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(AP) -- While watching the World Series on the big screen, Mike Matheny can't help but project, wondering how it all went wrong.
 
Three days after the St. Louis Cardinals squandered a 3-1 lead in the NL championship series and punished themselves with a red-eye flight home, their rookie manager said he hadn't slept much.

He also hadn't had much time to dissect exactly how it all went sour so fast.
 
The team failed on many levels in dropping the last three games to the Giants by a combined score of 20-1.
 
Matheny said it was somewhat reassuring to see San Francisco's Barry Zito master the Detroit Tigers in Game 1, just as the left-hander carved up the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLCS.
 
In a year filled with booms and busts, Matheny and general manager John Mozeliak are still puzzled by the final collapse.

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