lot of big decisions to make this offseason. Albert Pujols is a free agent and now La Russa leaves a huge hole in the dugout. 

The good news is there are a number of great managerial candidates who will fit right in with the Cardinals.

Here are the top 3 names that the 2011 World Series champions should take a long look at.

Jose Oquendo, St. Louis Cardinals Third Base Coach

Credentials: Manager of New Jersey Cardinals (1998), Bench Coach for St. Louis Cardinals (1999), Third Base Coach for St. Louis Cardinals (2000-Present)

Jose Oquendo has been in the St. Louis Cardinals franchise for 24 of the last 25 years - 10 as a player, 14 as a manager/coach in the system. 

No one knows the current roster any better than Oquendo. He has a good relationship with everyone in the organization and is as well respected as any third base coach in Major League Baseball. 

The one negative with Oquendo is that he has not managed anywhere in 13 years, so he might not be completely up to speed on the way the job is handled today. However, he has been such a fixture in this organization for so many years that he should be able to pick things up quickly. 

Bobby Valentine, ESPN MLB Analyst

Credentials: Manager Texas Rangers (1985-1992), Manager Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan (1995, 2004-2009), Manager New York Mets (1996-2002)

Bobby Valentine strikes me as a Tony La Russa clone in the dugout. He is far more animated then La Russa, but they seem to have similar styles. They don't embrace a lot of the "new" age thinking about baseball. 

Valentine has been up for a number of jobs, or at least rumored to be, but has not found that right fit just yet.

The Cardinals are a good team that is ready to win right now, so Valentine would not have to endure a long rebuilding process. 

Selfishly, I hope he does get the job just so he stops calling games for ESPN because he is not very good at analyzing the game in the announcers booth. 

Terry Francona

Credentials: Detroit Tigers Third Base Coach (1996), Philadelphia Phillies Manager (1997-2000), Texas Rangers Bench Coach (2002), Oakland A's Bench Coach (2003), Boston Red Sox Manager (2004-2011)

Forget everything that you heard and read about Terry Francona after he left the Boston Red Sox because that was just a case of sour grapes and a team trying to find a scapegoat for a season that derailed in September. 

Francona was widely regarded as one of the best managers in baseball during his time with the Red Sox. He knows how to handle a high-pressure environment and get the most out of the players on his team.

This is just speculation on my part, and I don't even know if Francona has managerial aspirations in 2012, but if he does, the Cardinals need to put him right at the top of their list. 

Of all the managerial candidates available, Francona is the best one on the market.