Peter Abraham Is Not a Plagiarist, But He Is An Insufferable Douchebag

By The Common Man

Douchebag

One last navel-gazing post this week, before we get back to business here on The Platoon Advantage. Some of you have asked who the writer is who, through his threats and general complaints, got us removed from the SweetSpot Network, despite the fact that seemingly everyone (including several writers at ESPN) thought our Bagwell and “plagiarism” series was excellent.  As Bill said earlier, we don't want to personally attack writers for their baseball opinions.  But when a writer reveals himself to be a jackass through his words and actions, we feel somewhat differently about the whole thing.

So, at the urging of at least one national writer, who referred to our culprit as “a complete asshole” and revealed that “even people who work with him/by him…loathe him,” we’re happy to announce that, when you see us all driving shiny new Camaros over the next few months (our swift departure from ESPN has revealed a great deal of interest in our services and our blog, as it turns out), you have The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham to thank for it.

No, Dummy, Nobody Accused You of Plagiarism.

By Bill

I can't believe I have to do this.

In Which We Joyously Celebrate Peter Abraham, Who Is NOT a Plagiarist

By The Common Man

Previously, as you know, The Common Man satirically pointed out, "if it was fair for writers were going to penalize [Jeff] Bagwell because of their own suspicions that they were apparently too busy to investigate during Bagwell’s playing career, it was equally fair to suspect them of being plagiarists."  Then he went on to name nine writers who had essentially accused Bagwell without actually accusing him.  One of the writers who The Common Man specifically refused to include on that list is The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham, because Abraham's post left it ambiguous as to whether he was penalizing Bagwell for Abraham's groundless suspicions or because he wasn't comfortable passing judgment on that era's level of offense.  Ironically, it was specifically because of a lack of evidence that Abraham was not included on that list.

Anyway, The Common Man stands behind that original post, and does not apologize for it.  It's clearly satire, as any reasonable reader should see.  TCM also doesn't apologize for including Peter Abraham in it, as Abraham has admitted that his position last year was consistent with those of the writers whose unfair, unAmerican, and asinine statements were highlighted.

That said, since then Abraham has posted his 2011-2012 ballot and has reconsidered his previous lack of support for Bagwell, saying "Ignoring drug use seems unconscionable. Voting for Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire or Manny Ramirez would cheapen the Hall of Fame. But not voting for somebody based only a hunch is worse. It's baseball McCarthyism." Abraham's revised position is an entirely legitimate one, and as such, in the interest of fairness, it's with great pride that we shout from the rooftops that Peter Abraham is not, not, NOT a suspected plagiarist, and we congratulate him on being as such, just as we'll do for any writer or HOF voter who undergoes a similar change of heart.

He may be a thin-skinned, bullying, and insecure ninny, but he's no plagiarist.