Disappointed in his team's quick exit from the postseason and particularly bothered by its lack of pep during a Game 3 elimination, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa believes the team left itself open for criticism.

"We got beat, so you take the heat," La Russa said during a Sunday afternoon exit interview. "Yesterday, whatever heat they want to bring, we deserve it."

A team that briefly surged to its league's best record tumbled to the postseason's No. 3 seed with a 2-8 conclusion to the regular season before the Los Angeles Dodgers held it to six runs during a three-game sweep in the NL Division Series. La Russa kept his office door closed for about 30 minutes after Saturday's elimination.

Given a few hours for sleep, he did little to cloak what he considered a poor Game 3 effort.

"I do believe the first couple games we made some good contact against real good pitching. There were some real good things that happened. Yesterday, we just got shut down," La Russa said. "It wasn't the same-looking at-bats that we had in LA. That's something we should feel some negativity about. It should have been better, not worse."

La Russa entered the series with a 20-5 record in seven previous Division Series as Cardinals manager. He emerged from his eighth series stunned at his team's poor clutch hitting and occasionally loose defense and baserunning.

Though general manager John Mozeliak said in recent weeks he expects La Russa to return as Cardinals manager for at least a 15th season, La Russa said Sunday he is not close to a decision.

Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. has communicated his desire for La Russa to return, as has Mozeliak. La Russa said he would devote time to measuring his desire to continue managing along with his effectiveness with this club.

"I can't give you an answer," La Russa said. "(But) I know what the formula is."

The team's late-season slide coupled with an admittedly troubling sweep will color his thinking, La Russa said.

"We got swept in the last three. That wasn't good," La Russa noted. "So you ask, 'Is what you're saying not helpful?' or 'If it's helpful, are they tired of listening to you?' Those thoughts go through your mind. We set ourselves up to play winning-type baseball in the first series. My opinion is I was really pleased with the energy, the drive and the fire we had in LA. I think we competed our tails off. They did, too. Yesterday I think we were all really disappointed. It wasn't the same level of chance to win."

Left fielder Matt Holliday's game-turning, two-out, ninth-inning error in Thursday's Game 2 and his inability to punish Dodgers manager Joe Torre for repeatedly walking No. 3 bat Albert Pujols were obvious factors.

La Russa offered: "Ain't no free lunch. Matt's going to take some hits for this."

Hitless with men on base against the Dodgers, Holliday is a pending free agent considered by DeWitt one of the organization's primary two targets this winter.

(The other is negotiating a contract extension that would keep Pujols a Cardinal for the remainder of his career.)

La Russa chafed at the mention of Pujols finishing the year on a career-long home run drought lasting 89 at-bats. The club insisted during the season's final month that Pujols' fragile right elbow did not inhibit him; however, Pujols tweaked a right hamstring and an Achilles tendon during the season's final week.

"People can pick and choose whatever they want to write and talk about. If someone wants to look at his last 90 at-bats and say he wasn't strong enough to hit the ball out of the park, they can point to that fact. But I think that it's ridiculous," La Russa insisted. "He had a MVP season. He didn't hit .200 in September and October. He was very productive. He was the same Albert Pujols who hit 47 home runs. There was nothing different about him. He just got pitched differently."

The Cardinals also finished four for 30 with runners in scoring position, a common denominator in all their recent playoff exits.

Still, La Russa, Mozeliak and players argued against any description of their postseason appearance as "flat."

"I don't think (the team) was flat as much as it wasn't executing," Mozeliak said. "Flat to me means guys aren't into it, aren't trying or don't care. I never got that. It just didn't work. You played your best baseball in August and your worst in October. It's not great. It's not fair. But it is what it is."

The two weeks before the postseason were telling as La Russa embraced rookie Colby Rasmus as primary center fielder over Rick Ankiel, who was limited to pinch-hit duty during the Dodgers series, including an almost ceremonial appearance to end Game 3.

The preference for a 12th pitcher over a fifth bench player also said much about La Russa's lack of faith in opening day shortstop Khalil Greene, who was sent home after the final regular-season game.

La Russa minimized the chance for Ankiel's return to the organization as a free agent. Likewise, the club is expected to move on from pending free agent third baseman Troy Glaus and 15-game winner Joel Piņeiro.

The club drafted Ankiel in 1997, promoted him to the major leagues at 20 in 1999, watched him win 11 games as a rookie in 2000, then allowed him to remake himself as an outfielder before returning to the major leagues in 2007. A shoulder injury and diminished playing time complicated this season for him, as he became increasingly frustrated with his timeshare with Rasmus. He finished the season hitting .231 with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs and 99 strikeouts in 372 at-bats.

Ankiel left Busch Stadium on Sunday without speaking to reporters.

"He wanted to play," La Russa said. "This is one of the most impressive young men I've been around. Starting with the pitching thing to this thing, I didn't see him carry it around here. I never saw him be a bad teammate. I never saw him point fingers. That's why he's an outstanding guy. That's why he's an all-time favorite. Honestly, looking at his ability and his potential, I think he's going to work and he's going to learn. There's nothing about Rick's game that can't be fixed."