"In the end, only painful images remained:

The St. Louis Cardinals dancing in triumph on the Citizens Bank Park infield.

Ryan Howard collapsing to the ground and writhing in pain.

Roy Halladay sitting in the funeral-parlor clubhouse staring blankly into his locker.

And perhaps the most painful off all:

Long after the stadium had emptied, and after most of the players had dressed and left the clubhouse, Shane Victorino reached into his locker and pulled out a sheet of World Series tickets marked for games in Philadelphia. He looked at them wistfully then tore them in pieces and dropped them into the trash bin as he headed for the door and another cold winter.

This is all happened Friday night. The new Black Friday.

The Phillies' season of great expectations came crashing down in a 1-0 loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. (See game breakdown.) The season is over for the local nine. It fell short of reaching a fourth straight NL Championship Series. It fell way short of reaching the destination that had been laid out months earlier – the World Series.

Even a major-league-best 102 wins will not soothe this wound. So much more was expected from these Phillies.

"I feel very empty right now," manager Charlie Manuel said.

Disappointing year or disappointing ending?

"Disappointing year," said Cliff Lee, whose December arrival fueled a World Series-or-bust mindset from the bleachers to the clubhouse to the front office. "We had higher expectations than this.""