2021 Tabloid Cover Derby Round 2.05 SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE BEAR vs CRUSHING

[Benjamin Grimm]

SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE BEAR
New York Daily News, February 27, 2021.
Winner of Round 1.05




CRUSHING
New York Daily News, May 25, 2021.
Winner of Round 1.12

[bmfc1]

"STYAB" might be a Derby record for the number of words in the headline + subheadline.

[Fman99]

Agreed, it's overstuffed with words. Pass

[Edgy MD]

And too many words, at home, can often lead to a white-on-white conflict for the layout artist.

CRUSHING had the good sense to go with an alternate-color headline, the narrative taste to select a photo with the hat in mid-air but in focus, and the finishing kick to layer the headline behind the subject.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I don't think either of these 2 are destined to be hung in Sweden but I went with the bear just because they broke all the rules with a lengthy headline on a basic non-story

[Benjamin Grimm]

[bmfc1]

Johneshwy Fargas for the win!

[Edgy MD]

I have to say, the period mostly in May, but dipping into April and June, was really the defining part of this season. The Mets were fielding supremely punchless lineups — their most productive hitters were their two catchers and for a time they were in the lineup together, with James McCann staffing first base for the first time in his career.

Night after night, they were tallying three to five hits, and it seemed to take an extraordinary effort just to pull that off. Yet they were hanging on to first, treading water, even winning games on the road, with outstanding starting pitching on most nights, and superlative defensive commitments. Fargas and Khalil Lee and even Cameron Maybin were producing absolutely zero with the bats, but desperately trying to justify their existence with their gloves and arms. And if they could manage to get to the ninth with one run on three hits, there was a good chance that was good enough to find themselves tied against a stacked Atlanta lineup, with a chance to steal the game at the end, with backup infielders like Guillorme or Peraza the ones they were counting on for a big hit.

It's hard to think of less sustainable model, but it was a fascinating show for a few weeks in late spring and early summer.