Curses in Baseball

As the Cubs and Red Sox square off this weekend, I can't help but reflect on each of the teams respective curses that had plagued them for decades.

There was the Curse of the Bambino that haunted the Red Sox for 86 years. Personally I believe Dropkick Murphys revitalizing the old Royal Rooters' "Tessie" may have helped that. The Red Sox had never won a World Series in a post Royal Rooters year.

I don't pretend to understand the Goat curse. A local tavern owner was asked to vacate his goat from the park and he said the Cubs would never win again. This kept them out of the World Series altogether. It would make more sense to me if they were cursed for allowing the goat to stay.

This brings me to the Washington Nationals. With baseball being the superstitious game it is and its past being so much part of its fiber, you might not want to unretire numbers. 8, 10 and 30 were retired by the Montreal Expos only for the gesture to be cast aside with the relocation of the team.

I understand they want their own identity so for that I say they don't have to display them anywhere. They make it to the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016 never making it past the 1st round. It's time for a karma adjustment.

With Tim Raines being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, maybe officially re-retire the numbers of Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Raines himself. I seem to remember Strasburg going down on the same day Dawson was inducted and he was lost for a year.

For those who don't believe in curses, this is a small gesture. What could it hurt.