The Curse of the Bambino may have met its match.

When Alex Rodriguez was playing for the Seattle Mariners they never won a thing. When they unloaded him, they won a division title and 116 games.

When Alex Rodriguez arrived in Texas three years ago he was supposed to be the cornerstone of a renaissance for the Rangers. Instead they lost 270 ballgames during his tenure and led the American League West for a grand total of three days (that includes winning their season opener a year ago). Now that A-Rod is gone the Rangers are tied for the division lead at 12-9 (after Wednesday's games).

Now the best shortstop in baseball, and maybe the best to ever play baseball, is in New York. And where are the defending American League champions?

One game under .500.

The Albatross called A-Rod may not quite have the poetic ring of the Curse of the Bambino, but his presence has had the same deleterious effect on every franchise he's played for in the major leagues. Not only do they lose while he is in their lineup, but they start to win after he departs.

More than likely this is all circumstance, but the same could be said of the poor Bambino, who for so long has been blamed for the Boston Red Sox's almost annual collapse when faced with the spectre of the Yankees looming up behind them in September and October.

In the case of the Red Sox, the fact of the matter is the Yankees had better teams all those years. More balanced. Superior pitching. Always something. Yet Babe Ruth got blamed anyway.

So now that it seems the same sad story is encircling Rodriguez and whatever team he touches, why not hang the albatross around his neck for at least as long as the Rangers continue to flourish and the Yankees continue to stutter?

Rodriguez demanded a trade last winter after tiring of the constant losing in Texas. Originally it looked like he would end up with the Red Sox, but that deal eventually collapsed and he was named the Rangers' captain. Not long after that he was named a Yankee when George Steinbrenner agreed to pay whatever price was required to bring the best player in baseball to his team.

But since his arrival, A-Rod has struggled at the plate. Also, reliable Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter has played like a player with the jitters, and the Yankees have sputtered and staggered through the early weeks of the season, unable to hit, pitch or field.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have flourished without A-Rod even though their regular shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, has been out all season with a bad foot. Boston is now 6-1 against the A-Rod-cursed Yankees this season and leads the American League East by a couple of games.

In Texas, the A-Rod-less Rangers faced dire predictions that they could lose as many as 100 games without Rodriguez's bat. Yet they are off to a 12-8 start with a group of young players few people have heard of outside hardcore Ranger fans.

The Rangers are tied with the Angels in the AL West despite the fact Anaheim has the third highest payroll in baseball behind New York and Boston. They have already won five of six from their divisional rival, and are the only team in the league hitting over .300 as a team. At this rate they should dump a few more superstars.

To carry this a bit further, after Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees the Rangers decided to shift slick-fielding second baseman Michael Young to shortstop. Although slick with the glove, Young has never been much with the bat. At least not until the albatross named A-Rod left his side.

As of Tuesday, Young was leading the Rangers with a .378 average. Alfonso Soriano, who the Rangers acquired from the Yankees in the trade, was hitting nearly .340 and with the same power he showed when he was the Yankees' second baseman.

As for A-Rod, his team is struggling and so is he.

Since the Yankees had been projected as the favorite to win the American League pennant again, while the Rangers were seen as a sure 100-game loser, this may all turn around. But the fact of the matter is the Yankees are the third team to hire Alex Rodriguez, and every one of them has suffered great indignities while he was there.

Both of his previous employers did better once they got rid of him, even though he somehow won the AL MVP award a year ago on a team that finished in last place. What would they have done if he wasn't there, been dropped down to AAA?

Curse of the Bambino? How about The Albatross of A-Rod?

Maybe this will all work out this time for A-Rod and the Yankees. Maybe they will right their ship and the Rangers will implode.

But, maybe that won't happen. Maybe A-Rod is a curse in reverse, a guy who hurts the team he goes to while elevating the one he leaves. They like the sound of that in Boston.

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