Razzball.com Forums

I usually don't mind Scott White's analyses, but his new literary technique should be very familiar looking to Razzball readers. There are no comments on his article. I'd troll him on Twitter but I have a sh*t-ton of grading to do. Anyway, he does it about a dozen times in yesterday's article on John Buck.

As I write this in my classroom, the phrase, "nobody likes a tattle-tale" comes to mind. Oh well. Here are a few lame examples.
Reality Check: There's a catch at catcher
Scott White
Apr 15, 2013 05:56 pm

"So during his one "great" year, Buck was really just average. And what about this year? Even with everything he's done right so far, his on-base percentage is still only .318.

Oh, you Moneyball types kill me with your on-base nonsense. Baseball is a big game of Battleship. Hit or miss. That's all that matters."

"About that. Apart from 2010, Buck's highest batting average for a single season is .247, and he entered this season with a career .235 mark. Yeah, he has some pop, but between the low contact rate and minimal walks, he's the definition of all or nothing. And too often, the nothing takes precedence.

Oh, pish posh. Didn't you see The Lion King? The past is the past. Learn from it or get hit by a stick."

Unfortunately the real one is much funnier and RIV is a much better fantasy baseballer (not my term).

But it still speaks the truth. hakuna matata.

the original is MUCH funnier. I would hope somebody would troll this guy out of ever copying that writing style again. and here I am say I'm too busy yet I'm writing comments on the forum

I once dared to suggest miguel cabrera was a better dynasty pick than mike trout on a fangraphs blurb. I got my crystal ripped from my chest.

I seriously hope you acolytes don't think Albright invented the use of italics for asides and interior monologue.

Speaking of trolling... Nice use of acrolytes!

I'll admit to wanting to bust out acolyte.

The italic thing has been around for a good while but the post-modern effort to change the look of the page or do anything at all to break away from traditional narrative technique has made it more commonplace. In snobby circles it's considered hack-ish. Albright's use of italics is very of the moment. The RIV schtick is at once hackish and at the same time a self-knowing parody of hack writing. Having it both ways, as David Foster Wallace was often accused of, is a hallmark of the second generation of post-modernists. Maybe the most egregious examples of both the double irony and the amateurish use of italics is Rick Moody.

It's possible homeboy at CBS ripped the gag from Razzball, but it's not as if the copyright belongs here.