Cardinals Collapse

That's how ESPN described the NLCS ending last night: Cardinals Collapse. Not Giants win, but Cardinals Collapse.

Because honestly, how else could you describe what happened in the last 3 games of the NLCS? Cardinals were up 3-1 and had 3 chances to clinch another chance at the Fall Classic. 12 out of 14 teams that were up 3-1 had gone on to the World Series. David Freese said it best "yes, but what about the other 2?"

Ironically, the other 2 teams to fall from a 3-1 lead? The St. Louis Cardinals in 1996 and the New York Yankees in 2004.

Want to know an even more bizarre baseball stat?

1996 was Tony LaRussa's first season with the St. Louis Cardinals. They won 88 games that year and went up 3-1 against the Atlanta Braves, only to lose the series in Game 7.

2012 was Mike Matheny's first season with the St. Louis Cardinals. They won 88 games and went up 3-1 against the San Francisco Giants, only to lose the series in Game 7.

Oh, and to top it all off? Matheny was on that 1996 Cardinals team. Seriously?

Something had to give here. Cardinals were facing their 7th win or take all game. Giants were historically 0-5 in Game 7's in the NLCS. Once I heard the 0-5 stat, I just had a bad feeling about this game.

I have to hand it to the San Francisco Giants. They simply played better. The Cardinals appeared to completely shut down. 1 run in 27 innings. 10 unearned runs. You can't expect to win a championship that way.

The thing that kills me is the fire that drove that historic NLDS Game 5 comeback just disappeared halfway through the NLCS. Once Game 5 of the NLCS started it was like the Cardinals had just shut down, given up. Horrible at bats, just awful. Late swings all around. Poor defense. Pitching meltdowns. And the Giants capitalized on every single one.

Not their year. Great run though. Thank you Cardinals, for giving Cardinal Nation a reason to watch baseball in October. There's a lot to look forward to with this team and they always compete, so I look forward to next year. 12 in 13.

But this year it comes down to Detroit vs. San Francisco. Detroit is certainly hungry for that World Series title after losing to the Cardinals in 2006. The Giants seem unable to be stopped. Will be an interesting series. I always root National League though so I guess I'm rooting for the Giants. Though right now that thought is still hard to stomach.

Will post my NFL weekly round-up soon.