The team that showed up Friday night didn’t have a fighting spirit. They allowed the White Sox to use the momentum they gained on that one cockamamie play and capitalize on it to win another game. As much as I didn’t think it possible, as much as I believed these Angels were immune to ill fortune, that call could do to them what Kirk Gibson’s home run did to the Athletics in ’88, or what Bill Buckner’s error did to the Red Sox in ’86.

Of course, maybe this is all just fans and media reading tea leaves after a freak occurrence. Maybe the Angels just plain reeked Friday night, and any further interpretation that invites sinister forces into the picture is just figments of overactive imaginations.

Still …

With Game 4 set for Saturday afternoon, the Angels might want to consult a Ouija board, or swing a dead cat in a cemetery. If there’s a curse at work , action must be taken. The preferred option would be to generate some offense against Chicago’s miserly staff.

“These guys are good. They’re gonna hit,” Scioscia said of his batters. “Obviously we just need it to start now.”

It almost doesn’t matter if the Angels are still smarting from the blown call. If they lay down and lose this series without a fight, the perception will linger that they collapsed. That’s why the significance of Game 4 goes beyond whether the series after it is tied 2-2 or if Chicago is left one game away from the World Series. It has to do with their long-term mental health.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Scioscia said after Friday night’s game. “It’s our second loss. If we get the next game we’re right back in the series.”

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

Neither Guillen nor Scioscia mentioned Eddings’ call after Game 3. Baseball superstition dictates they both put it behind them. If Guillen is the beneficiary of any paranormal activity, he doesn’t want to let on and jinx it. If Scioscia, deep down, is worried his guys were knocked for a loop by the Pierzynski pilfering Wednesday night, he’s hoping if he doesn’t acknowledge it, then it will go away.

Naturally, the best course of action for the Angels is to handle Chicago’s pitching. As Guillen pointed out, “Pitching, hitting and playing good is contagious.”

Right now, the Angels are walking around with something they contracted in Chicago, and they don’t look good.

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