Heir head

HEADLINE FOUND ONLINE: Yanks target Cuban SS as Jeter's heir.

It bothers me.

I realize the headline writer needed to write something that fit. The problem is that Cuban shortstop Adeinis Hechavarria is not Derek Jeter's heir. If the Yankees sign him, he might be the heir apparent at shortstop. Big difference.

(Oh, I forgot: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!)

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

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• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

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• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

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• What I do when I'm editing

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• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

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• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

My headline ear

I wonder: I apologize in advance for using the NY Times yet again for an editing lesson. In this case, I'm not even sure it's wrong; I just wonder about it.

The headline says After a Disappointing First Season, Girardi Adjusts. To my ear, that sounds like the Yankees are having a bad season but are adjusting. Actually, they struggled in 2008. This year, they have the best record in baseball. The problem is Adjusts. It just doesn't seem to fit.

It might be better to change Girardi Adjusts to Girardi Adjusted or Girardi Has Adjusted. The problem with that is that headline writers avoid past tense if possible. Or you might take another tack altogether: Girardi Has Learned From Difficult First Season.

Ooops: I messed up a headline while working at the local newspaper last night; I work there one night a week on a freelance basis. I put the wrong high-school nickname in the headline, and I'm going to worry about it forever. I still remember my errors from 1979.

Another thought: Newspapers generally prefer to say played host rather than hosted. As in, the Bears played host to the Dolphins. Me? I think hosted is fine.

><

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing