Are curses to blame for some of baseball's biggest slides

	Are the Giants haunted? And would Zito have signed with S.F. if he'd known about it? Hmm... Icon SMI
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You can't open a newspaper without seeing a headline about San Francisco Giants' starting pitcher Barry Zito and his demotion to the bullpen. The most expensive pitcher in history started his season 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA and now everyone is trying to figure out what went wrong. Sports psychologists are saying he's under too much pressure, scouts are saying his fastball has lost its zip, teammates are saying its just a rough patch. But what if it is something more? What if the Giants are cursed?

The Giants originated in New York in 1885 and won five World Series between 1905 and 1954. In the summer of 1957 the New York baseball world was rocked by the announcement that both the Dodgers, then playing in Brooklyn, and the Giants, were moving to California. Legend has it that Joan Whitney Payson a shareholder of the Giants objected to the move. It was Payson who founded the Mets in 1962, perhaps setting the Giants' curse into motion.

The Giants have yet to win a World Series since moving to San Francisco, even losing the 2000 division series to the Mets, their New York replacements. Things got worse in the 2002 World Series when manager Dusty Baker infamously handed pitcher Russ Ortiz the game ball in the seventh inning of game 6, something usually not done until a win is secured. The Giants were winning 5-0 and ahead in the series 3-2 but they lost that game and the next, bidding farewell to their championship dreams. Add to all this the questions over the legitimacy of Barry Bond's home run record and the signing of Zito from the Oakland Athletics, the Giants' rivals from across the San Francisco Bay, and maybe the problem isn't Zito's fastball, but simply the fact that the Giants are cursed.

If they are, they're not alone. The longest curse to date belongs to the Chicago Cubs and is known as the "The Billy Goat Curse." It dates back to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. Billy Sianis, a Cubs fan and local bar owner came to the game with his pet goat. He convinced the team owners to let the goat sit at the game with him, but when it began to rain, he and his goat were kicked out of Wrigley Field because the goat started to smell. Sianis claimed that he put a curse on the Cubs after that game, which the team eventually lost, along with the World Series. This season will be the 100th anniversary of the last time the Cubs brought home a championship, the longest streak in Major League Baseball.

Also among the cursed are the Cleveland Indians, thanks to the Curse of Rocky Colavito. Colavito was a fan favorite of the Indians and the 1959 AL batting champion. On the day before opening day in 1960 Colavito was traded to the rival Detroit Tigers for Harvey Keunn, then the American League home run champion. Colavito continued to be a star while Keunn played only one season for the Indians. Colavito denies placing a curse on the Indians, but many fans believe that it was this trade that has kept them from championship glory, something they haven't achieved in 48 years.

I have one final theory about another new curse, one I like to call "The Curse of the Moose." In 2000 the Yankees won the World Series. The following off-season they signed pitcher Mike Mussina to an 8-year 88.5 million dollar contract. Mussina, 'The Moose,' had been the gem of the Baltimore Orioles rotation, a homegrown talent and fan favorite. Mussina was considered a traitor by Orioles fans, and players, for going North to the division rival Yankees for the sole purpose of winning a World Series. Since his arrival in New York however, the Yankees have not won the World Series that Mussina so desired. How does the team with the highest payroll and the biggest free agents go without a championship for so long? Might just be The Curse of the Moose...

Do you believe in baseball curses? Which team do you think is cursed?

YOUR TURN

Readers respond to last week's column about Frank Thomas:

"I think that it was good that the Blue Jays got rid of him because I think Frank Thomas is getting old and needs to retire."
- Sean, Utah

"I don't know who would release Thomas. Trade him if you absolutely have to. I mean, he's in the 500 club. It was a good idea for the A's to regain their superstar."
- Jonathan, Maryland

"Yes and no to Blue Jays having pain without The Big Hurt. The Jays have Roy Holliday, and others!"
- Kyle, Windham

The Blue Jays say that they are tired of being a third place team so this is a good move. Now they get to experience what is like to be a fourth or fifth place team without their big hitter.
- Will, Ohio