It’s hard to know what to say after this series.


On the one hand, the Los Angeles Dodgers played great baseball in the NLDS. They pitched, they hit, they played defense, and they took advantage of mistakes made by the St. Louis Cardinals. On the other hand, the Cardinals made a lot of mistakes in this series. They didn’t hit, they didn’t pitch, they didn’t play good defense…hell, they couldn’t even run the bases correctly once they did get a hit or two.


But that’s all just stating the obvious. The real question that needs to be answered is actually the simplest of all: What the hell happened?


Nothing at all has gone right for this team since the beginning of September, and that was after one of the best Augusts in recent memory. But what’s the reason? This team was supposed to be mostly healthy. Are they? Everyone knows about Albert Pujols’ elbow, Mark DeRosa’s wrist, Brendan Ryan’s finger, and Yadier Molina’s knee. But those were not serious injuries. Were they the only injuries? Are they worse than we know?


I guess I’m just grasping for something, anything that can help me understand the absolute shutdown the Cards went through over the past six weeks or so.


A number of talking heads and experts picked the Cardinals to make it to the World Series this year. Even while they were mired in their late-season slump, the Cards were still expected to be able to get past the Dodgers, even if it was a tough series. I bought into this mentality heavily. And obviously I underestimated the Dodgers…unless I overestimated the Cardinals.


Saturday night I went to my first playoff game. I thought things were a bit out of control in this series before yesterday’s game, but the Dodgers still had to win three. If Joel Piniero could be the groundball machine he was throughout most of the regular season, the Cards had a good chance to win. Then Carpenter would be tabbed to pitch Game 4, and Wainwright would be back up for Game 5. A comeback wasn’t completely out of the question.


As I settled into my seat just before the first pitch, the crowd was berserk. The air felt electric. Even after the Dodgers scored a run in the top of the 1st inning, the break in the noise an mood was fleeting. And then the Cardinals came up in their half of the first. Once again, they loaded the bases; once again, they failed to drive home a run. It was an omen. I remember saying, “well that’s not good,” but I was thinking, “here we go again.”


The Cardinals must have thought the same thing. Piniero was not sharp. Players and coaches alike were arguing balls and strikes. Hits were hard to come by, and runs were non-existent. Even though Andre Ethier’s home run in the 3rd inning only game the Dodgers a 3-0 lead, I couldn’t help but start wondering if the game was already over.


That’s a terrible feeling considering all the Cardinals did this season. In the spring, questions remained about the closer, team health, team defense, etc. But when Tony LaRussa is leading a club, maximum effort is the only thing that will be tolerated. The team started off hot, then cooled. Early injuries were weathered. The rotation was looking good. The offense was decent. The defense was serviceable. Then big things started happening. Mark DeRosa was acquired. Julio Lugo and Matt Holliday, too. John Smoltz even came to the Cardinals. The front office was building a hell of a team for this 2009 campaign. The wins were coming fast and furious. The lead in the NL Central ballooned, and the Magic Number was being discussed way before September 1.


Then the Cards went into a slide. And they never recovered. Including the NLDS, they lost 11 of their final 13 games. That’s awful baseball from any team; it’s unbelievably bad baseball from this team. And while the Dodgers had their own issues towards the end of the regular season, they were ready for the playoffs.


The Cardinals were not.  


Chris Reed is a freelance writer from Belleville, IL who also blogs on the Cardinals at http://bird-brained.mlblogs.com