Even though the team's stay in his first postseason was shorter than expected, Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick sat with his wife late Saturday night and talked about how far they've come.

It was four years ago that Ludwick and his wife, Joanie, were about to sell their home, downsize their mortgage and, possibly, sign up with an Asian team for the larger salary. As the Cardinals packed their lockers Sunday, Ludwick said that back then he and his wife were talking about the end of his major-league pursuit and "wondering the what-if after baseball."

On Saturday, in the wake of the Cardinals' first-round ouster from the Division Series, they were struck by the comfort that comes with Ludwick finishing a second year as a starter, hitting 22 homers, driving in 97 runs — and being disappointed by those totals.

"Production-wise, I firmly believe I could have done better this year," Ludwick said. "I was constantly trying to chase that previous year. I fell into that trap. I can't say I'm the '08 guy or the '09 guy, but I feel like in '08 everything went right. In '09, there was a lot of time when I was scratching my head wondering, 'Why am I not pulling out of this?'"

Ludwick felt he pulled out of the funk with an adjusted approach at the plate just in time for the playoffs to speed to an end.

The Cardinals' right fielder went four for 12 with an RBI in the NLDS, and his RBI single in the first inning of Game 1 was the Cardinals' only hit with Albert Pujols on base in the series. He also had two of the louder hits that weren't hits — a bases-loaded shot down the line in Game 1 that landed an inch or two left of the foul line and a smoked liner right at the Dodgers' third baseman. Products, he said, of a swing that flustered him for most of the regular season.

Ludwick, 30, had his second consecutive season of at least 20 homers and 95 RBIs, but he fell short of the 37 homers and 113 RBIs he had in his breakthrough 2008 All-Star season. By struggling and still echoing the 20-homer, 90-RBI production, Ludwick has addressed the notion that 2008 was a fluke.

He's arbitration eligible for a second time this winter. His $3.7 million salary this season was set by a first crack at arbitration. With a raise coming in arbitration and now a track record, Ludwick has the profile that often stirs talk of a multi-year deal. It is something the Cardinals are expected to discuss this winter.

If so, they may see him as he does: somewhere between the All-Star hitter of '08 and the searching batter of '09.

"Somewhere in the middle," he said. "I felt last year things went as good as they could go. I felt this year went as bad as it could go. I couldn't find a consistent stroke. I got hurt (hamstring). It was a very meh year. I thought the doubles, the homers, the average were all down. I felt I could do more to help the team win."

At the Winter Warm-Up, Ludwick arrived with a more muscular physique and said — facetiously, he insisted — that 50 homers were possible. Manager Tony La Russa said during the season it was clear that Ludwick and Rick Ankiel fell victim to their quest to repeat their homer totals.

They tried force the power, and their swings faltered because of it.

"Ryan put a lot of pressure on himself to repeat," La Russa said. "He fought through that to have a good season, which tells you the kind of talent he has."

Ludwick agreed that early in the season his swing was tight, partly because of the added muscle, and come June his average sank as he "got caught in the trap of showing I could hit homers again." Entering the playoffs, hitting coach Hal McRae and La Russa talked to him about his two-strike approach, and Ludwick decided to adopt a shorter, punchier swing for all his at-bats. Hard contact was the goal, not distance.

He described himself as a "feel" hitter, and "there were times when I stepped in the box and I didn't feel right," he said. That changed with his new approach entering the playoffs.

Ludwick will change a few things in his offseason regimen. He'll still have a couple of hours a day in the weight room, but he's going to expand his stretching routine and make it more of a priority. He learned from his preseason work and will adjust. He learned from his first postseason taste and said he will be better for it.

More so, he realized something at season's end.

There's no need to ask "what if" anymore.

"This whole Cardinals thing, since I've been here, has been a life-changing thing for me," Ludwick said. "It's a good feeling. I always wanted to prove I could play at this level, and I think I've done that. I don't know if you guys are a believer, but I'm a believer."