Ben Frederickson Ben Frederickson is a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. You can follow him on Twitter (Ben_Fred), Instagram (benfredpd) and Facebook (BenFredPD). Follow Ben Frederickson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

If on Wednesday night you departed the Cubs' raucous celebration of their second consecutive National League Central crown, and made the short walk through the bowels of Busch Stadium, another world awaited.

Gone were the overpowering scents of champagne and beer. Nothing was wrapped in plastic. No music.

No sound, other than the flopping of shower shoes and the occasional zip of a bag.

It was against this hushed backdrop that Cardinals starter Michael Wacha tried to make an argument this season proved false.

"I feel like we are right there," he said when asked about the gap between his team and the one partying on the other side of the building.

Then Wacha doubled down.

"I feel like we are a better team," he added. "The guys in this clubhouse, the way they come to play every day. I know we didn't stack up very well against them this year. It's something we've got to do a better job of."

It's a rather optimistic take, one any neutral observer will have a hard time accepting.

Especially after the Cubs on Wednesday claimed a pennant at Busch Stadium.