The Curse of A-Rod
Posted on by PatrickWell, lookie there, the Boston Red Sox slayed the mighty Yankees in 7 games after being down 3 games to 0. The greatest comeback in Baseball playoff history. (Incidentally, the feat had been done before by 2 hockey teams, the 1942 Maple Leafs and the 1974 Islanders) And I can tell you the minute the Yankee ghosts gave up on this year’s Yankees. Gave up and stopped supporting the team. It was when A-Rod made his extremely Bush League play, slapping the ball out of the pitcher’s glove before being tagged on the way to first base.
I’m no Yankees fan, in fact, I really don’t like them. They always freaking win and the fans are so smug about it. And now that I’m living in New York, it’s even more apparent that the only thing this town can care about sometimes is the freaking Yankees. It’s good to see them finally understand the sorrow of having your throat stepped on.
Now, I come from Dallas. I have previously experienced A-Rod and the things he brings to the game. And until that moment in game 6, I never knew he had that level of cheating in him. It was a pure shame. But it reminded me of something I noticed with A-Rod and the team he’s on and the team he has recently left. I know he hasn’t moved that much, but a small pattern is developing, and I call it “The Curse of A-Rod”, which is this:
The team he vacates becomes much better, and the team he comes to either becomes much worse, or gets close, but will never win it all.
Cases in point:
He leaves the Seattle Mariners for the Texas Rangers (oh, and $250 Million over 10 years). The Mariners go on to make the playoffs and generally have some success. The Texas Rangers begin 3 years of finishing dead last. Sure, they have the best player in the game at Shortstop, but the loses pile up.
Then last winter, the Rangers finally realized their mistake and sent A-Rod to the only team whole could afford the excessive contract, the New York Yankees. And to shine it on, the Rangers were left paying $7 Million of each year. So the Yankees get the best player in baseball to add to their amazing All-Star lineup and they get the Rangers to pay for part of his salary!
So up starts the 2004 MLB season. The Rangers are in first place (!!) for the better part of the Spring and the Yankees were well behind Boston in the AL East. I knew then that my theory had some weight. But, I had doubts coming down the home stretch. The Rangers faltered and failed to make the playoffs, but I can say they were a much improved team from the previous 3 years. And the Yankees had won the AL East.
And of course, I really thought my theory was toast after the damned Yankees beat the Red Sox 19-8 to go up 3 games to none. But then, the Curse kicked in. The Yankees were 2 outs away from this year’s World Series and they had their “lights out” closer on the mound. But, fortune smiled on the Boston Red Sox and they went on to clobber the Yankees for 4 games giving my curse more strength.
The Baseball Gods have decided that maybe seeking to be the game’s highest paid player isn’t the best attribute for a player, and have forever cursed him and his team to never win it all.
But then again, I could be wrong…but it’s fun to think about.
