Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch calls it “the python offense”, feeding once a week on a huge meal and then lying dormant for the other six days. Baseball digest calls it “a natural end of season lull that most good teams experience”.  FSN broadcasters call it “production to give us all pause”.  

I call it being fucking lazy.

The Cardinals offense, once again in 2009, has gone in the shitter. But this time we don’t have neat readymade excuses for the boys.

No more ‘Pujols just needs some protection’ or ‘Ludwick’s banged up’. Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, DeRosa and others are proven big league hitters and need to quit sucking their thumbs and sack the F up. 

In 8 days (EIGHT DAYS) the Cardinals will be starting the playoffs. Instead of post-season opening day at home, we’ll have to watch it on the TV, since they’ve decided to piss home field advantage away.

But keep laying out 1 and 2 run efforts in the playoffs won’t just be ‘production to give us all pause’… it will be a slit neck and blood on the hands of the leaders of this team. Including Albert and Matt.

Baseball players are human. Do the Astros and the Reds want to win? Sure they do. They’re professionals. They’re competing. But they also know that after this weekend they’ll be able to go home, enjoy the fall with their families, take a vacation, bang a whore- whatever- they’ll get to do it without having to get to a game the next night.

It’s only natural as a human being to be aware that this is coming and not fight for your lives every play like an Atlanta or Minnesota will be doing tonight. These teams will let you break their backs if you focus early and produce.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals, for whatever reason have decided that coasting into the playoffs would be the best idea. Frankly, of all the managers that I thought would never allow this, I’d have assumed it would have been Tony LaRussa.  But up to this point I haven’t heard a peep about him being upset at the focus of the Cardinals since mid-September.  

Leving the bases loaded with less than 2 outs and not getting runs? Lack of focus. Not being able to lay down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners? Lack of focus. Losing series to teams with absolutely nothing to play for when you still are in the hunt for home field advantage?

Lack of fucking focus. 

For two weeks this team has been getting their asses handed to them by good teams, bad teams and every team in between. The hotel bell hops are probably bending over Troy Glaus as we speak. Yet night after night we seem to be getting the MAD treatment: What, Me Worry? Nahhhh.

The hour glass is running short, St. Louis. And so far after the Cubs series in mid-September we have the distinct look of Nick Manning on set after a scene- load blown. Satisfied with what he’s done. 

It’s about time this team put together a couple of back to back wins and quit patting themselves on the back for a season well done. Because looking back, no, no we won’t be satisfied with 2009 if the Cardinals lose in the Divisional round.

They might have had low expectations coming in to 2009, but at this point, the bar has been raised.

Maybe too high?

Aaron Hooks is CardsDiaspora.com , Bleacher Report and every Thursday for InsideSTL. Follow on Twitter.