The Curse of the A-Rod Strikes at Fenway

For years baseball fans in Boston believed that it was the ‘Curse of the Bambino' that kept their beloved Red Sox from making it to the World Series. The 86-year drought was ended back in 2004 when the Sox did the impossible by climbing out of a 0-3 deficit against the hated Yankees in the ALCS just to make it to the World Series (where they swept the St. Louis Cardinals).  

Fast forward to 2012 and the Red Sox have a second World Series title under their belts (2007). On Friday, April 20, they were primed to celebrate those wins along with 100 years of Red Sox history as part of their home field's 100th birthday celebration.

But the ‘Curse of the A-Rod' had to strike and put a damper on things.

Alex Rodriguez hit his second home run of the season and the 631st dinger of his career when he crushed one off of Red Sox starter Clay Buckkholtz deep over left field in the fifth inning. With it he moved into 5th place on the all-time career home run list.

When you look at the big picture his home run did not mean a whole lot in the end. Eric Chavez had two on the day; Nick Swisher and Russell Martin each had one as well. Derek Jeter didn't have an RBI on the day, but his one hit moved him into 18th on the all-time career hit list with 3,111. What makes it the play of the game is what it did after the game.

The Red Sox had a great ceremony prior to the game. They honored 200 of the team's former players, coaches, and managers in a great ceremony. However, the big topic of conversation in the media was not the tradition and history that the Red Sox had on display Friday night.

It was a 6-2 loss and Alex Rodriguez moving into fifth place on the all-time career home run list.

Curse you A-rod. Curse you. 

Article by Travis Pulver