I was initially hesitant to link to this because I didn’t want to reward MLB’s draconian and asinine policies on sharing and embedding videos, but really, it’s worth it. I mean, my principles aren’t really worth not viewing this epic failure last night by the St. Louis Cardinals.

First, I’ll set the stage. The Cardinals’ offense continues to be non-existent, but it had scratched together a 1-run lead. Closer–and former Cincinnati Red–Ryan Franklin was on in the 9th. He’d managed two outs, but had also allowed two runners to get on.

That’s when former Houston Astro Miguel Tejada came to the plate and delivered this walk-off hit.

What I really love is that the loss was a team effort. It wasn’t just Franklin. Center fielder Colby Rasmus failed to catch the ball, and both Rasmus and left fielder John Jay failed to communicate.

I fully expect the Cardinals to rebound and become competitive this season. But that’s not going to take away any of my enjoyment from them starting off so horribly in 2011. They’re 2-6 and 4 games behind the first-place Reds.