What do you think of this Plaschke gimmick?

I agree, the white space would have sold it; anyone know if they did it? Would have worked great, especially if they put his bio/kicker at the end of it.
I think the column works: he makes his point and you know where he stands. And I'm sure the editor signed off on it--maybe he even suggested it? Who knows.

 

Writers across the country have used this approach, but it's usually been done when writing about contract situations. Granted, few have stretched it into an entire column.

I didn't find this particular column funny or particularly clever. Wasnt real insightful. Didnt tell readers anything they didnt already know.

That said, if I were Plashke's editor, I would send him a note today, complimenting his decision to think outside the box. Lord knows we need more of that in this biz.

 

Now, that is funny.

 

With good reason.

 

I enjoyed it and thought it was clever.

I had never seen this done before and I especially liked the kicker

"You want intensity in every postseason column, read the Cleveland and Denver writers."

 

This column brings to mind the wisdom of Lou Brown, tire salesman and manager of the upstart Cleveland Indians.

"Great catch, Hayes. Don't ever fuckin' do it again."

 

Liked it. And for whoever thought the desk might be upset about getting less copy than budgeted, my paper is totally fine with that these days. Budget says 15, you write 12, it's all good. Section probably came in a column or six smaller than they'd hoped in the first place.

Again, the concept is as good as the execution. Would be easy to trot another "disappointing effort" column, but you change the delivery and it's a lot more memorable. Is there another NBA column we're reflecting on today? Of course you don't make a habit of stuff like this, but in moderation, I think it works well.

 

The misspellings bugged me. That's going too far for a stunt, like WriteBrain noted about his upside down page. But I liked it otherwise. I'm not a huge follower of the NBA and I didn't know the score or circumstances of the game, but I thought he really captured it for me. To me, that puts the column above just a gimmick.

 

I basically agree with Fenian here.

I think it's worthwhile to give your top columnist a good deal of rope because, like Hayes, he's very talented and is capable of pulling off the spectacular when given the chance.

So I don't think the bottom line is whether this column is the height of greatness or not. He gave it a shot. Some are going to think he hit a home run, and others will see it as a strikeout. The important part is that he took a shot, which is what I think we'd prefer columnists to do, rather than just churn out the same old bullshit they've been doing for years.

Try something different. Maybe it'll work. Maybe it won't. But I'd much prefer to see guys like Plaschke take a big swing and strike out every once in awhile than sacrifice bunt it every time up there.

 

Boooooooring.