This wasn’t quite what Tony LaRussa had in mind.

“In 1995, I thought I might be going to Boston,” the St. Louis manager said this week. “At the time, I said it would be a dream come true to be the guy responsible for the Red Sox finally winning the World Series.

“This isn’t what I meant.”

LaRussa wasn’t responsible for the Sox winning it all at last, but he was the man in the other dugout when 86 years of frustration (formerly known as “the Curse”) came to an end. He was in Boston this week for the 66th annual Boston Baseball Writers’ Association dinner.

He wasn’t alone. He brought along the official lineup cards from the Cards’ dugout, as well as his personal lineup and notes from all four games. He’s auctioning them off for the Animal Rescue Foundation, a charity he and his wife founded in 1988.

Along with the memorabilia, LaRussa will spend an evening with the winning bidder having dinner and talking about the Fall Classic. If Thursday was any indication, he’s got some great stories to tell.

“On this card, I wrote don’t throw any breaking balls to (Jason) Varitek,'” said LaRussa. “And down here, it says oh, crap’ after Varitek drove in two runs with a triple off a breaking ball.”

Obviously, LaRussa has handled the defeat well. Like everyone else in baseball, he’s ready to get to spring training and start again. He watched the shortstop merry-go-round that saw Edgar Renteria leave St. Louis for Boston, Orlando Cabrera leave Boston for Anaheim, and David Eckstein leave Anaheim for St. Louis.

LaRussa said he badly wanted Renteria back in a Cardinals uniform.

“He’s been our favorite since 1999,” said LaRussa. “He was a great teammate. Boston fans will fall in love with him.”

In the meantime, LaRussa’s hoping it all worked out for the best. The Cardinals used some of the money they saved at the shortstop position to acquire Mark Mulder from the Oakland A’s.

“We knew we only had so much money to spend,” said LaRussa. “If we signed Renteria we probably couldn’t have afforded Mark (Mulder.)”

So it goes in major league baseball in 2005. Players come and go and try to leave a legacy in their short time with each club.

LaRussa knows his legacy in Boston. He says he got a standing ovation when he walked into Logan Airport.

“As a fan, I recognize what it means,” said LaRussa, “but we really wanted to win this thing. We only had four guys on our club who had World Series rings. We wanted it real bad.”

In the end, the Red Sox wanted it more. That’s why 2004 will always be a special year to us, and LaRussa will always be a part of that special moment.

Even if it wasn’t the way he once planned it.

Lewiston native Tom Caron is a sports analyst for Red Sox and Bruins telecasts.