Bench, young talent power Cardinals’ 2016

ST. LOUIS — As they settle into the unfamiliar position of being postseason observers, not participants, this October, the Cardinals are also left to reflect on how their bid for a sixth straight playoff berth fell, quite literally, one win short.

Though the Cubs were the popular pick to dethrone the Cardinals in the National League Central this season, expectations were nevertheless high in St. Louis. Yet the three-time defending division champs never spent a day in first place and couldn’t pull 10 games above .500 until the final day of the season. By then, it was too little, too late.

It was a season complicated by injuries, flawed fundamentals and struggles at home, where the Cards posted their lowest winning percentage since 1990. Those obstacles balanced the emergence of several impact rookies, a team power surge and historical pinch-hit success. In the end, it left the club often middling around mediocrity. The Cardinals never had a winning streak longer than five games, nor did they ever lose more than five straight.

In order to narrow the Cardinals’ needs this offseason, it’s first helpful to evaluate what happened in 2016. So here’s a look back at some of the key players and factors in the club’s finish:

Record: 86-76, second place, NL Central

Defining moment: At 5:11 p.m. CT on Sunday, the Cardinals’ path to the postseason officially ended. Though they still had an inning and a half left to play against the Pirates, the Giants’ 7-1 win over the Dodgers sealed the Cardinals’ fate. It meant that for the first time under manager Mike Matheny, the Cardinals found themselves playing an inconsequential game.

What went right: After combining for 242 home runs from 2014-15, the Cardinals led the NL with 225 this season. They tied the NL single-season record by boasting six players with 20-homer seasons and had a player (Jedd Gyorko) hit 30 homers for the first time since 2012. The team scored 350 of its 779 runs via the long ball.

At 48-33, the Cardinals finished with the best road record in baseball. Of the 26 road series they played, the Cardinals lost just six of them.

The Cardinals’ position-player depth led to extraordinary production off …

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