It's officially time for the Cardinals to start worrying about their bullpen. When they had big leads in the NLDS and in Game One, they could afford a few breaks in concentration, but the game tonight was tense until Julian Tavarez got in there. Perhaps it doesn't really matter because Brad Lidge was set to come out for the ninth anyway, but St. Louis can't claim any longer that the reason its pen has been suspect so far in the postseason is that they haven't had much cause to concentrate.

Nevertheless, pretty taut game. Roy Oswalt was great. Mark Mulder was almost as good. Chris Burke picked an excellent time of year to deliver on his potential. Cardinals fans have to be hoping that Reggie Sanders is all right after plowing into the outfield wall, because Larry Walker doesn't look like he's going to start being Larry Walker any time soon. Albert Pujols? He's still himself. His blast has to be the good thing St. Louis takes out of this one, besides Mulder's pitching and Yadier Molina's excellent defense.

What's a baseball fan who's also a music fan to do sometimes? In tomorrow night's case, it will be a combination of TiVo and text message updates from a sympathetic friend. Sleater-Kinney are playing in Englewood and seeing as no one's getting eliminated tomorrow, I figure I can stand to dedicate an evening to rocking. Maybe I'll find a clever way to incorporate the concert into my next post. Or, maybe I'll just take the day off.