The Angels' Erick Aybar turns a double play over Red Sox's Jason Bay during Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts in 2008. Photo Courtesy MCT.

By Maureen Fox
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Curses are rampant in the history of Major League Baseball, from the belief that discussing a no-hitter while it's in progress jinxes the pitcher to the curse of the Black Sox, where the 1919 Chicago White Sox team cursed their franchise to lose the playoffs for 90 years by throwing their own World Series.

And now, it appears a curse is forming for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, one that causes the Angels to repeatedly lose post-season games against the Boston Red Sox. Since 2004, the Angels have lost the playoffs to the Red Sox three times.

While the Angels' tendency to lose to the Red Sox in the playoffs is relatively new, it is likely the curse is not. This curse could simply be an old curse repackaged.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The decades-long drought was popularly known as the “Curse of the Bambino" because it was believed the Red Sox were cursed to lose numerous playoffs the year they traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. When the Red Sox finally broke their curse, they swept the Angels to do it.

By crushing the Angels to win the 2004 World Series, it seems Boston's "Curse of the Bambino" has moved west to plague Anaheim. Time and time again, the Angels have lost the playoffs to the Red Sox, despite being the favored team to win in 2004, 2007 and 2008.

One could argue the Red Sox infected the Angels with their curse as far back as 1986. After all, in 1986 the Angels were one strike away from heading to the then 26-year-old franchise's first World Series appearance when they suffered a shocking defeat to the Red Sox. The Angels, leading three games to one in a seven game series, needed one more strike to secure the fourth win to beat the Red Sox in the American League Championship. But the Red Sox's Dave Henderson hit a 9th inning home run that won them the game and put Boston on track to win the next two games, eliminating the Angels from the playoffs.

When the Angels finally won the World Series in 2002 as the wild card team, they stunned everyone by upsetting the New York Yankees, the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants. However, their victory did not include beating the Red Sox.

Oddly enough, the Angels’ inability to beat the Red Sox during the playoffs has not spread to the regular season. The Red Sox are a tough opponent, but the Angels hold their own and have often played better than the Red Sox statistically.

Since 2004, the Angels have won nine of 17 series against the Red Sox and tied twice. The Angels won five out of nine games and two of three series against the Red Sox this season alone. The Angels even swept the Red Sox twice, both in 2008, the same year they won eight out of nine games against Boston during the season.

So why do the Red Sox continue to cream the Angels during the post season? Is it their star players, such as Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis? Is it their belief that with the “Curse of the Bambino" ended they are unstoppable? Or is the Angel fans' belief in this new curse the reason for their increasing lack of faith in their team to defeat the Red Sox?

If the Angels hold onto their division lead and make it into the American League Baseball Playoffs in October, they will once again face off with the Red Sox, who hold the wild-card spot.

Can the Angels beat the Red Sox, proving the belief in an Angels vs. Red Sox curse is ill-founded? Or will the Red Sox eliminate the Angels again, showing an Angels vs. Red Sox curse is more than just superstition? Buy a ticket, switch on the radio or turn on the TV and watch the drama unfold for yourself.