Whole new ball game • When they had finally taken care of their end of the dramatic conclusion of this crazy, rousing, unpredictable, inexplicable, ulcer-inducing, but suddenly magical baseball season, there was really only one way for this joyride to come to an end: With one more healthy dose of gut-churning drama. So late Wednesday night, the Cardinals bunkered down in the visitors clubhouse inside Minute Maid Park and impatiently waited for the Atlanta Braves to fold. And they waited … and waited …and waited. Finally, at nearly 10:40 p.m., the extra-innings affair with the Philadelphia Phillies ended with a game-ending double play that sent the Braves home for the winter and the improbable Cardinals racing into the postseason.