Quite possibly the worst Jay Mariotti column since F**-Gate

It's well-known in baseball circles that Cowley is fiercely protective of his beat and the people he likes on it (players, managers, etc., etc.).

But you can see where he's coming from in playing peace maker with Ozzie - every time Ozzie says something remotely interesting, Mariotti rips him a new one for him, and all the beat guys have to do damage control with the manager so he won't just stop talking. It has to get exhausting.

The culture of the White Sox beat is an odd one, at least it has that rep around the game.

 

The thing that kind of turns me off about columnists like Mariotti, and maybe I'm only getting the bad columns, but all it ever seems like is diarhea of the mouth. Say whatever's on your mind and maybe people will notice you. Is this the way big-time columnists are supposed to work?

I understand the shock value of getting people to read the column, but I was also under the impression that there was always a bit of actual reporting that was supposed to go into column writing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Not to mention the fact that I can remember the White Sox playing worse baseball around 1989, right around the time Jeff Torborg took over as manager. I can remember that because Torborg turned that team around to win 94 games in 1990 after they went 69-92 the year before.

 

I wonder if Mariotti wrote this from U.S. Cellular ... ha ha.

He's a clown and an embarrassment to himself and the Sun-Times. He tries to be a shock-jock in print, and he doesn't do a good job of it.

 

That's somewhat nutless journalism by Mariotti, but I suppose its nothing new.

 

How would you do damage control with that many writers around?

 

Think Jay's pissed off because he didn't get a ring?

Or did he get a ring and it wasn't big enough to suit his ego?

 

In the words of Peter Griffen, Jay Mariotti "insists upon" himself.

 

You know what's funny, I used to like Mariotti when my only knowledge of him was on Around the Horn (please don't ask me why). Once I started reading him, I realized how much of a D-bag he can be.

 

When I just knew the "Around The Horn" Mariotti, I thought he was pretty arrogant. Then I covered a Steelers-Bears game in Pittsburgh and saw him weasel around the back of a pack of reporters in Chicago's locker room, which I thought was strange for a lead columnist -- not to be asking questions. But the kicker was when we traded spots in the elevator and he didn't so much as offer me a nod of the head. I felt like he looked straight through me because I appeared inexperienced.

From that point on, it's been one more vote for Woody Paige in the Showdown.

 

Guillen and Mariotti are cut from the same cloth -- egomaniacs who love to dish it out, but can't take it. Guillen will be gone soon, and then Mariotti will have to find a new target.

 

Don't worry he will.