I'm disappointed in my Cardinals team - and disagree with you. The Cards fell into a bad slump at exactly the wrong time. All teams do this. In my opinion - the Cardinals were the best team to play baseball in a very long time. It's a shame the rest of the world didn't see this.
The 2004 Cardinals were as good as the 1990 Oakland A's, and both teams were swept in their respective World Series'. Interestingly enough, both teams were managed by Tony LaRussa. His teams have a pattern of "slumping" at the worst possible moment - as he is now 0-8 in his last 2 WS as a manager, and 5-12 overall.
Regardless, this year's BoSox smoked the Yankees four straight, and then turned around and did it to the Cardinals. They played in a tougher league (the AL is so much better than the NL these days) and deserve everything they've earned. Lastly, as for intrigue and entertainment factor, the Cardinals can't touch the BoSox.