The danger of archives...

It's easy for sports columnists to be negative about the home team. The odds are that the home team won't win the championship, so when they eventually do lose, the writers can gloat, "see I told you so." There's one problem with this type of writing though -- the home team sometimes wins. Poor Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune decided to publish some of his negativity throughout the past year.

Some highlights:

• Nov 17 (What Smart fans) want to know is how the Sox plan to win a World Series. Answer: They won't, as long as Reinsdorf and his people own the team. Please sell it.
• Dec 14 Oh, this makes loads of sense, building a slap-and-tickle team to play 81 games in the most power-friendly ballpark in the majors..... Ken Williams is trading mashers for midgets....Amazingly enough, a team that hit a major-league-best 242 homers in 2004 has lost four prime power hitters, including Jose Valentin. And the only attempt to fill the void was Williams' cheapskate signing of injury-hobbled Jermaine Dye, who will make $4 million next year ($10 million less than Ordonez made last season) and is a career .208 hitter with two out and runners in scoring position.....Don't be fooled by (Scott) Podsednik's 2003 National League Rookie of the Year award or his 70 stolen bases last year. This is a leadoff hitter who has trouble leading off, hitting only .244 last season with a lame .313 on-base percentage....When Juan Uribe is a team's third-best hitter, you again start hoping that Reinsdorf sells the franchise while wondering if the general manager has lost his lid.... As long as Jose Contreras is your No. 3 starter and Jon Garland is your No. 4, the Sox can't play OzzieBall...
• Dec 19 If the Sox had given (former Cub Matt) Clement an extra $5 million and (pitcher Omar) Vizquel an extra year and $3 million, they would have a quality No. 3 starter behind Freddy Garcia and Mark Buehrle and a fielding wizard to anchor the infield.
• April 7 (The Sox are) Winning Lucky. Groovy as Sox life seems right now, let me assure you that this is no formula for a division title. ...(Jerry Reinsdorf ) and (Ken) Williams have concocted this "new way" of baseball that actually is a euphemism for payroll-crunching.
• June 7 I can safely say the Sox won't win a World Series as long as (Jerry Reinsdorf) owns them.
• June 14 Will (Ken) Williams recognize his Joe Crede problem and pursue Shea Hillenbrand?
• Aug 20 Barring an unforeseen deal by general manager Ken Williams, who is too protective of team chemistry and not focused enough on reality,
• Sept. 1 The defense has been woeful. The lineup has too many automatic outs. The Sox aren't playing well at home. Who is Geoff Blum, anyway?
• Sept. 18 A recipe for October success, this is not. The next 14 days and nights will be hell for the Sox, their fans and a city sick of applying the Heimlich maneuver. Watch at your own risk.