Regarding the Cardinals’ elimination from the postseason last night, courtesy of a walk-off, three-run blast courtesy of Travis Ishikawa, Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk cuts right to the chase.

When Mike Matheny was asked after the game about his decision, with the season on the line in the ninth inning of a tie game, to forgo closer Trevor Rosenthal in favor of starter Michael Wacha, who had not seen any action since September 23, the St. Louis skipper replied, “We can’t bring him in, in a tie-game situation. We’re on the road.”

In response, Craig blurts out, “The save stat dictated what the manager of a team facing elimination did with his bullpen. That’s just . . . amazing.”

And by “amazing,” he means “brain dead.”

More here.