ST. LOUIS — The day after in the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse showcased solace and regret, with hugs traded among teammates at the same time stalls were cleared for a long, cold winter.
A little more than 16 hours had passed since the collapse was complete, since the defending World Series champions' repeat campaign was washed away in a downpour at AT&T Park with the San Francisco Giants' 9-0 victory in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals had met a foe as unwilling to fade into the offseason as they once were, and when Matt Holliday popped out to second baseman Marco Scutaro to end a delirious Monday night in the Bay Area, a 3-1 series lead became a distant memory.
Tuesday afternoon, after a final flight home, the Cardinals were left to wonder what went wrong in the last four days. Less than a week earlier, following a Game 4 victory, they gained control with favorable history: Since 1985, 14 teams had held a 3-1 NLCS lead and all but two advanced to the World Series. St. Louis had outscored San Francisco 11-4 during triumphs in Games 3 and 4, and a rematch of the 2006 Fall Classic against the Detroit Tigers appeared certain.
But as harrowing as the Cardinals' run has been the last two postseasons, the end was equally dramatic. They played three consecutive games with a chance to advance. They suffered three consecutive defeats.
When it was over, they produced countless reasons to wonder why.
"I wasn't planning on being here, doing this today," said Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse, who allowed five runs and six hits in two innings Monday. "I was hoping to be talking over there in that (meeting) room tomorrow. But that's the way it is now. This is reality. We've got to pack up and get ready for a new season."
This season began with questions and closed with more. St. Louis coped without Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa, persevered through injuries to Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal and survived with rookie manager Mike Matheny. They won 88 times in the regular season. They beat the Atlanta Braves in a controversial NL wild-card game. They upset the Washington Nationals, who finished with Major League Baseball's best record, in a breathless NL Division Series Game 5 within a city that last witnessed postseason baseball in 1933.
Yet each of those gains, each of those surprises, vanished with an Arctic-cold offense in Games 5 through 7 of the NLCS. The Cardinals were outscored 20-1 in the three losses. They struck out 27 times and batted .190. They were 1-for-21 with runners in scoring position.
For the first time in a long while in October, after six consecutive triumphs in winner-take-all games, St. Louis looked like a group overcome by living life on a canyon's edge. There will be no more red-and-white confetti tumbling in the chilled air above Busch Stadium. The Giants, winners of six consecutive elimination games themselves, look like fall's charmed team.
"I feel like that's the nature of offense sometimes that it goes hot and cold," said Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig, who went 0-for-4 on Monday. "You've got to get hot at the right time. I feel like we had a pretty good showing in the playoffs. Offensively, we just didn't finish strong. That's the frustrating part of it. We feel we had a chance, but we just didn't finish strong the last three games."
Because of it, the collapse will stay with the Cardinals for some time. It brought to mind the 1996 NLCS, when St. Louis was outscored 32-1 in three consecutive defeats to Atlanta. The Cardinals mastered the Giants in two of three games played at Busch Stadium last week, so their fall was swift and surreal.
In many ways, though, St. Louis overachieved in this season of transition. An argument can be made that the Cardinals never should have been within one game from another World Series without a future Hall-of-Fame manager. An argument can be made that they never should have been within one game from another World Series without one of the most feared hitters ever.
Yes, an argument can be made that St. Louis never should have been in position to be stunned, to become a footnote in postseason lore and be forced to speak about recovery amid cardboard boxes packed for destinations unknown. It's fair to say the journey was candy, the endpoint producing more salt for their wounds than sugar for their tongues.
But the day after a collapse isn't time for such talk, not in a clubhouse where a logo that reads, "2011 World Series Champions" is printed on the nameplate above each stall. After three victories in four NLCS games, the Cardinals expected to host the Fall Classic on Wednesday. They expected to win.
Cardinals second baseman Daniel Descalso captured the abrupt end best, standing near his locker as the day after dragged. Nearby, a laundry basket of red cleats was filled to the brim. Rock music played over a loudspeaker. Some stalls stood clear, others full.
"I'm sure I'll reflect on it in the next coming weeks, but there are probably a lot of good things we can take from this year," said Descalso, who went 0-for-3 on Monday.
"Obviously, it didn't end up the way we wanted. But that's baseball."
That's baseball all right. That's disappointment after losing a chance to play another day, after losing a chance to defend a crown.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
