Originally Published: October 12, 2009

Kiss 'Em Goodbye: St. Louis Cardinals

Pitching and Pujols could carry them only so far, and now changes are coming

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By Buster Olney, Baseball Prospectus and Insider staff
ESPN Insider

Insider's series on MLB teams that are done for the year continues with the St. Louis Cardinals, who became the second straight NL Central team to get swept out of the division series by the Los Angeles Dodgers. To see an archive of Kiss 'Em Goodbye, please go here.

Baseball Prospectus' preseason PECOTA projection: 83-79, third place
Actual record: 91-71, first place

In about half a week, this team went from "perceived to have a good shot to win the NL" to "searching for an identity." Baseball is funny like that.

To read Buster Olney's take on what went wrong for the Cardinals and what's next, plus items from the rumor mill, number-crunching analysis from Baseball Prospectus, a draft recap, and whom to watch in spring training, you must be an ESPN Insider. Insider

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Kiss 'Em Goodbye on ESPN Insider

Insider and Baseball Prospectus now ask: What went wrong for each MLB team, and what may the future hold? We'll be covering the playoff teams as they're eliminated, and finish off with what the World Series champs need to do to improve (hey, there's always something).Insider

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