Season ends early for Carpenter

? The end of the season came early for Chris Carpenter.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ 15-game winner has been sidelined since Sept. 18 — the day his team clinched the NL Central — with nerve damage to his right biceps. He had an encouraging exam Tuesday, but the team has given up on him pitching in the postseason.

Carpenter had become the Cardinals’ ace after missing 20 months with a shoulder injury that required two operations. He would have been the Game 1 starter in the division series but Woody Williams has filled that role in both the first and second round.

“He’s feeling improved,” manager Tony La Russa said Wednesday before Game 1 of the NL championship series against Houston. “I just think it’s so unrealistic to have him feel good enough to get in shape to pitch.

“I think we just feel real good that he’s healthy and he should be 100 percent, and we’ll see him next year.”

The World Series opens Oct. 23 and that wouldn’t be enough time.