Curse of the Daal

The concept of luck is funny. Most people don't want to admit they believe in it but once things start turning against you, you begin to question whether a little luck would go your way to get you out of your current situation. Baseball players are especially susceptible to luck. When you're playing well, you tell everyone you don't believe in it. But when bad things continue to happen to you, you resort to many different rituals to try and change your luck. Omar Daal must be at the end of his rope as he tries to salvage his season and possibly his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In Omar's case, you have to wonder whether his streak of bad luck is somehow rubbing off on the team. With Omar in the starting line-up, the starting pitchers (with the exception of Randy Johnson) suddenly began to experience bad luck. There is the streak where the starters gave up run after run making the bullpen bail them out to preserve the win. Todd Stottlemyre developed an elbow injury that will have him sidelined until September, and Brian Anderson's streak of the team winning when he starts came to an abrupt end. Daal continued to pitch poorly and found himself demoted from the starting rotation to the bullpen. When this happened, the bullpen suddenly found itself unable to maintain a lead. The relief pitchers who had been a strength to the team now cannot get anyone out. What was once a strength is now a weakness. When you look at what has changed, only one thing comes to mind, Omar Daal. I am not saying that Daal is jinxed, but if I were him, I would be trying to find a way to change his mojo just to be on the safe side.