A season ago, the St. Louis Cardinals qualified for the playoffs as the wild card with the help of an epic collapse by the Atlanta Braves. Late on Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, the defending World Series champions backed into the postseason tournament, grabbing the final available spot thanks to a loss by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals fell 3-1 to the Reds at Busch Stadium, then waited a few hours for the West Coast results to come in. After Mark Ellis made the final out against Giants closer Sergio Romo, the Dodgers had fallen 4-3 and were eliminated. Ellis also might be remembered infamously for his ill-advised attempt to take third on a double that helped stall a rally in the seventh. Regardless, the Giants surely welcome any opportunity to end Dodgers hopes. And, with nobody else contending, the Cardinals advance to the wild card game Friday at Atlanta. Hats off, Redbirds! (Especially you in the photo, Allen Craig and Matt Holliday.) But they won't be partying down at Busch tonight. Manager Mike Matheny said the Cards need their beauty sleep: "I'm sending them home," Matheny said. "They need to get some rest. "We've got a game to win tomorrow and we have a...