On the same day the St. Louis Cardinals trumpeted the return of manager Tony La Russa, baseball guru Bill James was heralding a “historic bubble” in Major League Baseball.

What do the two have to do with one another?

One is about the fate of an organization. The other is about the future of the game.

'We are sitting in a historic bubble of young talent,” James is quoted in a press release for the 2008 edition of his book. “Arguably there is more outstanding young talent around right now than at any other moment in baseball history.”

The Hardball Times expounds on that thesis in an article posted to its site on Monday.

Scroll down to the bottom of the piece and you’ll find James’ list of the top young talents in the game (explanation here). All of them are 26 or younger. More than half the players are less than 24 years old. Out of the 25 guys on the list, 16 of them call the National League home.

If you want to know why former G.M. Walt Jocketty lost power and V.P. of player development Jeff Luhnow has gained prominence, take a look at those names. Not a single player listed wears the birds on the bat.

That will hopefully change in the coming years, but the transition won’t be easy. Luhnow and La Russa make an odd couple (according to today’s Post-Dispatch, the two have had “limited contact”).

The next Cardinals GM will be confronted with the baseball equivalent of a centaur. The face of the organization will be lawyer La Russa. But its fresh arms and legs will be supplied by former McKinsey consultant Luhnow.

One half wants to focus on re-signing David Eckstein and bringing back So Taguchi. The other half would prefer to examine things like VORP, WARP and BABIP.

One side is pleased that pitcher Joel Pineiro is back in the fold. The other side could mount considerable evidence that Pineiro doesn’t represent progress at all.

One camp screams for DeWitt to open DeWallet (to cite one annoying phrase). The other camp points out while more money may make Tony’s veggie sandwich go down a little easier, it doesn’t necessarily lead to more victories. It’s not always the amount of money that’s spent -- it’s how you spend your money.

And so it goes, on and on, back and forth. Can this logjam be broken?

I think it depends on the GM. If it’s interim man John Mozeliak, La Russa has little incentive to change. If it’s someone from the outside, say Chris Antonetti from Cleveland, I think a shift in the organization will slowly begin to take hold.

In that scenario, the proper metaphor is no longer a centaur but an iceberg. La Russa is the visible tip but the real power and mass is consolidated below the surface, out of site from the Busch Stadium stands.

Will it be smooth sailing or will Cardinals fans need Dramamine in 2008? Captain DeWitt’s next move should tell us a lot.