The St. Louis Cardinals' bats were silent yet again in Game 7, failing them when they needed them most. What was a roller coaster season for the Redbirds culminated in a disappointing, rain-soaked 9-0 loss at AT&T Park Monday night. After jumping out to a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Giants, the Cardinals seemingly lost the ability to hit and field, losing the final three matches by a combined 20-1 and committing four errors in the process.

For Tom S. of Viva El Birdos, as disappointing as Monday night's Game 7 loss was, it doesn't come close to spoiling what has been a "stunning" and successful season for the Cardinals:

The temptation is to devise some essential moral lesson to the last 3 games, probably involving heart and winning spirit. If you buy that kind of story, you haven't been paying attention. This end is a frustrating end to a great season. I'll remember it more fondly than not.

The 88-win 2012 Cardinals went further into the postseason than 26 other teams. They went just as far into the postseason as the 2005 Cardinals.

I guess you can walk around believing that only seasons that are worth playing are ones that end in a World Series, but you're going to hate about 90% of baseball seasons unless you're a Yankee fan.

We have a talented team and great prospects for next year. Thank you to the team, the staff, and the front office for putting a great, entertaining product on the field. I hope you've enjoyed the 2012 season with VEB as much as the other writers and I have enjoyed it with you.

The San Francisco Giants move on to challenge the Detriot Tigers in the World Series, which begins Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET in San Francisco.