ST. LOUISStarlin Castro watched the Cardinals get their rings and pointed at his chest.Its a pretty good energy for me, Castro said. Thats what I want to be one day, on this team winning the World Series. (It) makes me more aggressive. (I feel the) anticipation for working harder.Its hard to imagine how crazy this day would be at Wrigley Field. But if its going to come this decadesometime during the Theo Epstein administrationtheir 22-year-old shortstop will almost certainly have to be in the middle of it.On Saturday morning, Dale Sveum wrote a reminder on the dry-erase board in the clubhouse: Ring ceremony, 11:30. The Cubs manager wanted his players watching in the dugout, to show some respect for the world champions.The Cubs stood there clapping as first-base coach Dave McKaywho spent 16 seasons alongside Tony La Russa in St. Louisreturned to their side after picking up his ring.The Cardinals won their 11th World Series title by capitalizing on mistakes and creating a sense of momentum. Clinching the wild card on the final day of the regular seasonafter Atlantas epic meltdownreflected their style of play over the years.This was another snapshot in St. Louis. Castro committed an error to begin the fourth inning and the Cubs watched it morph into a 5-1 loss in front of 46,792 fans at Busch Stadium.Castros throw lifted Bryan LaHair off the bag, and the first baseman didnt land right. Sveum thought the shortstop had looked at Matt Holliday running down the line.Chris Volstad wasnt exactly rattledthe next batter (Carlos Beltran) flied out to centerbut the Cardinals strung together four consecutive hits to take a 4-0 lead.Volstad wound up going six innings and gave up four runs (three earned). He didnt make any excuses about his routinethe rain delay lasted almost two hoursor his defense.(Castros) doing a great job, Volstad said. Theres no worries there. Hes got a powerful arm. Thats going to happen. Im going to make bad pitches. Thats just the way the game is.As much as the Cubs (3-6) would like to raise their game against the defending champs, they dont have much margin for error, and it really doesnt matter whos in the other dugout.You always have to play good games, Sveum said. I dont know if were going to pound the ball enough to make mistakes and give runs away.To close the gap on the Cardinals (6-3), the Cubs will need to see Castro continue on a steady upward trajectory. With the previous play still in his mind, he made another high throw to start the fifth inning and was charged with his fourth error of the season.Yeah, its very frustrating, because (Ive been) working hard in the Dominican and here, Castro said. That kind of thing (isnt) supposed to happen. Its the gameeverybody makes errors.If it happens one time, thats (OK). Two timesthat cant happen again. Sveum, who played shortstop in the big leagues, planned to have a talk with Castro. The manager understands how difficult the position can be, and noticed a slight mechanical issue around the wrist, but otherwise gave a pass.Those are still those mistakes you can work out, Sveum said. Its not something thats a major thing. But those are the things that, unfortunately, were still probably going to see a little bit.To put it in perspective, Castros hitting .371 with six RBI and woke up on Saturday leading the majors with six stolen bases. He intends to become a complete player.Thats what I want to do, he said, put everything on the same leveldefense, running, hitting.This is Year 3 for Castro, a pivot point that could preview what Cubs fans will see for years to come. He isnt weighed down by history. Everything still seems to be in front of him.Why not? Castro said. Keep playing together and I think one day theres going to be championships and a World Series.