“Those are the teams you’re supposed to beat if you want to get into the playoffs,” infielder Skip Schumaker said. “The teams that are out of contention is why we’re (six) games back. It’s why we’re chasing, not leading.”

The record against losing teams has caused “sleepless nights trying to figure out what is going on,” Mozeliak said. The recent trouble, including that 3-20 record against losing teams since Aug. 14, was part of what prompted Jack Clark to call the team “quitters” and for some players to reject questions about the level of play being “embarrassing.” La Russa has chewed over those performances and has some theories that he declined to share. Preparation is one area the team plans to audit. Another is, of course, depth.

The Cardinals, in the word of one official, want to protect themselves from “the steep drop-off” experienced this season. Mozeliak acknowledged that this winter the club will look to add “a more experienced presence” to the bench and roster. That is one way the team that expected to be playing in the postseason can address another word they’ll be defined by: thin.