In an otherwise interesting story on Lou Piniella’s influence on A-Rod, the Times‘ Jack Curry makes my least favorite mistake, and uses “impacted” as a verb. If you’re going to use “impacted,” use it as an adjective to describe teeth or bones, not as a verb when you actually mean “influenced” or “affected.”

“When Piniella was reminded of the peck he gave Rodriguez and how much it impacted him, he smiled like a proud parent.” Read the whole story to find out why A-Rod is getting a peck on the forehead from Sweet Lou, but the point is that Curry’s use of “impacted” is ugly. Probably acceptable due to common usage, but ugly nonetheless.