Past ball

Before Albert Pujols' moonshot smashed against the back wall of Minute Maid Park's left-field bleachers – try catching that, Shaun Dean – the fatal flashes of Fall Failures Past were kicking through the minds of every Houston Astros fan.

Not just the morbid history of the 'Stros (although there is plenty to draw from there), but of Bartman and Buckner and Henderson and Denkinger.

Strange things happen in baseball and they have a habit of continuing to happen. Maybe more than any other sport, baseball is a game of momentum, confidence and self-worth. Shaken closers and gagging batters tend to linger.

No series lead seems safe when one team staves off elimination in its last at-bat and becomes postioned to ride the resulting wave of momentum. And that wave is exactly what Pujols' home run gave the St. Louis Cardinals heading into Wednesday's Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium.

Just ask the New York Yankees, who watched the Boston Red Sox save themselves in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4 of last year's ALCS and then win three more to finish out an epic comeback/collapse.

Or the Chicago Cubs, whose sudden demise in the 2003 NLCS began after fan Steve Bartman interfered with a foul ball and allowed the Florida Marlins to rally and force a Game 7, which they won as well.

Or the then-California Angels, who blew two games after Boston's Dave Henderson went deep to force extra innings in the Red Sox's last at-bat in the 1986 ALCS.

Or the Red Sox a couple of weeks later, when Bill Buckner had a slow grounder roll through his legs to blow a close-out chance against the New York Mets in the World Series. New York won Game 7, too.

Or these very Cardinals, who, after umpire Don Denkinger blew a call in a potential clinching Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, folded so much that they lost Game 7 to the Kansas City Royals 11-0.

And that is what the Astros are dealing with right now, whether they want to admit it or not.

"We (have) two more games, and they are trying to catch us; we are not trying to catch them," said Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt, in advance of his Game 6 start on Wednesday.

"That was my mood last night going home. The mood on the plane was actually pretty cool."

The players all said the right things on Tuesday's off day. Lots of talk about a new day dawning and all of that. But so did all of the aforementioned teams.

The Astros do have a couple of things going for them. The first is starting Oswalt (20 wins, 2.94 ERA) in Game 6 and, if necessary, trotting out Roger Clemens (13 wins, 1.87 ERA) in Game 7. If there was ever a way to shift momentum, that would be it.

But really, this is going to be up to the Astros' mental toughness. The famous blown clinchers always jump to the front of everyone's postseason memory, but plenty of teams have shrugged off colossal collapses to win.

Carlton Fisk's dramatic, extra-inning homer for Boston in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series didn't deter Cincinnati's Big Red Machine from winning Game 7 and the championship. And no amount of Byung-Hyun Kim blown saves against the Yankees in the 2001 Series could stop the Arizona Diamondbacks from staying the course and winning it all.

And there are plenty more.

"I'd rather be up three than down two," St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said. "They are in a better position. I think unless we can get another couple of wins, it won't be as great of a story."

No, it won't. Pujols' dinger will go down as clutch and dramatic, but it won't mean as much unless Houston lets it. The Astros can advance to their first World Series as long as they regain their confidence, forget the past and just play the same baseball that almost won the NLCS in five quick games.

For Houston, a franchise with a long history of futility and plenty of experience with close calls, this is the ultimate gut check – two games, a pair of aces and just one single victory needed.

With history on hold, this is no time to choke.