We're Sorry

As an unofficial representative of the St. Louis Cardinals, I would like to apologize on behalf of the team, the city, and the midwest region of the country, to the front offices and other teams of Major League Baseball.  We were unaware that the inclusion of a wild card team into the playoff mix was largely ornamental, and also that the teams with the largest budgets and markets had already been earmarked to go to the World Series.

New York Post 

Chris Carpenter shows his embarrassment at the misunderstanding

In the future, we will make an earnest effort to allow the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, and, after ownership issues are overcome, the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, to achieve victory against our mid-level market team.  In the event that the Cardinals should erroneously reach the playoffs in the near future, please send some form of communication to inform the team of how far they are allowed to advance, and against which teams.

You can stop changing the rules of the playoffs.