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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Miklasz: Once-banging Cardinals go out with a whimper

Wear out with purpose! Is the Brendan Ryan era over?

We congratulate the Dodgers and manager Joe Torre for their impressive wipeout, and Torre warrants praise for winning the duel of future Hall of Fame managers.

Truth is the Cardinals eliminated themselves with a showcase of the worst baseball they’ve played all season. They scored six runs in three games. They had one homer and a scrawny .369 slugging percentage. Most damaging of all, they scratched out only four hits in 31 at-bats with runners in scoring position, including a feckless 1 for 17 in the final two games.

“We had higher expectations with the talent we had in this club,” third baseman DeRosa said.

Indeed. How does a team with two legitimate Cy Young candidates and the likely league MVP fail to win a postseason game?

No spin here: This was an epic failure.

...“We didn’t show up,” Cardinals ownership partner Drew Baur said to friends as he stood in the lobby after Game 3.

It is rare to see a La Russa team wilt in the corner, like a boxer who can’t answer the bell for the next round. But so it was on Saturday night. The crowd of 47,296 waved towels, trying to rally their baseball heroes, only to see the Cardinals throw in the towel instead.

Repoz Posted: October 11, 2009 at 11:16 AM | 13 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: cardinals

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1. bobm Posted: October 11, 2009 at 11:43 AM (#3348283)

The Dodgers pitched better and fielded better.

2. salvomania Posted: October 11, 2009 at 02:52 PM (#3348331)

only to see the Cardinals throw in the towel instead.

Yeah, it was disappointing to see the Cardinals not even trying.

3. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: October 11, 2009 at 03:45 PM (#3348348)

Maybe I'm really immature, but that headline seems really funny to me.

4. Toolsy McClutch Posted: October 11, 2009 at 03:46 PM (#3348349)

Lame, Cards win game 2 and the series is completely different (obviously). So maybe they showed up for 8 2/3 innings, then left after that - maybe they're Dodger fans!

5. Slivers of Maranville (SdeB) Posted: October 11, 2009 at 04:00 PM (#3348356)

Seems the Cardinals have caught the NL Central playoff curse from the Cubs.

6. Maholm Shuffle Posted: October 11, 2009 at 04:11 PM (#3348366)

The Brewers are the only NL Central team to win a postseason game in the last three years.

"We didn’t show up,” Cardinals ownership partner Drew Baur said to friends as he stood in the lobby after Game 3.

Maybe LaRussa will be moving on after this one.

7. Tripon Posted: October 11, 2009 at 04:38 PM (#3348396)

Lame, Cards win game 2 and the series is completely different (obviously). So maybe they showed up for 8 2/3 innings, then left after that - maybe they're Dodger fans!

I saw a bunch of empty seats in St. Louis after the 7th inning.

8. Anonymous Observer Posted: October 11, 2009 at 05:03 PM (#3348431)

Maybe LaRussa will be moving on after this one.

I'm more concerned about Dave Duncan. I'll be REALLY surprised if he's still the Cardinals pitching coach next year.

AO

9. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: October 11, 2009 at 05:15 PM (#3348443)

Maybe I'm really immature, but that headline seems really funny to me.

I figured Repoz was linking to gay porn just for the hell of it.

I saw a bunch of empty seats in St. Louis after the 7th inning.

Best fans in baseball!

10. McCoy Posted: October 11, 2009 at 05:28 PM (#3348470)

prepare to be surprised.

11. Anonymous Observer Posted: October 11, 2009 at 07:03 PM (#3348661)

prepare to be surprised.

I really hope so. I honestly can't picture the organization without La Russa and Duncan. And I know that they are a package deal (you can't have one without the other), but I think Duncan is a more important piece for continued success than La Russa is.

12. phredbird

Posted: October 11, 2009 at 07:55 PM (#3348835)

I think Duncan is a more important piece for continued success than La Russa

no. duncan is great, but larussa is the straw that stirs the drink. the guy knows how to get his team ready. ready fo the season, that is.
it has been frustrating to see some of the things that have happened to the cards in the playoffs under larussa. anybody remember '96? cards were the first team (and i still think only) to drop 3 separate 7-game series after going up 3-1.
and they never should have dropped the NLCS to the astros in '05.

frankly, i won't be surprised to see TLR and dunc move on.

13. Levi Stahl Posted: October 12, 2009 at 01:00 PM (#3349542)

I was really surprised by how many fans around me left after about 7 innings on Saturday. I bet 20% of the crowd, maybe 30, was gone by the 8th. I mean, yes, it was cold and yes, the whole enterprise had seemed doomed from the moment the Cards left the bases loaded in the 1st, but good god, it's the playoffs! And after that game there wasn't going to be any baseball in town for six months!

Where on earth could people need to be in such a hurry on a Saturday evening? In St. Louis, of all places?!

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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Miklasz: Once-banging Cardinals go out with a whimper

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