1% of your entire life. Assuming average life expectancy, that’s what happened to you between the first pitch of the 2011 season and the last out in Game 7.

Life, like baseball, has been going on all around us this season. Our kids are a year older. We’ve been married a year longer. We realized a few more of our goals – and saw others recede into the distance. Perhaps this year has brought challenges: illness, job loss, strained relationships. This season, as in every season, we’ve been made to feel that life’s horizon is wider than a ball game.

Baseball games happen in little snapshots of time, mini-duels that happen while life continues around it. The games come and go. The fans, the players, coaches – all mortal. But behind this game that we all love so much is something much deeper, something greater than the sum of its parts. Sometimes on the surface and sometimes hidden, baseball is a game full of lessons in virtue. Every season, we have the distinct opportunity to grow not only as fans but also as individuals.

I don’t remember a season in which virtue was more apparent on any one particular team than the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. Team injuries. Failed closer. Shoddy bullpen early in the season. August 25th. And they didn’t quit. Berkman beats the Vegas odds and makes a storming comeback. Craig gets to Ogando…twice. Holliday survives a massive bug attack. Pujols starts hitting again. The bullpen is lights out. And who can forget Game 6? Down to our last strike – twice – only to seal the win on a walk-off in the 11th inning. Fortitude. Resilience. Courage. Perseverance.

How about Chris Carpenter? Six arm surgeries, early season struggles, and little offensive support behind him. But who among us doubted he’d come out like a beast in the post season? Game 5 in Philadelphia. Game 7 on short rest.

We watched these men collectively strive toward excellence day in and day out. Sure, they weren’t perfect. Plenty of games saw us pulling our hair out and shouting at the TV. But life isn’t so different is it? We’re all dealt challenges, trials, and difficulties. We either persevere or we give up. We fight through the challenge or give in to cynicism and passivity. Thank you, St. Louis Cardinals, for showing me a great model of resilience. Thank you, Chris Carpenter, for being the kind of guy I can point to and say “See kids, don’t let anything stop you from pursuing excellence. Never give up. Never stop fighting.” Thank you, Yadi, for showing grit from the first game to the last. Thank you, Adam Wainwright, for sitting on the sidelines every game of the season to support your teammates and for showing us what it means to persevere through set backs. Thank you, Tony La Russa, for showing us how to fight for 33 years for something you love. Your resilience is a profound example. And thank you, Dave Duncan, for the way you served your family during your painful trial. Your actions speak louder than words.

For all their successes and eventual victory, the Cardinals also taught us something about humility. Humility, it has been said, is not thinking less of yourself: it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is the proper recognition of who we are. Humility respects others and gives credit where credit is due.

I was struck by this virtue as I watched the rise of David Freese. The Hometown Hero had countless opportunities to gobble up the limelight, to shower himself with glory. How you would feel if the crowd you’d dreamed of playing in front of suddenly chanted your name? If you were suddenly a hitting force headed to the record books? If you were out-performing the All-Stars (and your mentors) on the team?

But from everything I saw of our third baseman, Freese looked for every opportunity to give credit to his teammates, his coaches, his parents, his past influences, and the fans. There are a few shots of David leaning in to speak to Berkman, Pujols, and Holliday during the celebratory mob in Game 7. One wonders what sorts of comments were shared. My guess is that whatever was expressed in the exchanges, it was done in a spirit of thankfulness and humility.

So thank you, David Freese, for modeling what it means to think less of yourself than you do of others. Thank you, Bullpen, for cleaning up messes and often not getting much glory. Thank you, Lance Berkman, for being a relatable and humble guy, always keeping things in perspective. Thank you, Alan Craig, for coming through when you were needed and not pouting over limited playing time. Thank you, Jake Westbrook, for humbly accepting your duty in the postseason. And thank you, Albert Pujols, for reminding us every time you get on base Who gives you the strength to do what you do.

It’s now up to us to ask the question: Do we exhibit the virtues we see in our favorite team? How did we grow as individuals this 2011 season? We can be more than just better fans. We can be better people. More resilient. More humble. And if you need some inspiration, look no further than the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.

Motte hurls, makes sure his beard is still in tact, and then stares. La Russa, jittery, fixates his laser vision on the ball. The infield stands frozen. Alan Craig backs up…up. ”It’s well hit!” comes across the airwaves. And as people rise to their feet, take a look at the person standing to your right. To your left. People like you. Something remarkable could be happening off the field too.

This season has been anything but smooth for the Cardinals and their fanbase. An up and down, rollercoaster of a ride has seen fans start thinking towards 2012 and the team exploring options to trade some potential free agents, only to realize the Braves were falling apart and the team might be able to salvage something in 2011.

The season's hopes are on the shoulders of EJax

The playoffs, or the three games that represent the playoffs to this point, seem to have taken that idea to the next level. The Cardinals had Roy Halladay on the ropes and the fans were excited to see that their team was, in fact, worthy of being in the playoffs. A few innings later, however, the team would show a weakness to pull through and see the victory all the way through and ended up being blown out in the first game. The blowout seemed to confirm to most fans that the team was overmatched and that the Phillies truly were the powerhouse. The road was not going to get any easier, either, as Cliff Lee still had to pitch before they could leave Philadelphia.

Game two rolled around and the Cardinals worked hard against Lee, taking his pitch count high early on and scraping out a few runs. The bullpen, used in a match up environment despite an early exit by the starter, would pin down a solid victory. Fans were back on the bandwagon seeing that the team could hang tough, compete hard, gain a victory against a top of the line starter, and band together for a win. The series was shifting to St. Louis and the fans were clamoring about a potential National League Championship Series appearance.

Game three had the potential to be one of two things: a great performance for the team or an extreme statement by Philadelphia. It turned out to be a bit of both but ultimately, simply a let down for the Cardinals. Behind a strong start by Jaime Garcia, the Cardinals kept Cole Hamels on the ropes throughout the entire game. The problem this time around was lack of follow through. Why Hamels labored and constantly found himself in a threatening position, he did what any ace pitcher would do and worked his way out of it. The Cardinals failed to drive the point home with the youngest of the “Four Aces” on the mound and found themselves in trouble when Garcia left a pitch up and surrendered a pinch-hit, three run home run. Much like the season, the Cardinals would not let this go down without a fight, and scraped together a few runs of their own. As happened often in 2011, the team found themselves coming up just short.

This has been one of the most heartbreaking and exciting versions of the Cardinals to watch. If there is one thing this team has earned from the fans, it would be the support knowing that they just will not give up. On Wednesday evening, the team will take to the Busch Stadium field facing yet another elimination game. They hand the ball to Edwin Jackson and ask him to keep hope alive. They face a familiar foe in Roy Oswalt and will look to use that to their advantage.

Win or lose, they will go down with a fight. Fans deserve a team that leaves it all on the field. This team deserves fans that will get behind them and fight with them. This is the highs and lows of baseball. The fans may be rewarded with one more game in Philadelphia. The fans may be let down and left feeling like it was not enough.

Who says you cannot be romantic about this game?

Now that the euphoria has subsided a little bit, it is time to take a look at the next team standing in St Louis’ way, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Philadelphia finished the regular season with the best record in baseball. Their vaunted starting rotation performed as advertised, more than making up for their average offense. They are the odds-on favorite not only to win the National League, but the World Series. Let us take a closer look.

St Louis will face Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 2.71 xFIP, 220 K), Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79 ERA, 3.02 xFIP, 194 K), and Cliff Lee (17-8, 2.40 ERA, 2.68 xFIP, 238K) in the LDS. The best part of this rotation is the Cardinals faced Halladay and Hamels, and beat both, barely 2 weeks ago in Philly. The other starter, Lee , has faced St Louis twice this season. The Cardinals beat him in May, with Lee returning the favor in June. So their top three, who were a combined 50-25 this season, have all suffered a loss at the hands of these Cardinals this season. They’re good, but the Cardinals know they can defeat these three.

St Louis will counter with Kyle Lohse, Edwin Jackson, Chris Carpenter, and Jamie Garcia for Game 4. Lohse (14-8, 3.39 ERA, 3.31 xFIP, 111K) beat Halladay on 19 September. That victory was his first over Philadelphia since 2008 and snapped a 3-game personal losing streak against the Phillies. Lohse has been the best Cardinal starter during their September surge. Jackson (5-2, 3.58 ERA, 4.03 xFIP, 51K) gets a much deserved playoff start. He has allowed 3 or fewer runs in all but two of his starts since joining the Cardinals. Chris Carpenter (11-9, 3.45 ERA, 3.31 xFIP, 191K) pitched St Louis to the playoffs with a dominating start against Houston, but the price is his unavailability until Game 3. In 19 starts since June 23 he is 10-2 with a 2.73 ERA.

The Cardinals are not grossly outclassed, but the statistically the Philly starters are better. Starting pitching advantage: Philadephia.

Statistically Philadelphia’s bullpen was better than St Louis’, but with a difference of less than 1 fWAR it is a minor difference. Philadelphia’s best 2 relievers are Ryan Madson (currently the closer) and Antonio Bastardo. Bastardo was pretty close to lights out for the first 2/3 of the season, but has faded noticeably down the stretch. Their bullpen will be bolstered with the presence of starters Roy Oswalt (although he could start Game 4) and Vance Worley. Michael Stutes has also seen significant work out of the Phillies bullpen.

St Louis remade their bullpen in the Colby Rasmus trade, and have turned a liability into a strength. Jason Motte comes in for high leverage situations late in games but is not the ‘closer’ per se. Kyle McClellan, Octavio Dotel, Mark ‘Scrabble’ Rzepczynski, and Arthur Rhodes will all see action out of the bullpen. This bullpen blew 2 of the last 7 games this season, but without them the Cardinals don’t close on a 23-8 tear.

Cardinal bullpen improvement since the trade deadline makes this a dead heat. Bullpen advantage: Even.

Offensively, Philadelphia boasts a formidable lineup of aging stars. Only trade deadline acquisition Hunter Pence is under 30. Still, one takes Philadelphia lightly at their own peril. They were the sixth best offense in the NL (12th overall) this season, again by fWAR. Shane Victorino had a career year hitting mostly out of the leadoff or #2 slot. St Louis’ ability to keep him in check will be a key to winning this series. Pence, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmie Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz all posted wRC+ of 106 or better. They are capable of scoring a lot of runs, but they don’t need to with the starting pitching they have.

The Cardinals field the most potent offense in the National League, anchored by Albert Pujols and the resurgent Lance Berkman. However this offense will not be the one Philadelphia saw two weeks ago. Matt Holliday is hurting, his status uncertain; he was to receive a cortisone shot for his ailing right hand. Rafael Furcal, a catalyst who hit 7 home runs after coming to St Louis, is probably out for the year with a hamstring injury. That’s the bad news. The good news is Allen Craig has stepped into Holliday’s shoes and capably replaced him, hitting .303/.329/.606 since August 25. St Louis will probably platoon at short, with Nick Punto, Ryan Theriot, and Tyler Greene seeing some time. Furcal’s defense was shaky down the stretch, so there won’t be a large drop off there, but there will be a big offensive drop.

Even without Holliday this lineup has not lost a beat. Offensive Advantage: St Louis.

Defense is the Phillie Achilles heel. Using Bill James’ Team Runs Saved as the metric, Philadelphia had the third-worst defense in the NL this season, grading below average at pitcher, catcher, first, left, and right, and exactly average at short. St Louis’ defense was below league average, but graded out 3 spots higher than Philadelphia. Their weakest positions are (worst to best) short, catcher, third, and second. The Cardinals were exactly average at first.

So basically the Phillies have the better infield, and the Cardinals have a better outfield. Defensive Advantage: Even.

Summary and Prediction

Does good pitching stop good hitting or good hitting stop good pitching? This series will be a case study. Good hitting stopped good pitching back in mid-September, but that series did not have the pressure this one will. Sure, the pressure was there for the Cardinals, but not for Philadelphia; they came in with a magic number of 1 and clinched with their lone win. Philadelphia will play at a higher level starting Saturday then they did back then.

That’s not to say the Cardinals should not bother to show up. There is no more confident team in the NL than St Louis as this post-season starts. They were all but eliminated from the post-season 5 weeks ago, yet here they are. The team is playing with house money and they know it. All the pressure in this series resides in the dugout and clubhouse of the team anointed as World Champions before spring training started. If any team can upset the Phillies, it is the Cardinals.

So long as Halladay does not no-hit them tomorrow. Cardinals in 4.

Mike Metzger is a life-long Cardinals fan currently based in San Diego. He blogs about the San Diego Padres, and you can follow him @metzgermg