St Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals didn't lose the National League Championship Series because of Mike Matheny. But the manager didn't exactly do the greatest job of preventing his club from losing—or even of putting it in position to beat the World Series-bound San Francisco Giants.

Red October has come to a crashing end. St. Louis fell short of reaching the World Series and a chance at the 12th title in franchise history. 

The Cardinals remain the model franchise of Major League Baseball, and 2014 should not be written off as a bust. The Cardinals captured their second straight division championship and advanced to their fourth consecutive league championship series. 

The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will face off in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday with the series tied at two games apiece.

The matchup between the two Senior Circuit heavyweights figured to be an even one, and it’s lived up to that billing through two games so far.

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to go into the playoffs as healthy as possible, but this could be a problem with Matt Holliday coming out of Saturday's game early.

A prospect-churning player development system is a luxury every organization throughout Major League Baseball would like to have. In St. Louis, the pipeline begins in Palm Beach, Florida, and ends under the Arch in front of the best fans in baseball. The Cardinals are loaded with prospects. 

Baseball in September represents a time when teams on the outside looking in make one last effort to secure a playoff spot. Other clubs fight for positioning. And yet, roster spots for the playoffs remain up for grabs in St. Louis, where a few of the Cardinals’ call-ups are making their case.

Some of the late-season call-ups have already displayed the ability to provide this club with a spark. Starting pitcher Marco Gonzales heads the group. 

Because they inhabit a playoff position at the moment, the St. Louis Cardinals are postseason contenders. But for most of 2014, the club hasn't played up to preseason hopes and expectations that included visions of a second straight World Series run. The prime culprit? The lineup.

The St. Louis Cardinals were active at the non-waiver trade deadline this season.  The moves shook up the clubhouse by sending two clubhouse favorites, Allen Craig and Joe Kelly, to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for John Lackey and Corey Littrell.

After losing his job with the Boston Red Sox, A.J. Pierzynski is ready to return to the major leagues. The team announced the deal on Saturday:

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the St. Louis Cardinals were attempting to sign the veteran catcher:

Adam Wainwright clearly never took a lesson in integrity from the Derek Jeter school of baseball.

In interviews following his All-Star game start, Wainwright told reporters that he put his first-inning, 1-0 pitch to Jeter on a tee: