A One-Man Show

Are you a man or a mond? That's what I was asking myself after reading this short ESPN The Magazine story.

The Red Sox were one out away. ESPN The Magazine was one word away — one word away from an error-free story. To paraphrase Vin Scully: "It gets through editor!"

In the world of editing, the name of the game is accuracy. The ESPN The Magazine editor gave a bad name to editors everywhere when he gave a bad name to a former Mets executive. He went 1-for-1 when, four lines down, he mentioned Arthur Richman. He dropped to 1-for-2 when, on the next line, he swung and missed, changing Richman to Richmond.

I didn't catch your name, ESPN The Magazine editor, but I did catch your name-based error. Your second reference isn't man enough. Like a runner with a big lead, it's way off base.

You're batting .500, which would get you into the Hall of Fame if you were a baseball player, but that average will get you fired if you're an editor. If you want my assistance, give me a call. We can have a man-to-mond chat.