  
ClubFloyd Transcript:
The idea behind ClubFloyd
is that each week at a pre-arranged time, a group of
people meet online to cooperatively play a game of
interactive fiction. |
|
ClubFloyd Transcript:
The idea behind ClubFloyd
is that each week at a pre-arranged time, a group of
people meet online to cooperatively play a game of
interactive fiction. |
|
ToyShop & Floyditorium
|
#ClubFloyd Discussion
|
|
| Tale asks, "what are we playing today?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I dunno. I suppose any XYZZY finalist that we haven't played yet." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I think we may play Bonehead, if people are willing." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I suggest that only because the author reached out to me and is willing to join us today, most likely, and that's always fun." | ||
| Tale says, "Oh cool+" | ||
| Tale says, "I haven't played that, and haven't really heard of it either" | ||
| DavidW says, "It's about a baseball player who, um, well, you'll see." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "So, if Sean shows up, I'd like to see us go with that, and if he doesn't, then anything Xyzzy-related that we've not yet played." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I need to make a run to the corner store before CF. Be back in a few." | ||
| Tale says, "Phew, magas review dispelled my fears." | ||
| Tale says, "I donn't know any baseball, nor do I care about it in the least." | ||
| DavidW says, "I likewise have no interest in baseball, except for how the players look in their uniforms." | ||
| DavidW says, "I've only played the first bit of the game; most of it I haven't seen." | ||
| DavidW says, "Somehow, baseball is the one 'board game with real people as markers' that managed to catch on big." | ||
| Binder says, "Frankly I'm surprised History of the World-style Chess didn't overtake it" | ||
| DavidW says, "Haven't seen that (or I've forgotten it), but I'll pretend that's like 'Wizard Chess' with gruesome deaths of the playing pieces." | ||
| Binder says, "[LINK]" | ||
| DavidW says, "ah. Sex instead of combat was gonna be my second guess." | ||
| DavidW says, "Now: imagine the Japanese version." | ||
| Binder says, "Yeah, there you go." | ||
| Firion goes home. | ||
| genericgeekgirl arrives, full of neither funk nor fun. | ||
| ChrisC arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | ||
| ChrisC says, "fleep fleep fleep" | Tale asks, "It's in 10 minutes, right?" | |
| ChrisC says, "I have 6" | ||
| DavidW says, "I don't remember what the start time is supposed to be." | ||
| MrPatient arrives, ready to play with the toys. | ||
| MrPatient says, "Hi" | * MrPatient has joined the channel. | |
| Tale arrives, full of fun and funk. | ||
| DavidW arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | ChrisC asks, "Is this week the one with the Choicescript?" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "l" | ||
| Floyd says (to Tale), "Floyd doesn't know that trick." | Tale says, "1) yes 2) no 3) maybe" | |
| ChrisC says, "I vote 3" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "It is in 2 minutes (slightly less, possibly one minute after I hit return.)" | ||
| genericgeekgirl says (to ChrisC), "We're starting with Bonehead, since the author just arrived. Not sure what the plan is after that." | ||
| MrPatient says, "That's me. Hi, everyone." | ||
| Binder says (to MrPatient), "Hello." | ||
| Jacqueline asks (of MrPatient), "You are Sean?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "I am" | ||
| Tale says, "Hello Mr. Author" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yay." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah, today you could @name me = MrAuthor" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "heehee" | ||
| MrPatient says, "This is my first CF, so please forgive me if I spaz out." | ||
| Tale says (to MrsOrganizer), "Hee hee" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "So, yes. Since MrPatient MrAuthor Sean Shore is here, I'd really like us to start with his Xyzzy-nominated game, Bonehead." | ||
| ChrisC says (to MrPatient), "Really? Your name seems familiar to me somehow" | ||
| Binder says, "Sounds groovy." | ||
| djfletch arrives, full of fun and funk. | MsOrganizer says, "I have about three hours today, so if we finish early (or even if we don't) and people want to keep going, I'll just leave the transcript running and go do my thing." | |
| MsOrganizer says, "Hrm, one sec..." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Not sure where you'd know me from. But I use the nick in a lot of places." | ||
| Jacqueline hollers, "We have the author of the Xyzzy-nominated game Bonehead here today, and ClubFloyd is about to play his game. Come check out this nominee for Best Story if you haven't already played it. We are, as ever, in the Toyshop." | Tale says, "I heard you've been waiting a while for it to catch on." | |
| MrPatient says, "Heh" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "heehee" | ||
| maga arrives, full of neither funk nor fun. | Jacqueline says, "Okay then, let's start. If people straggle in late they can @recap the Toyshop." | |
| Iain arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | MrPatient says, "The game has a lot of photos, which we will not be seeing, sadly." | |
| Binder asks (of MrPatient), "Can you describe them for us?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks (of MrPatient), "Would you like a quick recap of how ClubFloyd works, or have you seen a transcript or something and feel all comfy with the concept?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "I have read transcripts. I think I'll be OK." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Cool." | ||
| maga says, "luckily, all you need to do is keep schtoum" | ||
| maga says, "er, keep quiet" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "load bonehead" | ||
Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Late morning, September 23, 1908. You're on your way to work, waiting Floyd | in line to get on the Ninth Avenue Elevated. Play your cards right, Floyd | Fred, and it will be the worst day of your life. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | (press any key)
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Bonehead
Floyd | A Regrettable and Mostly True Tale by Sean M. Shore
Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 110404 / Inform 7 build 6F95 (I6/v6.31 lib
Floyd | 6/12N)
Floyd |
Floyd | East of the Platform
Floyd | It's a chilly September morning in lower Manhattan. You're on your way
Floyd | to the Polo Grounds for today's potentially decisive tilt against the
Floyd | Cubs, who are only one-half game behind your Giants in the race for the
Floyd | National League pennant.
Floyd |
Floyd | You're just east of the platform for the Christopher Street stop of the
Floyd | Ninth Avenue Elevated train. A ticket-taker filters access to the
Floyd | platform itself. There's a short line ahead of you. Not many people
Floyd | are headed uptown at this hour, but then, not many people are in your
Floyd | line of work.
Floyd |
Floyd | Some stairs lead down to the street below.
Floyd |
Floyd | [Everyone, especially those not pretty familiar with baseball, should
Floyd | type ABOUT].
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd |
Floyd | +--------+
Floyd | | Part I |
Floyd | +--------+
Floyd |
| maga says, "except on #cf-spoilers" | |
| Jacqueline clears the save counter. | Binder exclaims, "worst day of our life? sign me up!" | |
| Jacqueline says, "So, sounds like ABOUT is in order." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "about" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | > About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints | Tale says, "yes please" | |
| maga says, "gosh, it certainly is a fine day to be a professional lacrosse player" | ||
| Jacqueline presses the yellow enter button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Bonehead is the mostly true story of Fred Merkle, major league baseball Floyd | player for the New York Giants, and the mistake he made as a teenager Floyd | that haunted him for the rest of his life. There are some puzzles, but Floyd | the primary emphasis is on setting and story. Poking around is Floyd | strongly encouraged. Although it is possible to put the game in an Floyd | unwinnable state, it will become painfully obvious within two or three Floyd | moves that this has happened. With a few UNDOs, you should always be Floyd | able to get to a final (if not exactly winning) ending. Needless to Floyd | say, saving the game from time to time, especially once you're at the Floyd | ballpark, is recommended. Floyd | Floyd | The game features a great deal of baseball-related activity and Floyd | language, some of it antiquated. If you are unfamiliar with baseball, Floyd | you will doubtless be somewhat confused at times, but I have tried to Floyd | make the game as forgiving to novices as possible. See Baseball in Floyd | Three Paragraphs in this menu for some basic information on the sport. Floyd | Also, be sure to talk to everyone you can talk to, especially a certain Floyd | right fielder on your team, and you will eventually learn what a Floyd | ballplayer needs to know. Floyd | Floyd | Normal movement using compass directions is supplemented with GO TO Floyd | <location>. You may find this handy when moving around the diamond. Floyd | Floyd | Conversation is handled using Eric Eve's terrific Conversation Floyd | Framework and Conversation Suggestions. To initiate a conversation Floyd | with a character, you can TALK TO the character, or SAY HELLO TO him, Floyd | or ASK him ABOUT or TELL him ABOUT something. Use TOPICS to display Floyd | conversation topics. Occasionally a character might respond to Floyd | something not in his topics list. You may also be able to REMEMBER Floyd | advice that other characters have given you previously. Floyd | Floyd | From time to time the game will display images at the top of the Floyd | screen. Having a reasonably large window size may be helpful. Note Floyd | that these images are not in any way critical to game play, so Floyd | sight-impaired players will not be at a disadvantage. Floyd | Floyd | Please send any comments, suggestions, and especially bug reports to Floyd | mister_patient@yahoo.com. Thanks for playing. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | DavidW says, "ooh, I see mister_patient's name!" | |
| Jacqueline says, "heh" | ||
| MrPatient exclaims, "See, it really is me!" | ||
| DavidW says, "Indeed." | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | > About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | > About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints | Jacqueline asks, "So, Baseball in Three Paragraphs?" | |
| Tale says, "yes please" | ||
| genericgeekgirl giggles. "Sure." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Yes" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "With 'feriners' here, I am reminded of the whole Zork Baseball Outrage." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "n" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | > Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | > Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints | maga says, "Graham Nelson cries" | |
| Tale says, "Just display the thing, septic" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Hm, as long as we're on this one, let's look at the credits." | ||
| Jacqueline presses the yellow enter button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Many thanks to my testers: Brad Buchanan, Edward Dykhuizen, Inger Marie Floyd | Hognestad, Michael Knowles, Poster, Bob Reeves, Greta Shore, and Chris Floyd | White. Any remaining shortcomings in this game are wholly mine. Floyd | Floyd | Images are drawn from Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Floyd | www.baseball-reference.com. All of them are in the public domain and Floyd | freely reusable to the best of my knowledge. Floyd | Floyd | The brief quotes from Al Bridwell and Fred Snodgrass near the end of Floyd | the game are taken from Lawrence S. Ritter's terrific oral history of Floyd | early baseball, The Glory of Their Times (MacMillan Press, 1966). The Floyd | quotes attributed to sportswriter W. H. Aulick are taken from the Floyd | September 23 and 24, 1908 issues of The New York Times. Floyd | Floyd | Thanks to Graham Nelson, Emily Short, Eliuk Blau, Eric Eve, David Floyd | Fisher and Erik Temple for Inform 7 and a bunch of great extensions, Floyd | and to Aaron Reed for his book which got me started. Floyd | Floyd | And thanks to Marta, Greta and Miranda for allowing me the time to do Floyd | this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | DavidW says, "yay testers and other helpful people" | |
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | > Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | > Credits Floyd | Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "n" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | > Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | > Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints | Tale asks (of MrPatient), "Those ladies are your family?" | |
| Jacqueline presses the yellow enter button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Baseball is a pretty complicated game with many arcane rules -- I doubt Floyd | very many fans can explain the myriad ways in which a pitcher can Floyd | commit a balk (I can't) -- but for purposes of Bonehead, you only need Floyd | to know a very few things. These can be learned by careful reading or Floyd | trial and error during play, but the information below may be helpful Floyd | for those unfamiliar with the game. Floyd | Floyd | You are a batter, a runner, and a fielder in this game. As a batter, Floyd | you stand at home plate, attempting to hit balls thrown by the pitcher Floyd | by swinging a bat. (The mechanics of swinging will be explained to you Floyd | in-game; please make sure to talk to your teammates about the art of Floyd | hitting). During batting practice, the pitcher throws balls for you to Floyd | hit easily. In the "real" game, however, the pitcher is your opponent; Floyd | he attempts to keep you from hitting the ball, or hitting it well. If Floyd | you swing and miss at a pitch, it is recorded as a strike against you. Floyd | If you decline to swing at a pitch, but the umpire deems it to be Floyd | within the strike zone (roughly, from your chest to your knees Floyd | vertically, and the width of the plate horizontally), it is also Floyd | recorded as a strike. Three strikes, and you are out. If the pitch is Floyd | outside the strike zone, it is recorded as a ball. Four balls, and you Floyd | are granted first base automatically (a base on balls, or a walk). Floyd | Floyd | If you hit the ball in fair territory during the game, you must run to Floyd | first base; and from there, possibly to second base, third base, and Floyd | back to home plate, which scores a run for your team. The team with Floyd | the most runs at the end of the game is the winner. Note that the Floyd | batter is required to try to advance to first base if he hits the ball Floyd | and it is not caught in the air by a fielder. If there is already a Floyd | runner at first base, that runner must try to advance to second base. Floyd | If the ball arrives at second base before that runner does, the runner Floyd | is forced out. Floyd | Floyd | As a fielder, you are on defense: your goal is to put out the opposing Floyd | players. One of the primary means of accomplishing this is to touch Floyd | first base while in possession of the baseball, before the batter can Floyd | reach the base himself. In Bonehead, you are a first baseman, so this Floyd | task mostly falls to you. On a ground ball, the other fielders will Floyd | throw the ball to you; it's your job to catch it and make sure you're Floyd | touching first when it arrives. Of course, it's not always possible to Floyd | do both at the same time. Floyd | Floyd | For a more complete explanation, clearer than anything I could have Floyd | written, please see Floyd | [LINK] Even better: Floyd | watch a game. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | MrPatient says, "Indeed." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Dude, this is five paragraphs." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "(Kidding.)" | ||
| Iain says, "I'd like to point out that I watched a game and I still don't understand baseball." | ||
| maga asks (of Tale), "did Germany invent any sports that don't involve sticking someone with a sword?" | ||
| Iain says, "I guess I understood enough to know that our team was being crushed mercilessly by Staten Island." | ||
| maga asks (of Iain), "Scotland has a baseball team?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "If I said Five Paragraphs, I would scare people off." | ||
| Iain says, "Heh" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "heh" | ||
| Binder says, "anything not involving stabbing someone else is not a sport. That's why hockey gets a pass." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to maga), "My guess is that he was with a certain Mr. Dyte or a certain Mr. Ampersand." | ||
| Iain says, "Yup, I was a honorary Brooklynite for the day." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, everyone read up on the sport?" | ||
| Tale says (to maga), "Sackhuepfen" | ||
| Jacqueline asks (of Tale), "Is that tacklebasketball?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Like, get it in the heupfen before you get sacked?" | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | > Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | About Bonehead Floyd | Credits Floyd | > Baseball in Three Paragraphs Floyd | Hints | Tale says, "I'll have to look up the translation" | |
| Jacqueline says, "So, let's skip the hints." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "q" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | East of the Platform Floyd | You're just east of the platform for the Christopher Street stop of the Floyd | Ninth Avenue Elevated train. A ticket-taker filters access to the Floyd | platform itself. Floyd | Floyd | Some stairs lead down to the street below. Floyd | | Tale says, "If only I were connected to a worldwideweb of computers" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd | >You are carrying: Floyd | a ticket Floyd | a five-dollar bill Floyd | a short pencil Floyd | | Jacqueline says (to Tale), "If only." | |
| maga says (to Tale), "it looks like a sack race" | ||
| Tale says, "Yeah, sack race" | ||
| Jacqueline asks (of MrP), "So, sometimes we use a 'driver' (one person who enters all the commands for us), particularly in timed games where too many cooks could screw things up in the kitchen. My feel for this is that a driver would be good, and in fact required once we're in the ballpark. Am I right?" | ||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "x me" | ||
Floyd | >You are Fred Merkle, nineteen-year-old occasional first baseman for Floyd | the New York Giants. Very occasional first baseman. The Giants Floyd | already have the veteran Fred Tenney at first, so you haven't started a Floyd | game all year. Only the really dedicated fans know who you are. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Sure, I guess." | |
| Binder says, "Yay, we have dedicated fans." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Sounds good re:ballpark definitely" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "xyzzy" | ||
Floyd | >This is the Big Apple, not the Colossal Cave. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Man, nineteen and playing pro." | |
| zarf arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | ||
| ChrisC says (to f), "x pencil" | Tale says, "that's not unusal in soccer" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "x pencil" | ||
Floyd | >It's a stubby, slightly dull little pencil. You picked it up earlier, Floyd | stuffed it into a pocket, and promptly forgot about it. Floyd | Floyd | The line shortens. You're getting close to the front. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x ticket" | ||
Floyd | >It reads: "Interborough Rapid Transit. Good for one ride." Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x ticket-taker" | ||
Floyd | >A man wearing the uniform of the Interborough Rapid Transit company. Floyd | He is taking tickets from the people in line, one by one. Floyd | Floyd | "Hey mister." There's a tug on your coat. It's a young boy in line Floyd | right behind you. "Hey, mister. You're Fred Merkle, ain'tcha? Hey, Floyd | Mister Merkle, can I have your autograph?" He thrusts a scrap of Floyd | notebook paper at you. Must be one of those really dedicated fans, I Floyd | guess. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Aw" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "kid, piss off" | ||
Floyd | >The kid ignores you, and just presents the notebook paper to you Floyd | expectantly. Floyd | Floyd | "Mister Merkle, the other kids'll never believe I saw a real live Floyd | ballplayer," says the kid. He rubs his nose. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks (of Tale), "Now who's the meanie?" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "sign paper" | ||
Floyd | >You reach for your pencil and stoop down to address the kid at eye Floyd | level. But as you do, you're jostled from behind. Your IRT ticket and Floyd | five-dollar bill fall onto the floor and through a crack in the Floyd | platform, presumably down to the street below. This is not what you Floyd | needed. Floyd | Floyd | "Aw gee, mister, I'm real sorry about that. I ain't got an extra Floyd | ticket to give you, but I would if I had one, honest!" Embarrassed, Floyd | the kid hurries up to the ticket-taker, across the platform, and onto a Floyd | waiting train. Floyd | | Binder says, "nooooooooo" | |
| Jacqueline says, "You were right to tell that kid to piss off, it would seem." | ||
| Binder says, "We should have trusted Tale's instincts" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, um, undo?" | ||
| DavidW says, "no" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Or jump the turnstyle and beat up the ticket-taker when he challenges us?" | ||
| Tale says, "This smells of plot" | ||
| DavidW says, "Deal with it." | ||
| MrPatient says, "This here's a puzzle. Not a good one, mind you." | ||
| Tale asks, "We can go down to the street, surely?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Tale), "Probably. And don't call me 'Shirley'." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, run down to the street to look for the ticket, muder the child if we find it?" | ||
| maga says (to Jacq), "turns out, we were the first player to develop 'roid rage" | ||
| Tale says (to davidW), "Yay" | ||
| Tale drops Star Trek episode titles as porn. | Jacqueline says, "If we find the child, that is, not the ticket. If we find the ticket yay." | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "s" | ||
Floyd | >You can't go that way. Floyd | | ||
| Tale gets Star Trek episode titles as porn. | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "l" | ||
Floyd | >East of the Platform Floyd | You're just east of the platform for the Christopher Street stop of the Floyd | Ninth Avenue Elevated train. A ticket-taker filters access to the Floyd | platform itself. Floyd | Floyd | Some stairs lead down to the street below. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "d" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | Corner
Floyd | Waves of pedestrians, carriages, and pushcarts make their way through
Floyd | the noisy and crowded intersection of Christopher and Greenwich
Floyd | Streets. To the east, things are a little quieter. Some stairs lead
Floyd | up to the IRT station.
Floyd |
Floyd | The area directly underneath the train platform is boarded up.
Floyd |
Floyd | Standing on the corner is an officer of the New York Police Department.
Floyd | He twirls his billy club and whistles, watching the activity on the
Floyd | street, particularly any young ladies that happen by.
Floyd |
Floyd | There's a rusted garbage can here, overflowing with trash.
Floyd |
| Jacqueline says (to Tale), "Thanks for getting 'Star Trek titles as porn' into the transcript." | |
| Tale says, "NOOOO" | ||
| DavidW says, "hee" | ||
| Tale says, "It's not mine! I'm keeping it for a friend." | ||
| DavidW says, "mmhm" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Tale), "I'm sure." | ||
| maga says, "apparently baseball wasn't nerdy enough" | ||
| DavidW peeks at list. "Amok Timmy"? What's that one about? | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "Officer, hello" | ||
Floyd | >You greet the policeman, and he nods back in reply. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to officer" | ||
Floyd | >You are already talking to the policeman. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks, "Hrm, what did it say about topics?" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "topics" | ||
Floyd | >You have nothing specific in mind to discuss with policeman right now. Floyd | | DavidW says, "That TOPICS is a command." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tell officer about ticket" | ||
Floyd | >(the lost ticket) Floyd | You ask the policeman for assistance in retrieving your lost ticket, or Floyd | getting on the IRT some other way. Floyd | Floyd | "That's not my concern, boyo. Move along now." Floyd | | Binder says, "Well at least some things never change." | |
| Tale says (to davidW), "You signed it, sir. A lot." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Binder), "Aw" | ||
| Tale says, "YKWIM" | ||
| Jacqueline laughs at Tale and DavidW. | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x can" | ||
Floyd | >It's filled to the brim with the leavings of a great many New Yorkers. Floyd | At least they managed to get the trash in the can. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x boards" | ||
Floyd | >The space directly underneath the platform is closed off and Floyd | inaccessible. There are a few holes in the boards, but nothing you Floyd | could even fit a hand through. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "look through hole" | ||
Floyd | >You peer through the holes. It's too dark to get much of a sense of Floyd | what's down here. All you can see is some construction debris, and, Floyd | oddly enough, what looks like an old teapot. Straining hard, you think Floyd | you might also be able to see your ticket sticking out of the mud. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd | >You are carrying: Floyd | a scrap of notebook paper Floyd | a short pencil Floyd | | MrPatient says, "That teapot is a tip of the cap to Lost New York, by the way." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf1" | ||
Floyd | >Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "pull board" | ||
Floyd | >Nothing obvious happens. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "pry boards" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "climb board" | ||
Floyd | >I don't think much is to be achieved by that. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "climb fence" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "hit boards" | ||
Floyd | >Violence isn't the answer to this one. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "open baord" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "open board" | ||
Floyd | >That's not something you can open. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x ticket" | ||
Floyd | >Is it even your ticket? You can barely see it in the gloom. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "search trash" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "poke ticket with pencil" | ||
Floyd | >Among the detritus you find an unopened pack of Piedmont cigarettes. Floyd | Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "search trash" | ||
Floyd | >The pack of cigarettes is the only highlight. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd | >You are carrying: Floyd | a scrap of notebook paper Floyd | a short pencil Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "take cigarettes" | ||
Floyd | >You feel a tap on your shoulder. It's the policeman's billy club. Floyd | "No digging around the trash here, kid. That's vagrant behavior, and I Floyd | don't have vagrants on my beat." Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x pack" | ||
Floyd | >The pack is a little grimy, perhaps, but it appears intact. You note Floyd | with interest that the top of the pack says "Base Ball Series -- 350 Floyd | Subjects." Floyd | | Binder says, "aw, back when targeting kids was overt" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "Officer, help me or go away" | ||
Floyd | >"I mean it, lad. Beat it, or I'll run you in," he growls. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "ask cop about board" | ||
Floyd | >"I mean it. Beat it, lad, or I'll run you in," he growls. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks, "Ooh, can we get put in the pokey?" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "open cigarettes" | ||
Floyd | >"I'm warning you, lad." Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "u" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | East of the Platform
Floyd | You're just east of the platform for the Christopher Street stop of the
Floyd | Ninth Avenue Elevated train. A ticket-taker filters access to the
Floyd | platform itself.
Floyd |
Floyd | Some stairs lead down to the street below.
Floyd |
| ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "open cigarettes" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | Jacqueline says (to Tale), "awa" | |
| Jacqueline says, "er, aw" | ||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd | >You are carrying: Floyd | a scrap of notebook paper Floyd | a short pencil Floyd | | Binder asks, "we didn't take them?" | |
| Tale says, "Okay, fine, try it." | ||
| DavidW says, "The cop stopped us." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Binder), "I tried, the cop stopped us." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "d" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | Corner
Floyd | Waves of pedestrians, carriages, and pushcarts make their way through
Floyd | the noisy and crowded intersection of Christopher and Greenwich
Floyd | Streets. To the east, things are a little quieter. Some stairs lead
Floyd | up to the IRT station.
Floyd |
Floyd | The area directly underneath the train platform is boarded up.
Floyd |
Floyd | Standing on the corner is an officer of the New York Police Department.
Floyd | He twirls his billy club and whistles, watching the activity on the
Floyd | street, particularly any young ladies that happen by.
Floyd |
Floyd | There's a rusted garbage can here, overflowing with trash. An unopened
Floyd | pack of cigarettes sits within easy reach.
Floyd |
| Jacqueline asks, "Can we create a distraction of some sort?" | |
| DavidW says, "I suggest donuts." | ||
| Binder says, "I suggest young ladies" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "kick can" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "mmm..." | |
| DavidW says, "Ladies with donuts." | ||
| Jacqueline exclaims (at DW), "!" | ||
| Jacqueline exclaims, "That's brilliant!" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Sadly, probably not the answer." | ||
| Iain says, "donut ladies distract cops / doo dah, doo dah" | ||
| Binder exclaims, "> shout hey look here comes fred merkle!" | ||
| DavidW asks, "well, there's an east. What's east?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I am fine with east." | ||
| Binder says, "Concur" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "e" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | Christopher Street
Floyd | You're on Christopher Street in lower Manhattan, with myriad shops
Floyd | lining the thoroughfare on either side and pedestrians pushing in both
Floyd | directions. You can hear the traffic of a crowded intersection to the
Floyd | west.
Floyd |
Floyd | In one of the shops -- a stationery store -- you spy a pretty young
Floyd | woman standing behind a counter.
Floyd |
Floyd | Leashed to a lamppost is an adorable little dog.
Floyd |
| DavidW says, "well, maybe the dog is named 'donut'." | |
| Tale asks, "Hm, Unleash the dog?" | ||
| Iain asks, "Young lady with a papier-mache doughnut?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "She's a pretty young woman, we should perhaps note." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x woman" | ||
Floyd | >She's a shopgirl. A looker, for sure. Every so often, she glances Floyd | out the shop window. She appears to be keeping an eye on the dog. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "There we go." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf2" | ||
Floyd | >Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "untie dog" | ||
Floyd | >As the shopgirl looks away to deal with a customer, you Floyd | surreptitiously untie the dog from the lamppost. The dog seems content Floyd | to remain where it is, until a pigeon lands nearby. Suddenly, the Floyd | little dog lunges at it, barking madly. The pigeon flaps off to the Floyd | west, with the dog in pursuit. Floyd | Floyd | The pretty young woman hears the ruckus, and looks up just in time to Floyd | see her dog headed down the street. She follows in a hurry. Floyd | | Tale says, "I don't get why you yanks put holes in your pastries" | |
| DavidW says, "To get to the other side." | ||
| Jacqueline laughs. | ||
| ChrisC says (to Tale), "easier to steer the ship that way." | ||
| Iain says (to DavidW), "Hee hee" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Go west to watch?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "w" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | Corner
Floyd | Waves of pedestrians, carriages and pushcarts make their way through
Floyd | the intersection of Christopher and Greenwich streets.
Floyd |
Floyd | The little dog jumps up and down, slobbering all over the policeman,
Floyd | who is not enjoying the experience. Then the pretty shopgirl comes by
Floyd | to claim her pet. The policeman suddenly becomes an animal lover,
Floyd | scratching the dog's ears and rubbing his belly. He blushes and begins
Floyd | chatting with the shopgirl.
Floyd |
Floyd | The area directly underneath the train platform is boarded up.
Floyd |
Floyd | There's a rusted garbage can here, overflowing with trash. An unopened
Floyd | pack of cigarettes sits within easy reach.
Floyd |
| ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "take cigarettes" | ||
Floyd | >Taken. Floyd | | DavidW says, "okay, cop is distracted." | |
| Binder exclaims, "yay!" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Got the cigs, but what about our ticket?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "We need chewing gum on a stick." | ||
| DavidW says, "One thing at a time." | ||
| Tale says, "We stole something unhealthy. Yay us." | ||
| maga says (to Jacq), "don't need it any more: we have cigs" | ||
| Binder says, "it's 1908! Cigarettes aren't unhealthy yet." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to maga), "Bribe our way onto the platform? I'm thinking this just gives us baseball info." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "open pack" | ||
Floyd | >You open the package, revealing the expected cigarettes, along with Floyd | several baseball cards, which you take. Floyd | | maga says, "we spend the rest of the day in an alley smoking, instead of becoming a star athlete. it is a Cautionary Tale" | |
| Binder asks, "Yeah, but does that make us Goofus or Gallant?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x cards" | ||
Floyd | >They're trading cards with illustrations of ballplayers on them to Floyd | help sell the cigarettes, perhaps to a younger clientele. You thumb Floyd | through them, one by one. Let's see. Bill Shipke, Sunny Jim Dygert, Floyd | Ed Konetchy, Honus Wagner, and -- hey, would you look at that -- Fred Floyd | Merkle! Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Here is the card, in case anyone cares: [LINK]" | |
| Jacqueline says, "FWIW, the comment was made here in my house (Iain and maga are within earshot) that this is kind of like watching a Charlie Chaplin film go down, and I have to agree. (Which is a compliment.)" | ||
| Binder says, "Being Fred Merkle" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "x merkle" | ||
Floyd | >(the Merkle card) Floyd | That's your fine visage on the card. Floyd | | Tale says, "Sunny Jim Dygert is a good name for a mook" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x sunny" | ||
Floyd | >They're just pieces of cardboard. Not worth anything. Floyd | | DavidW says, "tsk" | |
| Binder says, "wow, a painted card. nice." | ||
| Iain says, "I like the sound of Honus Wagner" | ||
| Tale says, "Let's find someone to trade." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "l" | ||
Floyd | >Corner Floyd | The policeman continues to pet the dog and chat with the pretty young Floyd | woman, ignoring your presence. Floyd | Floyd | There's a rusted garbage can here, overflowing with trash. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Wagner's card in that series is worth something like $3M now." | |
| DavidW says, "I'm thinking we could prove who we are with the card." | ||
| Iain says, "Nice" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Hm, yeah." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to DW), "Try it, please." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "show merkle card to cop" | ||
Floyd | >The policeman is enthralled with the lovely young woman, who, it must Floyd | be said, does not appear enthralled herself. No matter; the policeman Floyd | impatiently waves you off. Floyd | | Binder asks, "maybe to the ticket taker?" | |
| Jacqueline says, "That was my thought." | ||
| Binder asks, "to show that we have to go to work at the park?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah." | ||
| Tale says (to binder), "yeah" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "take ticket with pencil" | ||
Floyd | >I only understood you as far as wanting to take the ticket. Floyd | | maga says (to DW), "otherwise people keep confusing us with this skinny Texan physicist" | |
| Jacqueline says (to maga), "yay" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "That has been nagging at me as well." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "u" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | East of the Platform
Floyd | You're just east of the platform for the Christopher Street stop of the
Floyd | Ninth Avenue Elevated train. A ticket-taker filters access to the
Floyd | platform itself.
Floyd |
Floyd | Some stairs lead down to the street below.
Floyd |
| ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "show card to taker" | ||
Floyd | >You clear your throat and get the ticket-taker's attention. Floyd | Floyd | You show the baseball card with your picture on it to the IRT worker. Floyd | He looks at it, examines you closely, and then says, "Hey, this is you! Floyd | I'm not supposed to let anyone past here without a ticket, but I'm not Floyd | going to be the one to hold up a member of the New York Giants!" He Floyd | steps aside and waves you through. Floyd | Floyd | On the Platform Floyd | You're on a wooden platform above Christopher Street, waiting alongside Floyd | a few other commuters for the next uptown train. Floyd | Floyd | A newspaper drifts down the platform in the chilly autumn wind. Floyd | | Binder says, "woot" | |
| DavidW says, "yay" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "get newspaper" | ||
Floyd | >Taken. Floyd | Floyd | You hear a rumbling from the south. The train is approaching. Floyd | | Jacqueline exclaims, "Yay abusing our position!" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "cf3" | ||
Floyd | >Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | Binder says, "now where's that kid we need to avenge ourselves upon" | |
| maga says, "hooray for cigarettes" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Binder), "WORD" | ||
| Tale says, "I wonder if we can miss the train" | ||
| DavidW says, "I guess we never get our money back." | ||
| Binder says, "five bucks is a lot of 1908 money" | ||
| MrPatient says, "He's already uptown, ruining someone else's life." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Binder), "True." | ||
| Tale says, "He grows up into the protagonist from colossal cave" | ||
| Binder says, "oh, then i've already killed that kid over and over" | ||
| maga says, "that kid would grow up to become HITLER" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I wonder what would have happened had we really ignored the kid." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Binder), "ha" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Someone would have jostled you from behind." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Over $120 in today's dollars according to one calculator" | ||
| Binder says (to maga), "Hitler was no fan of Fred Merkle" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to MrP), "Ah. So, it's a puzzle no matter what. Nice." | ||
| Tale says, "Nor Baseball." | ||
| Tale says, "There is a one ball joke in there somehwere." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "read newspaper" | ||
Floyd | >It's today's New York Times. "Cubs Check Giants In Race For Flag" is Floyd | the sports headline. But you already knew that; you were there, after Floyd | all. You dropped two games and let the Cubs right back into the Floyd | pennant race. Are you mentioned? -- there you are. It's worse than Floyd | you thought. Aulick is in rare form. Floyd | Floyd | "Three men on bases. Come on Crandall, and bang your way into a Floyd | million hearts. Three men on bases, and a single will tie the score. Floyd | Come on Merkle, if they won't let Crandall bat. We trust in you, Floyd | Merkle, darlin'. You'd never throw us down now, would you, Merkle, with Floyd | three men on bases, a single to tie, and a chance to win, out on the Floyd | inning? Of course, you wouldn't. Step up there, good man, and play Floyd | baseball. Pshaw! Why did you hit at that first one? Why did you not Floyd | wait? It wasn't worth your effort. Pick out a bonny one, Merkle, and Floyd | then strike for the freedom of your sires, and a little bit more. Not Floyd | that one, not that, Merkle. Didn't we give you waiting orders? Never Floyd | mind, there is one chance left. Use it wisely. Get a firm hold on Floyd | your bat, and slash away yonder along third-base line. If you are not Floyd | in position, make it the right field, up as near the grandstand as you Floyd | think you can get without fouling. Or, if you think you can pull it Floyd | off, a Texas leaguer will demoralize them. Or you might -- Mr. Merkle Floyd | has struck out, gentlemen. Donlin, Devlin, and Bridwell, what of them? Floyd | Were you ever at a reception where the lion of the hour and day came Floyd | over to your corner, shook hands with the neighbor on your right, and Floyd | the neighbor on your left, and then -- looked coldly past you and Floyd | walked on, leaving you with your dexter fork extended in the air and Floyd | feeling foolish all over? That's how Messrs. Donlin, Devlin, and Floyd | Bridwell felt when Mr. Merkle passed them up. Let's all go home." Floyd | Floyd | Tomorrow's article is going to be much worse, I can assure you. Floyd | | Binder says (to Tale), "Yeah, but it's a foul one. Let's move one" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Binder), "Ba-dum-tish." | ||
| Binder says, "er, on" | ||
| Binder says, "that article bounces off my eyes." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Old-time sportswriting does not resemble the current breed." | ||
| maga says, "which is a shame" | ||
| Tale says, "I think I didn't understand a single sentence" | ||
| ChrisC asks, ""Dexter fork"? Is that a euphemism for a left hand?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Right hand." | ||
| maga says, "it's pretty awesome, and I understand nothing whatsoever of any of the baseball terms" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Tale), "It makes sense if you have watched baseball." | ||
| Tale says (to maga), "Yeah, that too." | ||
| Iain says, "'pick out a bonny one and strike for the freedom of your sires'" | ||
| Tale says, "Anything that uses yonder is fine by me." | ||
| Binder says, "Right, sinister fork would be left hand" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "get on tracks" | ||
Floyd | >You might very well feel like doing that after today's game. But for Floyd | now, let's not contemplate suicide. Floyd | Floyd | The train pulls into the station, the doors open, and you step into the Floyd | waiting car. Floyd | Floyd | Aboard the IRT Floyd | You're on a standard elevated train car belonging to the Interborough Floyd | Rapid Transit company. There's a long bench on each side of the car, Floyd | along with a few poles and straps for a standing-room only crowd, which Floyd | this isn't. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks (of MrP), "So did old time sports reporters just sit there typing/writing stream of consciousness while watching things go down and then print that seemingly unedited?" | |
| Binder says, "The freedom of your sires? I guess we know the origin of the dunk tank" | ||
| Binder exclaims, "we were shanghaied by the train!" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Seems so." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to MrP), "Nice response to 'get on tracks" | ||
| DavidW asks, "Shall we sit on a bench? Or grab a pole?" | ||
| Tale asks (of MrPatient), "Did you have to do a lot of research for the time period?" | ||
| DavidW asks, "Or grab a strap?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Yes, quite a bit." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Let's sit." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "sit on bench" | ||
Floyd | >You take a seat on the bench. Floyd | Floyd | You and the other passengers are whisked uptown. Rapid transit, Floyd | indeed. In only a few minutes, you're already at 9th Avenue and 34th Floyd | Street. Floyd | Floyd | Nearby, a gentleman you hadn't previously noticed scribbles furiously Floyd | on a notepad. "Blast!," he says to no one in particular, as the tip of Floyd | his pencil breaks. He looks at it forlornly. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "pole dance" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x gentleman" | ||
Floyd | >He is a middle-aged man with a professional appearance and friendly Floyd | demeanor. He's holding a notepad. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x notepad" | ||
Floyd | >On the pad is the start of what looks like a song or a poem. It Floyd | reads: Floyd | Floyd | Katie Casey was baseball mad, Floyd | Had the fever and had it bad. Floyd | Just to root for the home town crew, Floyd | Ev'ry sou Floyd | Katie blew. Floyd | On a Saturday her young beau Floyd | Called to see if she'd like to go Floyd | To see a show, but Miss Kate said "No, Floyd | I'll tell you what you can do": Floyd | Floyd | Ta Floyd | Floyd | It then ends abruptly with a dark smudge. Floyd | Floyd | The train passes its counterpart noisily heading back downtown. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks, "Give him our pencil?" | |
| DavidW says, "talk to him" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Casey at the Bat? snrk" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "find boy" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | DavidW says, "or give him our pencil, sure." | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "give pencil to man" | ||
Floyd | >(the short pencil to a gentleman) Floyd | The gentleman tears himself away from his notepad and looks up at you. Floyd | Floyd | "You read my mind!," he says, taking the pencil. "Thanks, mister!" He Floyd | shakes your hand. "Jack Norworth. Pleased to meet you." Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "tell him about me" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tell Jack about me" | ||
Floyd | >You mention that you're a professional ballplayer on your way to a Floyd | game today. Floyd | Floyd | "Well, I'll be damned! Funny coincidence, that is," he says with a Floyd | wide grin. Floyd | Floyd | The train continues its journey northeast toward the Harlem River. Floyd | Floyd | >You mention that you're a professional ballplayer on your way to a Floyd | game today. Floyd | Floyd | "Well, I'll be damned! Funny coincidence, that is," he says with a Floyd | wide grin. Floyd | Floyd | The car gently rocks from side to side as it heads uptown. Floyd | | MrPatient asks, "Do Eric Eve-style topics not show on CF?" | |
| MrPatient says, "There should be a list below." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >Aboard the IRT Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | Aboard the IRT (on the bench) Floyd | You're on a standard elevated train car belonging to the Interborough Floyd | Rapid Transit company. There's a long bench on each side of the car, Floyd | along with a few poles and straps for a standing-room only crowd, which Floyd | this isn't. Floyd | Floyd | Jack Norworth is seated here, notepad in hand. Floyd | | ChrisC says, "hmm ,apparently." | |
| Jacqueline says, "(Just in case it's timed, since we doubled that command.)" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask Jack about poem" | ||
Floyd | >"What are you writing, if you don't mind my asking?" Floyd | Floyd | "No, not at all. It's the beginnings of a song I might be able to use Floyd | in a musical revue. I was waiting at the train station a little while Floyd | ago when I saw a sign that read Base Ball Today at the Polo Grounds." Floyd | He waves his hands to illustrate the sign. "I thought to myself, Floyd | that's something that might make for a popular number." Floyd | Floyd | You could ask him about himself, the next bit of the song, musical Floyd | revue or baseball; or tell him about yourself. Floyd | | maga says, "not if they show up in a status line, no" | |
| DavidW says, "There they are." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "ask jack about himself" | ||
Floyd | >You ask him about himself. Floyd | Floyd | "I'm in the theater business. I write songs for Tin Pan Alley, do a Floyd | little singing and acting in vaudeville, that sort of thing." Floyd | | ChrisC says, "I wonder if it would be possible to implement the status line in a chat client. Like, as a separate text channel displayed in a second window in the same client, which you could position above the main chatroom." | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "ask jack about the next bit of the song" | ||
Floyd | >You ask Norworth about the rest of the song he's writing. Floyd | Floyd | "Oh yes," he says. "Miss Casey will be telling her gentleman caller Floyd | that she'll go out with him as long as he brings her to the park, not a Floyd | show. I had a fleeting grasp of the phrasing I wanted a minute ago. Floyd | It'll come back." Floyd | | Tale asks, "Is this a famous poem?" | |
| DavidW says, "oh yes" | ||
| zarf says, "the" | ||
| ChrisC says, "Yeah, I only know it because of the Mad parody" | ||
| zarf says, "the chorus is more famous" | ||
| DavidW says, "'Casey at the bat', I think it's called." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Not that one." | ||
| DavidW says, "oh, oops" | ||
| Binder says, "Another famous baseball one. Hm." | ||
| Tale says, "I already have a dozen thing to look up from Mentula. Looks like it's educational IF week for me." | ||
| maga asks, "just a dozen?" | ||
| DavidW says, "oh, I found out what Mentula means." | ||
| ChrisC asks, "Oh, have people been playing other games with floyd lately?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah, I was thinking Casey at the Bat when I first saw it as well." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Besides CF, I mean" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "ask jack about musical revue" | ||
Floyd | >You ask him about music. Floyd | Floyd | "I've been working on material for a new show, and the sign about the Floyd | ball game just inspired me. I figure the song might sell a few Floyd | tickets, maybe draw some people in who might not otherwise go. If Floyd | anyone still remembers the song in a year's time, so much the better." Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "ask jack about baseball" | ||
Floyd | >(baseball) Floyd | You ask him how much he knows about the game. Floyd | Floyd | He chuckles. "Not a lot, I must admit. I've never actually been to a Floyd | game. But I do know what happens in one: three strikes and you're Floyd | out!" Floyd | Floyd | You could tell him about yourself. Floyd | | Jacqueline says (to Chris), "Dunno" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "tell jack about myself" | ||
Floyd | >You mention that you're a professional ballplayer on your way to a Floyd | game today. Floyd | Floyd | "Well, I'll be damned! Funny coincidence, that is," he says with a Floyd | wide grin. Floyd | Floyd | The car gently rocks from side to side as it heads uptown. Floyd | | ||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "tell jack about baseball" | ||
Floyd | >(the baseball cards) Floyd | "Hm?" Floyd | Floyd | He seems oddly distant, then raises a finger. "If you'll excuse me for Floyd | just one moment," he says. "I've got to get this down before I lose Floyd | the wording." You watch as he appends to the notepad Katie Casey's Floyd | request of her young beau: Floyd | Floyd | Take me out to the ball game, Floyd | Take me out with the crowd; Floyd | Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, Floyd | I don't care if I never get back. Floyd | Floyd | "There! That's a good start, don't you think?" The train slows down, Floyd | and Norworth glances out the window. "Anyway, this is my stop here. Floyd | Very nice talking to you. Good luck today!" Floyd | Floyd | With that, he departs. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "So, I find it interesting that we keep foreshadowing to us not doing well today." | |
| MrPatient says, "Yes, this is a date with doom." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Well, the intro did say this game was about his great mistake" | ||
| Binder says, "Pretty sure we wake Godzilla." | ||
| MrPatient says, "That is driven home if you die a few times." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Is that because this is 'interactive non-fiction' and our fate is predetermined, or that we're talking ourselves into a self-fulfilling prophecy..." | ||
| MrPatient says, "More the former." | ||
| Jacqueline nods. | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The 104th Street station recedes in the distance. As the train Floyd | approaches 110th Street, it slows down. Looking out the window, you Floyd | can see that you're perhaps 100 feet above the ground. The train Floyd | lurches dramatically to the right, practically at a 90 degree angle. Floyd | This is what they call Suicide Curve. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "But you can escape your fate by dying." | |
| Binder says, "a noble sacrifice" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Dying in the IF sense." | ||
| ChrisC asks, "What is the IF sense of dying? Shaking hands with a grue?" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "l" | ||
Floyd | >Aboard the IRT (on the bench) Floyd | You're on a standard elevated train car belonging to the Interborough Floyd | Rapid Transit company. There's a long bench on each side of the car, Floyd | along with a few poles and straps for a standing-room only crowd, which Floyd | this isn't. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x poles" | ||
Floyd | >You see nothing special about the poles. Floyd | Floyd | The train travels along 110th Street, and then lurches again, this time Floyd | to the left, as it turns onto 8th Avenue. Good thing you're seated. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Fred won't literally die. But he can be asked to RESTART, RESTORE or UNDO." | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The train pulls into the 155th Street station, its final stop, and Floyd | yours. You're at the far end of Manhattan, with the Harlem River Floyd | before you, and the Bronx just across from it. Below, you see the Floyd | glorious Polo Grounds. Beyond that, back the direction you came, is Floyd | Coogan's Bluff, the great hill overlooking the park. Fans without Floyd | tickets can sit atop the bluff and watch the game, albeit from very far Floyd | above. They're affectionately known as hillbillies. Floyd | Floyd | The wooden doors open. The remaining passengers start filing out onto Floyd | the station platform. Floyd | | Binder says, "ah, he can go off the story rails" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "out" | ||
Floyd | >You exit the train and make your way downstairs to the Polo Grounds. Floyd | Nice job getting here, Fred, but maybe it would have been better if you Floyd | hadn't. Allow me to demonstrate with a vignette from your future. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Yes. In fact, I recommend trying to do at least once." | |
| MrPatient says, "to die, that is" | ||
| maga pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Daytona Beach, Florida, 1929. You're forty now. Aside from a handful Floyd | of appearances in a Yankee uniform a few years ago, you've been retired Floyd | from the game for about nine years. All told, you had a pretty good Floyd | career. Lifetime batting average of .273, 61 home runs in the dead Floyd | ball era, good defense, and five World Series appearances (all losses, Floyd | unfortunately). Still, no one remembers any of that. What they Floyd | remember, and what they never, ever let you forget, is the ninth inning Floyd | on September 23, 1908. Floyd | Floyd | After enough abuse to last many lifetimes, you move down here with Floyd | Ethel to become an anonymous citrus grower. But you still love the Floyd | game, even if it made you a national laughingstock, so you reluctantly Floyd | agree to manage the local minor-league club. It doesn't last long. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't need Fred Merkle the Bonehead to teach me how to pitch!", Floyd | yells your own pitcher, when you lift him after a mediocre outing. The Floyd | words reverberate around the sparsely-attended park. The guy in the Floyd | back row must have heard it. Floyd | Floyd | It's about the millionth time someone has called you a bonehead in the Floyd | last twenty years. You'd think by now that either they'd be tired of Floyd | it, or that you'd be used to it. Somehow, neither has happened. Floyd | Wherever you go, whatever you do, it is always with you. In the Floyd | Baseball Encyclopedia, Ty Cobb's entry lists his nickname as "The Floyd | Georgia Peach." Walter Johnson's says "The Big Train." Care to guess Floyd | what yours says, Fred? Floyd | Floyd | You quit your job as manager after the game. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | ChrisC says, "Ah, a non-standard game over" | |
| Binder says, "awww, I feel bad for us" | ||
| Tale says, "Normally, in IF, you'd know try to avoid this fate" | ||
| Tale says, "*now*" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "man" | ||
| MrPatient says, "[LINK]" | ||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "l" | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | September 23, 1908. After your commute on the IRT, you arrive at your Floyd | workplace: the Polo Grounds. They don't actually play polo here; they Floyd | did in the original Polo Grounds, where the Giants also played, but Floyd | this is a new park in a different location. Floyd | Floyd | It's a couple of hours before game time. You've put on your uniform Floyd | and you're warming up with the other fellows in preparation for sitting Floyd | on the bench as usual. The team is taking batting practice, and a Floyd | small group is at the plate. Roger Bresnahan, the Giants' veteran Floyd | catcher, is taking his swings right now. Turkey Mike Donlin and Floyd | Christy Mathewson wait here for their turns. Joe McGinnity is throwing Floyd | from the pitcher's mound sixty feet away, and Fred Snodgrass is acting Floyd | as catcher. Floyd | Floyd | The first baseman, Fred Tenney, comes limping up to you, clutching his Floyd | back. "Merkle, McGraw wants a word with you," he says, pointing to the Floyd | Giants' dugout to the south. Tenney slowly shuffles off the field. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | Jacqueline asks, "So, um, since we're at work we should probably do as we're told?" | |
| Jacqueline is generally lawful good. | ||
| DavidW says, "mm, yeah. Probably should." | ||
| inky arrives, full of neither funk nor fun. | Tale asks (of MrPatient), "Do you know why this guy was called Turkey?" | |
| DavidW says, "I'm gonna trust that someone is remembering all these players' names for me, though." | ||
| MrPatient says, "When you X him, you will find out." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x turkey" | ||
Floyd | (press any key)
Floyd | Home Plate
Floyd | This is home plate in your home park. During the game, there will be
Floyd | fewer people loitering here, and somewhat less chit-chat. A temporary
Floyd | backstop has been wheeled in for batting practice.
Floyd |
Floyd | The whole lovely ballpark stretches out before you, invitingly. Your
Floyd | dugout is to the south, first base is southeast, the pitcher's mound is
Floyd | to the east, third base is northeast, and the visiting dugout is to the
Floyd | north.
Floyd |
Floyd | (You might be curious about these directions. In the Polo Grounds, as
Floyd | in many other parks, the left field foul pole is roughly due north.
Floyd | This means that a pitcher standing on the mound facing the plate has
Floyd | his left shoulder facing south. This is why lefties are called
Floyd | southpaws.)
Floyd |
Floyd | Matty and Donlin lean up against the backstop, chatting, while
Floyd | Bresnahan takes batting practice and Snodgrass catches anything
Floyd | Bresnahan doesn't offer at.
Floyd |
Floyd | McGinnity deals, and Bresnahan laces a solid line drive.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd |
Floyd | +---------+
Floyd | | Part II |
Floyd | +---------+
Floyd |
| Jacqueline asks (of DavidW), "Oops, are we supposed to keep track?" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf4" | ||
Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | DavidW says (to Jacqueline), "I dunno. I haven't played past this point." | |
| MrPatient says, "Don't worry." | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "x turkey" | ||
Floyd | >Donlin's an interesting case. He's been around awhile; played with Floyd | McGraw back in Baltimore. He's a terrific left-handed hitter, but what Floyd | he really wants to do is become an actor. He married the actress Mabel Floyd | Hite a couple of years ago, which is probably good, since it will help Floyd | keep him out of trouble. He's gotten in more than a few bar fights in Floyd | his day. Back in Baltimore, he once urinated on a palm tree in the Floyd | lobby of the Academy of Music, and then punched a showgirl, ending up Floyd | in jail for a stretch. He's called Turkey on account of how he sort of Floyd | waddles around. Floyd | | DavidW says, "I sorta hit info overload on arrival at the park." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Huh - neat backstory on the southpaw thing (which I've always hated being called, for some reason)." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Oh hey Baltimore. Apparently we've always been known for our violent pro athletes" | ||
| (from Tale) DavidW says, "I don't get why everyone has to have a name" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x mcginnity" | ||
Floyd | >The old man of the club, and another fellow who was in Baltimore with Floyd | Mr. McGraw. He and Donlin both started their careers in '99, but Joe Floyd | got a bit of a late start, debuting when he was already 28. Called the Floyd | Iron Man because he can throw pretty much every day (and did so twice Floyd | yesterday). Also, he works in an iron foundry in the off-season. Floyd | Almost all ballplayers have to take a job over the winter to make ends Floyd | meet. Floyd | Floyd | You hear a shout coming from the Giants' dugout. "Merkle!" You recall Floyd | with a start that Mr. McGraw is expecting you. Floyd | | Binder says (to ChrisC), "Well, we had to do something with the legacy gladiators so after the US became the empire du jour, we converted them to pro athletes" | |
| (from DavidW) Tale says, "like 'Charlie XXX'." | ||
| Ellison arrives, ready to play with the toys. | Jacqueline asks, "Go deal with McGraw?" | |
| Tale says, "Speaking of people with no name, it's Jonathan Blask" | ||
| Binder exclaims, "we could get fired and save ourself from shame!" | ||
| Jacqueline exclaims (at Binder), "True!" | ||
| Tale says (to binder), "Let's try it!" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I've saved since we started Part II, fwiw." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x Bresnahan" | ||
Floyd | >Roger's a fine catcher and a tough customer, to be sure. He had to Floyd | be, to endure the mockery and assaults on his manhood that occasioned Floyd | two of his innovations on the field: one, a helmet to be used while Floyd | batting; and the other, shin guards, like an English cricketer might Floyd | employ. He's one of McGraw's favorites. Floyd | | DavidW says, "Safety is *so* girly." | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x mcgraw" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | DavidW says, "McGraw's in the dugout to the .. some direction." | |
| MrPatient says, "South, IIRC." | ||
| Tale says (to davidW), "It's like that old joke: I don't get why Americans wear armor to play rugby." | ||
| DavidW says (to Tale), "To get to the other side." | ||
| Tale says, "heh" | ||
| Binder says, "heh" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x matty" | ||
Floyd | >Christy Mathewson. He's the ace of the Giants, and the best pitcher Floyd | in all of baseball right now. I don't think I'm giving too much away Floyd | when I tell you that long after he has retired, he'll still be Floyd | considered one of the all-time greats. On top of that, he's tall, very Floyd | handsome, educated (one of the few ballplayers who went to college), Floyd | and a natural at pretty much everything he does, including bridge. Floyd | He's one of the rare ballplayers who's accepted in polite society. Floyd | He'd be utterly detestable if he weren't such a decent fellow. Floyd | Floyd | For many years, Christy and his brother Henry, who also pitched for the Floyd | Giants, held the record for most career wins by a sibling tandem -- Floyd | Christy with 373, and Henry with 0. Floyd | Floyd | "Merkle, let's hustle!" That's Mr. McGraw's voice. Better get to the Floyd | dugout. Floyd | | Tale says, "ha ha" | |
| Binder says, "heh, way to not pull your weight, Henry" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Donlin gently mocks Bresnahan's weak ground ball. Floyd | | Ellison says, "hey, it's hard to pitch while on a tandem bicycle" | |
| MrPatient says, "Here's Matty: [LINK]" | ||
| Tale asks, "Do we go south or try to wait this out?" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd | >You are carrying: Floyd | a pair of brand-new spikes (tied) (being worn) Floyd | a cap (being worn) Floyd | a uniform (being worn) Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan's bat rings with solid contact. Floyd | | Binder says, "hm, Matty looks like some actor I can almost recognize" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x spikes" | ||
Floyd | >Your new pair of baseball cleats: bright, shiny, and a little stiff. Floyd | The laces they came with are oddly slick and perhaps a bit short as Floyd | well, making them difficult to keep tied. Floyd | Floyd | You hear a shout coming from the Giants' dugout. "Merkle!" You recall Floyd | with a start that Mr. McGraw is expecting you. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x cap" | ||
Floyd | >It's a plain black woolen baseball cap with a short brim. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "x uniform" | ||
Floyd | >Baggy white flannel, with a stylized "NY" on the sleeve. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "remove uniform" | ||
Floyd | >This is probably not the best time to get undressed. Floyd | Floyd | You hear Mr. McGraw yell to no one in particular, "Where the hell is Floyd | Merkle?" Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Maybe we can't get fired." | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "remove vap" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "(Sadly)" | |
| Tale says (to Floyd), "remove cap" | ||
Floyd | >Wait until you've made a great play before you tip your cap to the Floyd | crowd. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan curses as the pitch jams him and his hands sting. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "jump" | ||
Floyd | >You jump on the spot, fruitlessly. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "You cannot in fact get fired. But you can really piss off McGraw." | |
| MrPatient says, "And you have," | ||
| Binder says, "yay" | ||
| Tale asks, "So, let's go meet him?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Sure." | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "s" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | Giants' Dugout
Floyd | This is the home team's dugout, and the place where you spend the
Floyd | majority of your time during actual games, since, well, you're not on
Floyd | the field. It is not luxurious -- just a plain wooden bench and a roof
Floyd | to keep out the rain. No amount of cleaning will ever remove the
Floyd | fragments of a million peanut shells or the tobacco stains from this
Floyd | place. Home plate is north, and first base is northeast.
Floyd |
Floyd | You can see McGraw here.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Nice of you to drop by. Next time when I call for you, rookie, you
Floyd | come over! Got it? Tenney's back is acting up, and he won't be able
Floyd | to go today. You're starting at first base, batting seventh. Go talk
Floyd | to Matty to make sure you two are coordinating on the field. Then when
Floyd | you're ready, take some batting practice."
Floyd |
Floyd | You could ask him about Tenney, the Cubs, batting practice or yourself.
Floyd |
| Jacqueline says, "So..." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about the cubs" | ||
Floyd | >You ask Mr. McGraw about playing the Cubs today. Floyd | Floyd | "They've played us tough all year, and now they're only a half-game Floyd | back. Whoever wins today is in first place. If we're going to win the Floyd | pennant, we need to take charge and bounce back from yesterday's mess. Floyd | Not going to be easy with Pfiester on the hill." Floyd | Floyd | You could ask him about Tenney, batting practice, yourself or Pfiester. Floyd | | Gerynar says, "ask him about the cubs" | |
| Jacqueline says, "Timing" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "as khim about pfiester" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "ask him about pfiester" | ||
Floyd | >"Got any ideas for facing Pfiester today, skip?", you ask. Floyd | Floyd | "They don't call him Jack the Giant Killer for nothing. He's been Floyd | murdering us all year, and he's maybe their fourth-best pitcher. It's Floyd | infuriating, to say the least. Ask some of the boys for tips on Floyd | hitting him." Floyd | Floyd | You hear the crack of the bat as Bresnahan continues his batting Floyd | practice. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "See, I think it's great that we're going to screw up/" | |
| maga exclaims, "Historic Pfiester!" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Because this is the year the Cubs win the Series, right?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "And it's nice that they get to win that one time." | ||
| Ellison says (to maga), "ha" | ||
| maga says (to Jacq), "wrong crowd, I suspect" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about me" | ||
Floyd | >"Thanks for giving me a chance today," you say. Floyd | Floyd | "Don't blow it," he says. Floyd | Floyd | You hear a dull thud as Bresnahan pops one up. Floyd | | ||
| TheBloke arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | Jacqueline says, "Thank you, Boss, for your encouragement." | |
| MrPatient says, "McGraw is considerably nicer if you hop to it when he calls." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask about tenney" | ||
Floyd | >"How bad is Tenney's back?," you ask. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't think he'll be out more than a day or two," he says, "but this Floyd | is your chance, kid. Your first start. Better make the most of it." Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "quit" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "n" | ||
Floyd | >Are you sure you want to quit? | Jacqueline says, "Don't worry, I said no." | |
| Jacqueline says, "I typed that meaning I wanted to quit the team and run away, but forgot that that's also a meta command." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "(Somehow)" | ||
| Ellison says, "no wonder we're a lackluster player, with that kind of quitting attitude" | ||
| Binder says (to Jacqueline), "Pull it together, rookie." | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "ask about quitting" | ||
Floyd | >"Let's just focus on the game, shall we?" Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Well, he keeps foreshadowing how doomed we are, so." | |
| Jacqueline says, "So, we need to find Matty." | ||
| Ellison says, "there should be an old lady in the stands, pointing and chanting, 'you're doomed.... DOOMED!'" | ||
| Binder says, "beware the ides of the ninth inning" | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "n" | ||
Floyd | >You turn away, and hear McGraw calling back after you. "Merkle," he Floyd | says, pointing at your spikes. "Your laces." You note that they are Floyd | untied. Floyd | Floyd | Home Plate Floyd | This is home plate in your home park. During the game, there will be Floyd | fewer people loitering here, and somewhat less chit-chat. A temporary Floyd | backstop has been wheeled in for batting practice. Floyd | Floyd | The whole lovely ballpark stretches out before you, invitingly. Your Floyd | dugout is to the south, first base is southeast, the pitcher's mound is Floyd | to the east, third base is northeast, and the visiting dugout is to the Floyd | north. Floyd | Floyd | Leaning against the backstop is a bat. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan stands in against Joe McGinnity, with Snodgrass crouched Floyd | behind the plate. Matty and Donlin watch the proceedings from behind Floyd | the safety of the backstop. Floyd | | ||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "tie laces" | ||
Floyd | >You lace up your new shoes. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "x bat" | ||
Floyd | >A long, heavy piece of ash wood -- around 38 ounces -- with a slight Floyd | taper toward the handle. Useful for hitting baseballs. Floyd | | Gerynar asks, "can it be used to hit baseball players as well?" | |
| Jacqueline asks, "So, when the time comes, we're going to trip over our freakin' laces, aren't we?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tie shoes" | ||
Floyd | >The pair of brand-new spikes (tied) is already tied. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Oh, Tale did that. Thanks, Tale." | |
| MrPatient says, "Doh. Bad response there." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to matty" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | Matty turns to you. "Oh hey, Fred. I heard you'll be starting at
Floyd | first today. We'll be seeing a lot of each other, I think," he says
Floyd | with a wink.
Floyd |
Floyd | You could ask him about the Cubs, Pfiester, batting practice, hitting
Floyd | or playing first.
Floyd |
Floyd | Bresnahan's bat rings with solid contact.
Floyd |
| ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about playing first" | ||
Floyd | >You bring up the subject of playing first today, and Matty nods. Floyd | Floyd | "Yes, you and I will be seeing a lot of each other on the diamond this Floyd | afternoon. I know you're a good glove, Fred, so I'm looking forward to Floyd | seeing what you can do out there today. Just plant your foot on the Floyd | bag, and give the boys a nice target for the throw," he says with a Floyd | smile. "But if the throw is off-line, forget about planting your foot. Floyd | Go to where the ball is. The most important thing is to catch it. Floyd | We'd rather let the fellow be on first with an infield hit than be on Floyd | second on a throwing error." Floyd | Floyd | (You can recall this advice later by typing REMEMBER MATTY'S ADVICE). Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about batting practice" | ||
Floyd | >"Looks like Bresnahan is winding down," you say. "Do you want to go Floyd | next?" Floyd | Floyd | "That's OK, Fred, you go as soon as you're ready. Just get the bat and Floyd | STEP UP TO THE PLATE. You can DROP THE BAT when you're done." Floyd | Floyd | You hear the crack of the bat as Bresnahan continues his batting Floyd | practice. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask about cubs" | ||
Floyd | >"Which Cubs give you the most trouble, Matty?" Floyd | Floyd | "Oh, Joe Tinker," he says without hesitation. "He's had my number for Floyd | years. But if you're talking about a rivalry on the mound, it's Three Floyd | Finger Brown. He and I seem to match up on the mound an awful lot, and Floyd | he wins much more than his share. But thankfully we won't be seeing Floyd | him today, unless maybe in relief." Floyd | Floyd | You could ask him about Pfiester, hitting or Three Finger Brown. Floyd | | ||
| inky has had his fill of playing for now, and goes back to the Lounge. | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about Phiester" | ||
Floyd | >"I can't say that I understand what you mean, Fred," he replies. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "him about Pfiester" | Jacqueline says, "grr" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about Pfiester" | ||
Floyd | >"Any tips on hitting Jack Pfiester?", you ask Matty. Floyd | Floyd | He smiles and says, "I'm one of the worst hitters on the club, Fred. Floyd | You might want to talk to someone with a chance of hitting him, like Floyd | Mike over there," pointing to Donlin. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about hitting" | ||
Floyd | >"Any tips on hitting Jack Pfiester?", you ask Matty. Floyd | Floyd | He smiles and says, "I'm one of the worst hitters on the club, Fred. Floyd | You might want to talk to someone with a chance of hitting him, like Floyd | Mike over there," pointing to Donlin. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Oh, that's the same thing." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask Donlin about hitting" | ||
Floyd | >
Floyd | "Say, Mike, how do you approach an at bat against a tough pitcher?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, kid, the way I see it, hitting is all about two things: pitch
Floyd | recognition and timing. You have to be able to identify a pitch right
Floyd | out of the pitcher's hand, whether it's a fastball or a curve or a
Floyd | change or a spitball or something else. You have to get good at
Floyd | anticipating where it's headed, too. Pitchers are going to want you to
Floyd | chase their pitch out of the strike zone; you have to make them throw
Floyd | you your pitch.
Floyd |
Floyd | And then there's timing. Pitchers are trying to foul up your timing,
Floyd | keep you off-balance, so they will vary the speed of their pitches.
Floyd |
Floyd | If it's a fastball, it's coming hard; you'll need to start your swing
Floyd | early. For a fastball on the inside part of the plate, SWING EARLY TO
Floyd | PULL. For an outside fastball, SWING EARLY TO THE OPPOSITE FIELD. If
Floyd | they throw you something off-speed, like a changeup or a curve, it's
Floyd | going to be deceptively slow; you want to keep your hands back and
Floyd | swing late. If it's inside, SWING LATE TO PULL, and if it's outside,
Floyd | SWING LATE TO THE OPPOSITE FIELD. Of course, if it's out of the strike
Floyd | zone, you don't want to swing at all."
Floyd |
Floyd | You could ask him about batting practice, Pfiester, pitch recognition,
Floyd | pulling the ball or the opposite field.
Floyd |
| MrPatient says, "Sorry for the wall of text" | |
| ChrisC says, "I feel like we should be taking a lot of notes." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Man, I am impressed that you were brave enough to model this in IF, and scared that we're going to have to try." | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm not really taking all this in." | ||
| MrPatient says, "After you chat with Mike a little more, you can REMEMBER DONLIN'S ADVICE" | ||
| maga says, "anyway, after that you get a free throw en pointe for a conversion, unless you're offside" | ||
| MrPatient says, "So no need for notes." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to him about batting practice" | ||
Floyd | >I only understood you as far as wanting to talk to Donlin. Floyd | | DavidW asks, "Does a bare REMEMBER remember what we can remember?" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about batting practice" | ||
Floyd | >"Looks like Bresnahan is winding down," you say. "Do you want to go Floyd | next?" Floyd | Floyd | "That's OK, kid, you go when you're ready. Just get the bat and STEP Floyd | UP TO THE PLATE. You can DROP THE BAT when you're finished." Floyd | Floyd | You could ask him about Pfiester, pitch recognition, pulling the ball Floyd | or the opposite field. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan curses as the pitch jams him and his hands sting. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Alas, no" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about pitch recognition" | ||
Floyd | >You ask Mike about recognizing pitches. Floyd | Floyd | "The first thing to identify is the spin. A ball with backspin is Floyd | going to be a fastball or a changeup. A ball with forward spin is Floyd | going to be a curveball. A ball with no spin is a knuckleball, but Floyd | Pfiester doesn't throw one, so you don't have to worry about that. Floyd | Floyd | You also want to get a look at the pitcher's grip if you can. If the Floyd | pitcher's any good, his motion with the fastball and change is going to Floyd | look exactly the same, so you don't know which is which. One way to Floyd | tell is to get a look at his pitching hand when he's in his windup or Floyd | in the set position. If he's got two fingers spread out on top, and Floyd | the thumb underneath, that's a fastball. If there's three fingers on Floyd | top, it means he's gripping it more tightly to slow it down. It's a Floyd | changeup. Two fingers on the side along the seam means it's a curve." Floyd | Floyd | (You can recall this advice later by typing REMEMBER DONLIN'S ADVICE). Floyd | | MrPatient says, "There is only Matty's advice for fielding and Donlin's for hitting." | |
| Jacqueline asks (of Sean), "Do you play baseball?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Not since Little League." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "heh" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I used to play a lot when I was a kid, but wasn't familiar at all with the term 'changeup'" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Just means a slow pitch." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about pulling the ball" | ||
Floyd | >You ask Mike about pulling the ball. Floyd | Floyd | "You can really drive an inside pitch if you try to pull it. As a Floyd | righthander, you pull the ball to left field," he says. Floyd | Floyd | You hear a dull thud as Bresnahan pops one up. Floyd | | DavidW says, "There's a lot of specialized terminology." | |
| DavidW says, "(perhaps this is the sort of thing newbies to IF feel like)" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Yeah, I struggled with whether or not to do that." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "ask him about the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You ask Mike about the opposite field. Floyd | Floyd | "You want to go the opposite way on a pitch on the outer half of the Floyd | plate. To right field, in your case. Left, in mine." Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "So, I'm not sure I am taking this all in, and I feel like I know more about what we're doing than other people here, so that's a bit scary. but maybe we should just practice some." | |
| MrPatient says, "That's the point of the scene, really. Just practice." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "step up to the plate" | ||
Floyd | >You pick up the bat. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan takes his last cut and then walks over to talk hitters with Floyd | Matty. Floyd | Floyd | Having decided you've seen enough of the park, you step in to replace Floyd | him, dig a comfortable spot for yourself with your spikes, heft your Floyd | bat on your right shoulder, and get ready. The club's veteran, Iron Floyd | Man Joe McGinnity, is throwing batting practice today. He's got a Floyd | bucket of baseballs that he'll be throwing nice and easy to you. Floyd | Everything will be somewhere near the strike zone, close enough that Floyd | you can hit it. "I'll keep throwing, and you keep hitting," he hollers Floyd | from the mound. "Just drop the bat to let me know when you're done." Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity begins his delivery. During his windup, you notice he's got Floyd | his index and middle fingers together, a little off-center. The ball Floyd | starts high and inside, then drops vertically, with what appears to be Floyd | forward spin. Floyd | | Tale says, "I'll leave the bit on the diamond/field to you guys. I'm utterly lost." | |
| maga asks, "how many people playing are actually Yanquis?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "remember donlin's advice" | ||
Floyd | >You remember Donlin's advice about hitting and recognizing pitches: Floyd | Two fingers on top with backspin means it's a fastball; start your Floyd | swing early. Two fingers on the seams with forward spin means it's a Floyd | curveball. Three fingers on top with backspin means it's off-speed. Floyd | Start your swing late for those two. If it's an inside pitch, pull the Floyd | ball; if it's outside, hit it to the opposite field. Floyd | Floyd | You take the pitch, and the ball pops in Snodgrass's mitt. Floyd | Floyd | Snodgrass flips a ball back to McGinnity. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Hm, so remember takes a turn." | |
| MrPatient says, "Apparently. My bad" | ||
| DavidW says, "eep" | ||
| ChrisC raises a hand. | ||
| Tale asks, "What are Yanquis?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Americans." | ||
| DavidW says, "French for Yankee. American." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Americans, I assumed." | ||
| Tale says (to maga), "Are you familiar with the term septic" | ||
| Jacqueline copies the advice to a scratchpad for reference. | ||
| MrPatient says, "But Canadians, Japanese and Caribbean people also play a lot of baseball." | ||
| maga asks (of Tale), "as in septic tank?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity winds up. As he reaches the top of his motion, you can see Floyd | that he's gripping the ball with three fingers spread out on top. The Floyd | pitch darts to the inner half of the plate, with what might be Floyd | backspin. Floyd | | DavidW says, "I have seen an actual baseball game in person, but don't get me to explain it." | |
| MrPatient says, "Just to help out -- this is an inside changeup. Inside and slow, in other words." | ||
| Tale says, "Yeah, rhyming slang septic tank -> yank" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, this is going to be off-speed. How do we tell it to swing late?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Just say that? Swing late?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "SWING LATE TO PULL" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to pull" | ||
Floyd | >You stay patient, and then pounce on the inside pitch, sending a line Floyd | drive over short. Floyd | Floyd | He reaches down for another ball. Floyd | | Tale says, "I think we can get to second base with a swinger" | |
| MrPatient says, "That was a hit." | ||
| Binder says, "yay we hit one" | ||
| maga says (to Tale), "that's the AIF version, Bonepants" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity begins his delivery. During his windup, you notice he's Floyd | gripping the ball with three fingers spread out on top. The ball tails Floyd | away to the outer half of the plate, with what might be backspin. Floyd | | Jacqueline says (to maga), "hahaha" | |
| MrPatient says, "Outside changeup." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to MrP), "I have notes here, let me see if I can figure things out as we go. I'll ask for a hint if I can't figure it out." | ||
| MrPatient says, "OK." | ||
| Binder says, "Jacqueline is our DH" | ||
| ChrisC asks, "DH?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Designated hitter. Literally, in this case." | ||
| DavidW says, "designated hitter. I knew taht one." | ||
| Binder says (to MrPatient), "My sense of humor runs to the superficial." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You keep your hands back and wait on the pitch, driving it over the Floyd | first base position and into right field. That's a nice piece of Floyd | hitting. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity regards your handiwork with evident satisfaction. Floyd | Floyd | Snodgrass flips a ball back to McGinnity. Floyd | | Gerynar thinks being a designated hitter is better than being a designated hitee | |
| MrPatient exclaims, "Well done!" | ||
| DavidW says, "RBI means Runs Batted In, but don't ask me what Runs Batted In means, 'cause I don't know." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Thanks." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity winds up. As he reaches the top of his motion, you can see Floyd | that he's gripping the ball with three fingers spread out on top. The Floyd | pitch tails away to the outer half of the plate, with what might be Floyd | backspin. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "I am guessing this will suck when we're actually playing, not practicing, but since we're doomed, it doesn't matter. :)" | |
| Binder says, "at least we'll go down swinging" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You keep your hands back and wait on the pitch, dumping it down the Floyd | line and into the right field corner. That's a nice piece of hitting. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity regards your handiwork with evident satisfaction. Floyd | Floyd | He reaches down for another ball. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity begins his delivery. When he comes to a set position, you Floyd | notice he's gripping the ball with three fingers spread out on top. Floyd | The ball darts to the inner half of the plate, with what might be Floyd | backspin. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to pull" | ||
Floyd | >You stay patient, and then pounce on the inside pitch, but you just Floyd | miss hitting the sweet spot, settling for a sharp ground ball to third. Floyd | Even when you guess right, you don't always get good wood on the ball. Floyd | It's a game of inches, as they say. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity gets another ball. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity winds up. During his windup, you can see that he is grasping Floyd | the ball with two fingers spread out on top of the ball and his thumb Floyd | tucked underneath. The pitch tails away to the outer half of the Floyd | plate, with tight backspin. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing early to the opposite filed" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing early to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You keep your hands back and execute an inside-out swing, dumping the Floyd | ball down the line and into the right field corner. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity regards your handiwork with evident satisfaction. Floyd | Floyd | He reaches down for another ball. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity begins his delivery. When he comes to a set position, you Floyd | notice he's got his index and middle fingers together, a little Floyd | off-center. The ball starts high and outside, then drops vertically, Floyd | with what appears to be forward spin. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to pull" | ||
Floyd | >You try pulling the ball to left, but it's too far outside. You hit a Floyd | two-hopper to short. Floyd | Floyd | He grabs another ball from the bucket. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Hm. I was thinking that it was a curveball and would start outside, but then be inside." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Guessed wrong." | ||
| maga says, "I was thinking maybe you ought to distim the doshes" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Ah. Anyway, you've got it down. You can keep practicing, or quit whenever you feel like." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I think I'd like a few more before I go to my 'death'" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity winds up. As he reaches the top of his motion, you can see Floyd | that he is grasping the ball with two fingers spread out on top of the Floyd | ball and his thumb tucked underneath. The pitch darts to the inner Floyd | half of the plate, with tight backspin. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing early to pull" | ||
Floyd | >You pounce on the inside fastball and send a rope into left field. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity gets another ball. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks, "...is... a 'rope'... a good thing?" | |
| MrPatient says, "Yep. A taut line drive." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity begins his delivery. When he comes to a set position, you Floyd | notice he is grasping the ball with two fingers spread out on top of Floyd | the ball and his thumb tucked underneath. The ball darts to the inner Floyd | half of the plate, with tight backspin. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing early to pull" | ||
Floyd | >You pounce on the inside fastball and send a line drive over short. Floyd | Floyd | McGinnity turns around to watch. He nods at you approvingly. Floyd | Floyd | Snodgrass flips a ball back to McGinnity. Floyd | | Binder says, "A rope is a very good thing." | |
| cyberskunk arrives, full of funk, but no fun. | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "Well, hrm. Shall we DROP THE BAT?" | ||
Floyd | >You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. Floyd | | Jacqueline asks, "Well, hrm. Shall we DROP THE BAT?" | |
| cyberskunk says, "hi" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to cs), "Hi" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "drop the bat" | ||
Floyd | >You signal to McGinnity that you've had enough, and drop the bat by Floyd | the backstop. Matty steps in after you, and begins working on his Floyd | bunting with Joe. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "drop the ball" | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The hour draws near for the first pitch. Both clubs are nearly done Floyd | with their warm-ups. The sausage vendors have begun frying up their Floyd | wares, and the smell has begun wafting through the park. You can hear Floyd | the Ninth Avenue Elevated dropping off fans every few minutes. Hank Floyd | O'Day, who will be calling balls and strikes today, is rubbing up a few Floyd | baseballs, and the groundskeeper is doing some last-minute tidying of Floyd | the mound, to conform to Matty's liking. Floyd | Floyd | Your date with humiliation awaits you. First, another taste of what's Floyd | to come. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | Binder says, "yeah, you seem to have a handle on it." | |
| maga says, "heh heh, 'sausage vendor'" | ||
| MrPatient says, "I should have written Bonepants for sure." | ||
| maga says, "(apparently I am twelve)" | ||
| Binder says (to MrPatient), "You'll have ample material for it after this transcript." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to maga), "You are an interesting mix of old curmudgeon and immature teen." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Hrm. I'm still not sure how I feel about the non-fiction aspect of knowing what the future holds here. It's one thing for the player to know it, another entirely for the PC to keep recalling it." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "buy a sausage" | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | A Sunday morning in church, circa 1936. People are milling around Floyd | before the start of the service. They're your neighbors, for the most Floyd | part. They know to tread lightly around certain subjects. Some other Floyd | folks within earshot, not so much. They're busy chattering away about Floyd | the pennant races. You try to shut them out, but it's impossible. You Floyd | can't not hear them. Floyd | Floyd | The reverend isn't here today; looks like they've got a visiting Floyd | minister in. He steps up to the pulpit, maybe a little nervous, clears Floyd | his throat. The crowd take their seats and wait expectantly. "I want Floyd | to begin," he says, forcing the sort of smile that accompanies a weak Floyd | joke, "by admitting to you an ugly secret. I am from Toledo, Ohio; Floyd | birthplace of the infamous Fred 'Bonehead' Merkle!" Floyd | Floyd | A few of the other parishioners gasp, and you can feel their eyes on Floyd | you. Ethel squeezes your hand. Well, that's just splendid. It's one Floyd | thing to hear it when you're umpiring an exhibition game -- as Floyd | happened a couple of years ago, the last time you tried to set foot on Floyd | a major league diamond. But now you can't even come to church anymore. Floyd | You gather up Ethel and the kids and quietly walk out. Floyd | Floyd | The final indignity: you weren't even born in Toledo. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | maga says, "I think the implication is that the whole thing is a flashback of sorts" | |
| MrPatient says, "Right." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Hm." | ||
| Binder says, "As We Lay Striking" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Past tense might spell that out more." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "But okay." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I mean, given the 'flashforwards,' I get it." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Just... yeah, interesting." | ||
| Binder says, "An Occurrence at Bone Head Bridge" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tie shoes" | ||
Floyd | (press any key)
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | The stands are packed with 20,000 cranks as the battle for the National
Floyd | League pennant begins. The game is a very tight affair. For the first
Floyd | four innings, Matty and Pfiester throw zeroes up on the board. The
Floyd | Cubs' defense is a little shaky, but the Gothams cannot capitalize.
Floyd | You help out with a nice grab on Joe Tinker's line drive in the 2nd,
Floyd | but up until the final frame, you do very little with the stick --
Floyd | you're 0 for 2 with a walk.
Floyd |
Floyd | In the fifth, the Cubs strike. It's Tinker -- Matty's nemesis. He
Floyd | drives a ball to right that skips past Donlin. While Turkey Mike
Floyd | scrambles to retrieve it, Tinker circles the bases for a home run.
Floyd | Cubs 1, Giants 0.
Floyd |
Floyd | In the sixth, Donlin gets his revenge by driving in Buck Herzog with
Floyd | the tying run. Cubs 1, Giants 1.
Floyd |
Floyd | The pitchers' duel continues for another inning. Now it's the top of
Floyd | the eighth. You and the other Giants are out in the field, playing
Floyd | defense. Johnny Kling, the Cubs' catcher, leads off for Chicago.
Floyd | There'll be a chance to avoid your fate here, if you so choose.
Floyd |
Floyd | First Base
Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing
Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your
Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate.
Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the
Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly
Floyd | close enough to hear. Most are shouting encouragement; a few, perhaps
Floyd | drunk, are heckling.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd |
Floyd | +----------+
Floyd | | Part III |
Floyd | +----------+
Floyd |
| ChrisC says, "Heh, keep referencing books from my freshman lit class" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf5" | ||
Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | Ellison says (to J), "what you're describing sounds like the game Bonehid to me" | |
| Ellison says, "er, dang, that made sense in my head" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "snrk" | ||
| Jacqueline pats Ellison on the noggin. | ||
| maga says (to Ellison), "looks like you pulled a boner" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tie shoes" | ||
Floyd | >You double-knot the spikes. Maybe this time they'll hold. Floyd | | Gerynar says, "I have the same problem, much of what he thinks in his head make sense until he types/speaks them" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd | >You are carrying: Floyd | a glove (being worn) Floyd | a pair of brand-new spikes (tied) (being worn) Floyd | a cap (being worn) Floyd | a uniform (being worn) Floyd | Floyd | Matty deals to Kling. It's a fadeaway -- a Matty specialty -- and it Floyd | runs right in on Kling's hands. He makes a defensive swing, and taps a Floyd | slow roller towards Art Devlin at third. Kling dashes towards first Floyd | base as Devlin barehands the ball. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Oh, wait. I understand the hitting, not so much the fielding." | |
| Jacqueline goes to find Matty's advice. | ||
| MrPatient says, "Right. So remember that you are the first baseman." | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "remember matty's advice" | ||
Floyd | >You remember Matty's advice about fielding: Floyd | "Just plant your foot on the bag, and give the boys a nice target for Floyd | the throw. But if the throw is off-line, forget about keeping your Floyd | foot on the bag. Step off and go to where the ball is. The most Floyd | important thing is to catch it. We'd rather let the fellow be on first Floyd | with a hit than be on second on a throwing error." Floyd | Floyd | Devlin starts to throw, but sees that you're not covering the bag. He Floyd | pockets the ball rather than risk throwing it into right field Floyd | somewhere. The cranks are screaming bloody murder, all of it directed Floyd | at you. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Devlin has just retrieved the ball and is about to throw over to first Floyd | base to complete the play. Floyd | | ChrisC says, "Eep." | |
| Tale says, "Go Jacq!" | ||
| Ellison asks, "are we supposed to be planting feet and things right now?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah, I don't recall seeing the actual commands in the advice." | ||
| Gerynar says, "first base so we can get an out" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "plant foot on bag" | ||
Floyd | >You plant your right foot on the bag, and extend your gloved left hand Floyd | out as a target for the throw from Devlin. Floyd | Floyd | Devlin fires across the diamond. The ball is headed right for you. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >You field the throw cleanly, but Kling beats the throw by a couple of Floyd | steps. The crowd lets out a collective sound of annoyance, but you Floyd | didn't have a chance of putting him out. You flip the ball back to Floyd | Matty. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Well done." | |
| Jacqueline says, "So, did the best we could, it seems." | ||
| Binder says, "hooray, it wasn't our fault" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Kling dusts himself off. "Didn't think I'd beat that one out," he Floyd | says. "Boy, Mathewson's been tough today, don't you think? We're Floyd | lucky to have gotten anything off him at all." He looks down, points Floyd | at your spikes and says "Hey, Fred, looks like your laces are untied. Floyd | You might want to look at that." Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Jeeze." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tie shoes." | ||
Floyd | >Sighing, you try to keep the damn things properly knotted. Floyd | Floyd | Matty paces the circumference of the mound as he rubs up the baseball. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "tie shoes." | Binder says, ">kick off shoes, play barefoot" | |
Floyd | >The pair of brand-new spikes (tied) is already tied. Floyd | Floyd | Matty gets back on the rubber and looks over to the dugout. McGraw is Floyd | signaling to Bresnahan. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "plant foot on bag" | ||
Floyd | >You plant your right foot on the bag, and extend your gloved left hand Floyd | out as a target for the throw from Devlin. Floyd | Floyd | With one on and none out, the pitcher, Jack Pfiester, steps up to bat. Floyd | Bresnahan calls for time, and starts to trot out toward the mound. Floyd | Matty waves you in as well, along with Herzog, Bridwell and Devlin. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Doh." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Oh man. Pfiester." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, um, >GO TO MATTY?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, ">GO TO MOUND" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "?" | ||
| Ellison says, "of possibly nw" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "nw" | ||
Floyd | >You can't just go wandering all over the field during the game. You Floyd | need to field your position. Floyd | Floyd | Matty is waving you over to confer with the other fellows. Kling Floyd | whispers over to you, and points to the north: "Merkle, I think you're Floyd | wanted on the mound." Floyd | | Gerynar says, "I would say go to mound" | |
| Binder says, "yeah, try that" | ||
| Tale says, "yeah" | ||
| cyberskunk goes home. | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go to mound" | ||
Floyd | >The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | Floyd | The entire infield is gathered here on the hill. Bresnahan begins. Floyd | "All right. Pfiester is obviously going to be sacrificing here. Let's Floyd | go over what we're going to do." Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "listen" | ||
Floyd | >From every direction, the dull roar of the crowd washes over you. Floyd | Floyd | He looks at you and Devlin. "Fred, Art: you two creep up a little bit Floyd | when he squares around to bunt and be prepared to field the ball if Floyd | it's hit your way." Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "I'm nervous." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf6" | ||
Floyd | >Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Not a bad place to save." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Rarely is there a bad place to save, so long as you use a new name every time." | ||
| DavidW says, "When he makes a square bundt cake, creep up." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "What commands are we going to use to accomplish this?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm guessing 'creep up'." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | He then turns to Bridwell and Herzog. "Al, you cover second. Fred, if Floyd | you field the bunt, Buck will cover first for you. Otherwise, you Floyd | cover first as usual." Floyd | | DavidW says, "and 'catch ball' or 'field ball' later." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | "Matty, get ready to help out if the bunt is right at you." With that, Floyd | Hank O'Day starts lumbering towards the mound to break up the Floyd | conference and get the game moving. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "I gues we have undo if we flub it up because we tried the wrong command." | |
| DavidW says, "Leave the mound first, I guess." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "go to first" | ||
Floyd | >You probably want to listen to this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Johnny Kling: the guy you tried to avoid in high school." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "creep up" | ||
Floyd | >You and Devlin take a few steps towards home plate to pounce on Floyd | Pfiester's bunt, should it come your way. Floyd | Floyd | Matty sets and delivers. The pitch rides up high and tight to Floyd | Pfiester. There's nothing he can do with that pitch, but he tries to Floyd | bunt anyway. The result is a two-hopper, straight to Matty. Looks Floyd | like you've covering first base after all. Kling takes off for second, Floyd | and Pfiester heads to first, disgusted. Instead of a sacrifice bunt, Floyd | it's looking like a double play. The cranks along the sidelines are Floyd | screaming "Two! Two!". Floyd | Floyd | Matty wheels around 180 degrees just as Bridwell reaches the bag. He Floyd | fires. Bridwell takes the throw and sweeps his foot across the bag, Floyd | just as Kling comes bearing down on him. One out. He steps to the Floyd | outfield side of the bag, and gets set to throw the ball to you, to Floyd | complete the double play. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "plant foot on bag" | ||
Floyd | >You're already stepping on it. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell throws off-balance as he tries to get out of Kling's way. Floyd | Even as it leaves his hand, you can see that it's starting to tail Floyd | toward the home plate side of the bag. It's still a little ways off, Floyd | but you can tell that it's going to be a real stretch to field this Floyd | cleanly when it arrives. Time seems to slow down, as the image of a Floyd | botched play flashes before you. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Another bug. Nice." | |
| Jacqueline asks, "How do I unplant my foot?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "i.e. Catch the damn ball wherever it goes?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "(Or try, anyway)" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "?" | ||
| Tale says, "I say try." | ||
| Ellison says, "maybe 'go to ball'" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "One way in that IF Baseball is nicer than Real Baseball: things constantly pause so you can think about what you want to do and take as much time as you'd like." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Next time I will use the Real Time Extension." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Field ball? Or does that mean something particular?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to MrP), "Your sarcasm is endearing." | ||
| ChrisC says, "The Matrix: Baseball Edition" | ||
| Iain says, "MrFrantic" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "go to ball" | ||
Floyd | >That noun did not make sense in this context. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "unplant foot" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >The ball isn't within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "field ball" | ||
Floyd | >The ball isn't within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "step off" | ||
Floyd | >What do you want to step off? Floyd | | djfletch says, "You need a pumpkin and six white mice before you can go to ball." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "bag" | ||
Floyd | >You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant Floyd | throw from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >You catch the throw from Bridwell cleanly, just as Pfiester arrives. Floyd | But then disaster strikes. Your laces must have come untied again, and Floyd | you trip over yourself, just as you're about to apply the tag to the Floyd | Giant Killer. Somehow Pfiester manages to avoid your toppling frame Floyd | with a deft bit of acrobatics. He's safe, while you collapse in a pile Floyd | on the turf. Floyd | Floyd | Fortunately, you're not injured, just a little embarrassed, but it was Floyd | an awkward play to begin with, and to most observers, it looked as if Floyd | you were trying to avoid being run over by Pfiester while tagging him. Floyd | Bridwell gets most of the blame for his errant throw. The Cubs Floyd | ultimately win the game 2-1, which is terrible, of course, but you will Floyd | win other pennants with the Giants, and most importantly, you are not Floyd | humiliated. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** It's not a total loss *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | Jacqueline says, "I knew it." | |
| Binder says, "yay we lost but not ignobly" | ||
| Ellison says, "hooray, we changed history" | ||
| Ellison says, "those Quantum Leap guys would be proud" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah. I guess that's about the best way for this to go and-- yeah, what Ellison said." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "This is the weird bit about 'interactive nonfiction'" | ||
| MrPatient says, "There are even "better" deaths out there." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I need to step away for about 2 minutes. Do what you will." | ||
| Ellison says, "so I imagine we are supposed to keep our shoe planted there and flub the catch... or possibly try to tie our laces MID-PLAY" | ||
| Tale asks, "So the "real" ending is actually the worst?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Yes." | ||
| ChrisC says, "I guess I'll try your idea Ellison" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "tie shoes" | ||
Floyd | >The pair of brand-new spikes (tied) is already tied. Floyd | Floyd | The ball sails by as you make no attempt to catch it, ricochets off the Floyd | tarpaulin, and rolls halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily Floyd | trots into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official Floyd | scorer gives you an error on the play. The crowd boos your Floyd | mercilessly. You even hear "bonehead" mixed in with the jeers. Mr. Floyd | McGraw leaves the dugout to pull you from the game, a grave step when Floyd | taken in the middle of an inning. Snodgrass goes out to replace you at Floyd | first. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't know where your head is, Merkle, but it ain't in the game. Go Floyd | hit the showers. It'll be a long time before you start again in this Floyd | league," McGraw growls. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** This is not a good way to end it *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | MrPatient asks, "Crap. How did that happen?" | |
| ChrisC asks, "The shoes being tied?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Yeah." | ||
| Ellison says, "let us explain baseball to you, MrPatient" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Seriously, please do." | ||
| Firion arrives, full of funk, but no fun. | Ellison says, "see, they were throwing the ball to first base..." | |
| Ellison says, "ok, that's all I've got" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "heh" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | Ellison says, "well, let's undo further and not unplant our feet" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "get ball" | ||
Floyd | >Bridwell's throw is too far off-line for you to catch it while keeping Floyd | your foot on the bag. It skips past you, ricochets off the tarpaulin, Floyd | and bounces halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily trots Floyd | into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official scorer Floyd | gives an error to Bridwell on the play. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. From a team standpoint, this is obviously Floyd | a disaster. Personally, though, this is a godsend. You played a role Floyd | in the debacle, but Bridwell is the goat, not you. You play the rest Floyd | of your career, and live the rest of your life, as a solid, Floyd | unremarkable, unremembered ballplayer. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** The Giants have lost, but you have won *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ChrisC says, "I wonder if X SHOES might trigger it" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | Ellison says, "hooray again" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "x shoes" | ||
Floyd | >Your new pair of baseball cleats: bright, shiny, and a little stiff. Floyd | The laces they came with are oddly slick and perhaps a bit short as Floyd | well, making them difficult to keep tied. Floyd | Floyd | The ball sails by as you make no attempt to catch it, ricochets off the Floyd | tarpaulin, and rolls halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily Floyd | trots into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official Floyd | scorer gives you an error on the play. The crowd boos your Floyd | mercilessly. You even hear "bonehead" mixed in with the jeers. Mr. Floyd | McGraw leaves the dugout to pull you from the game, a grave step when Floyd | taken in the middle of an inning. Snodgrass goes out to replace you at Floyd | first. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't know where your head is, Merkle, but it ain't in the game. Go Floyd | hit the showers. It'll be a long time before you start again in this Floyd | league," McGraw growls. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** This is not a good way to end it *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ChrisC says, "Nope." | |
| Jacqueline says, "I liked how you explored the idea of 'how does someone who screws up memorably in a way that matters a great deal to many people deal with that for the rest of his life?'" | ||
| zarf says, "I would totally have stopped playing at 'you are not humiliated'" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to z), "I thought that as well." | ||
| MrPatient says, "It's like Infidel in that way. Quit while you're ahead." | ||
| Ellison says, "maybe we have to be out of position when the play begins. I don't know what we could do, though." | ||
| Ellison asks, "or did Jacqueline BREAK THE GAME with her incessant shoe-tying?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "This puzzle is really terrible. Apologies to all." | ||
| MrPatient says, "There are two solutions, though." | ||
| ChrisC asks, "Should we reload?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "One solution is available if you back up a few times, but reloading is not a wrong choice." | ||
| Jacqueline asks (of Ellison), "Sure, sure. Blame me. Can't a girl be OCD without some blowback?" | ||
| ChrisC says, "Reloading seems simpler at this point, undo chains tend to get confusing fast." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I am afraid that (particularly since we're nearing the 2.5 hour point), I need to get ready for some things going on later today." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I will leave Perry running." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "You guys have a blast. Play another nominee, if you'd like." | ||
| Ellison says, "later, J" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Otherwise, see you next Sunday." | ||
| MrPatient exclaims, "Thanks for doing this!" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Ellison), "See ya." | ||
| ChrisC exclaims, "Bye!" | ||
| Jacqueline exclaims (at MrP), "Thanks for being here!" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I really enjoyed this." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Later, peeps." | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "RESTORE" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "cf6" | ||
Floyd | > Enter saved game to load: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | He then turns to Bridwell and Herzog. "Al, you cover second. Fred, if Floyd | you field the bunt, Buck will cover first for you. Otherwise, you Floyd | cover first as usual." Floyd | | Ellison says, "oh, so maybe we attempt to go after the ball regardless of where it is, maybe" | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | "Matty, get ready to help out if the bunt is right at you." With that, Floyd | Hank O'Day starts lumbering towards the mound to break up the Floyd | conference and get the game moving. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go to first base" | ||
Floyd | >You probably want to listen to this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Across the diamond, Devlin creeps up towards home plate. Herzog Floyd | notices you not doing the same. He flashes you a look as if to say, Floyd | Can't you follow instructions, Merkle? Well, it's too late now. Floyd | Floyd | Matty sets and delivers. The pitch rides up high and tight to Floyd | Pfiester. There's nothing he can do with that pitch, but he tries to Floyd | bunt anyway. The result is a two-hopper, straight to Matty. Looks Floyd | like you've covering first base after all. Kling takes off for second, Floyd | and Pfiester heads to first, disgusted. Instead of a sacrifice bunt, Floyd | it's looking like a double play. The cranks along the sidelines are Floyd | screaming "Two! Two!". Floyd | Floyd | Matty wheels around 180 degrees just as Bridwell reaches the bag. He Floyd | fires. Bridwell takes the throw and sweeps his foot across the bag, Floyd | just as Kling comes bearing down on him. One out. He steps to the Floyd | outfield side of the bag, and gets set to throw the ball to you, to Floyd | complete the double play. Floyd | | ChrisC asks (of Mr), "Would knowledge of how the play actually went down help here?" | |
| Ellison says, "oh yeah, didn't do the creeping" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Not really." | ||
| MrPatient says, "The boxscore just records it as 1-6-3. I made up the rest." | ||
| Ellison asks, "did we creep last time? should we undo and creep?" | ||
| Ellison says, "looks like we did" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "tie shoe" | ||
Floyd | >The pair of brand-new spikes (tied) is already tied. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell throws off-balance as he tries to get out of Kling's way. Floyd | Even as it leaves his hand, you can see that it's starting to tail Floyd | toward the home plate side of the bag. It's still a little ways off, Floyd | but you can tell that it's going to be a real stretch to field this Floyd | cleanly when it arrives. Time seems to slow down, as the image of a Floyd | botched play flashes before you. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "get off of first base" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "unplant feet" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off of first base" | ||
Floyd | >I only understood you as far as wanting to step off the pair of Floyd | brand-new spikes (tied). Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off" | ||
Floyd | >What do you want to step off? Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >The ball isn't within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "step off plate" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant Floyd | throw from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The ball sails by as you make no attempt to catch it, ricochets off the Floyd | tarpaulin, and rolls halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily Floyd | trots into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official Floyd | scorer gives you an error on the play. The crowd boos your Floyd | mercilessly. You even hear "bonehead" mixed in with the jeers. Mr. Floyd | McGraw leaves the dugout to pull you from the game, a grave step when Floyd | taken in the middle of an inning. Snodgrass goes out to replace you at Floyd | first. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't know where your head is, Merkle, but it ain't in the game. Go Floyd | hit the showers. It'll be a long time before you start again in this Floyd | league," McGraw growls. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** This is not a good way to end it *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >You catch the throw from Bridwell cleanly, just as Pfiester arrives. Floyd | But then disaster strikes. Your laces must have come untied again, and Floyd | you trip over yourself, just as you're about to apply the tag to the Floyd | Giant Killer. Somehow Pfiester manages to avoid your toppling frame Floyd | with a deft bit of acrobatics. He's safe, while you collapse in a pile Floyd | on the turf. Floyd | Floyd | Fortunately, you're not injured, just a little embarrassed, but it was Floyd | an awkward play to begin with, and to most observers, it looked as if Floyd | you were trying to avoid being run over by Pfiester while tagging him. Floyd | Bridwell gets most of the blame for his errant throw. The Cubs Floyd | ultimately win the game 2-1, which is terrible, of course, but you will Floyd | win other pennants with the Giants, and most importantly, you are not Floyd | humiliated. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** It's not a total loss *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | Ellison says, "yeah, I dunno" | |
| MrPatient says, "As I say, terrible puzzle." | ||
| Tale says (to Ellison), "Just mess it up already!" | ||
| ChrisC says, "This seems less like a puzzle due to the reacting-to-pitch angle of it" | ||
| Ellison says (to Tale), "but that's *your* specialty!" | ||
| Tale says, "You managed to do that with your life, it shouldn't be too hard in a game." | ||
| Ellison says, "well, I imagine we want to somehow sabotage the entire double play, so we need to do something to mess up our other guy" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "RESTORE" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "cf6" | ||
Floyd | > Enter saved game to load: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "nod" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | He then turns to Bridwell and Herzog. "Al, you cover second. Fred, if Floyd | you field the bunt, Buck will cover first for you. Otherwise, you Floyd | cover first as usual." Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "x herzog" | ||
Floyd | >Buck's another rookie, but he's played quite a bit more than you this Floyd | year. He's filling in today for Larry Doyle, who usually mans the Floyd | keystone for the Giants. Kind of a cocky fellow, and tends to grate on Floyd | the opposing players' nerves. Floyd | Floyd | "Matty, get ready to help out if the bunt is right at you." With that, Floyd | Hank O'Day starts lumbering towards the mound to break up the Floyd | conference and get the game moving. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go to first base" | ||
Floyd | >You probably want to listen to this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "creep back" | ||
Floyd | >I only understood you as far as wanting to creep. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go back" | ||
Floyd | >(to Giants' Dugout) Floyd | Weren't you listening to Bresnahan? You need to field your position, Floyd | which is first base. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Across the diamond, Devlin creeps up towards home plate. Herzog Floyd | notices you not doing the same. He flashes you a look as if to say, Floyd | Can't you follow instructions, Merkle? Well, it's too late now. Floyd | Floyd | Matty sets and delivers. The pitch rides up high and tight to Floyd | Pfiester. There's nothing he can do with that pitch, but he tries to Floyd | bunt anyway. The result is a two-hopper, straight to Matty. Looks Floyd | like you've covering first base after all. Kling takes off for second, Floyd | and Pfiester heads to first, disgusted. Instead of a sacrifice bunt, Floyd | it's looking like a double play. The cranks along the sidelines are Floyd | screaming "Two! Two!". Floyd | Floyd | Matty wheels around 180 degrees just as Bridwell reaches the bag. He Floyd | fires. Bridwell takes the throw and sweeps his foot across the bag, Floyd | just as Kling comes bearing down on him. One out. He steps to the Floyd | outfield side of the bag, and gets set to throw the ball to you, to Floyd | complete the double play. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant Floyd | throw from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell turns, but sees that you're not covering first. He just holds Floyd | on to the ball, and Pfiester reaches on a fielder's choice. Floyd | Floyd | The crowd boos your mercilessly. You even hear "bonehead" mixed in Floyd | with the jeers. Mr. McGraw leaves the dugout to pull you from the Floyd | game, a grave step when taken in the middle of an inning. Snodgrass Floyd | goes out to replace you at first. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't know where your head is, Merkle, but it ain't in the game. Go Floyd | hit the showers. It'll be a long time before you start again in this Floyd | league," McGraw growls. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** This is not a good way to end it *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ||
| Tale is fired from breathing. | ||
| Tale has disconnected. | ChrisC says, "Oh I just read the details on wikipedia. Not sure I ever would have guessed that." | |
| Ellison says, "I'm out of ideas. I'll have to go back to watching." | ||
| Ellison says (to CC), "have at it, if you'd like" | ||
| MrPatient asks, "Should I hint?" | ||
| DavidW asks, "Did you try switching positions?" | ||
| ChrisC says, "Actually, I know what happens, but I'm not sure how to do the thing that causes it" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has taken the throw from Matty, stepped on second, and retired Floyd | Kling. He's now turning to throw the ball to first base to complete Floyd | the double play. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "creep" | ||
Floyd | >The ball was not hit to you. At this point, you need to cover first. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell throws off-balance as he tries to get out of Kling's way. Floyd | Even as it leaves his hand, you can see that it's starting to tail Floyd | toward the home plate side of the bag. It's still a little ways off, Floyd | but you can tell that it's going to be a real stretch to field this Floyd | cleanly when it arrives. Time seems to slow down, as the image of a Floyd | botched play flashes before you. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "get ball" | ||
Floyd | >When it's thrown to you, and when it's in range of your glove, you can Floyd | CATCH it. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >Bridwell's throw is too far off-line for you to catch it while keeping Floyd | your foot on the bag. It skips past you, ricochets off the tarpaulin, Floyd | and bounces halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily trots Floyd | into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official scorer Floyd | gives an error to Bridwell on the play. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. From a team standpoint, this is obviously Floyd | a disaster. Personally, though, this is a godsend. You played a role Floyd | in the debacle, but Bridwell is the goat, not you. You play the rest Floyd | of your career, and live the rest of your life, as a solid, Floyd | unremarkable, unremembered ballplayer. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** The Giants have lost, but you have won *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant Floyd | throw from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >You catch the throw from Bridwell cleanly, just as Pfiester arrives. Floyd | But then disaster strikes. Your laces must have come untied again, and Floyd | you trip over yourself, just as you're about to apply the tag to the Floyd | Giant Killer. Somehow Pfiester manages to avoid your toppling frame Floyd | with a deft bit of acrobatics. He's safe, while you collapse in a pile Floyd | on the turf. Floyd | Floyd | Fortunately, you're not injured, just a little embarrassed, but it was Floyd | an awkward play to begin with, and to most observers, it looked as if Floyd | you were trying to avoid being run over by Pfiester while tagging him. Floyd | Bridwell gets most of the blame for his errant throw. The Cubs Floyd | ultimately win the game 2-1, which is terrible, of course, but you will Floyd | win other pennants with the Giants, and most importantly, you are not Floyd | humiliated. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** It's not a total loss *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "go to second" | ||
Floyd | >Weren't you listening to Bresnahan? You need to field your position, Floyd | which is first base. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "jump" | ||
Floyd | >You jump on the spot, fruitlessly. Floyd | Floyd | The ball sails by as you make no attempt to catch it, ricochets off the Floyd | tarpaulin, and rolls halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily Floyd | trots into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official Floyd | scorer gives you an error on the play. The crowd boos your Floyd | mercilessly. You even hear "bonehead" mixed in with the jeers. Mr. Floyd | McGraw leaves the dugout to pull you from the game, a grave step when Floyd | taken in the middle of an inning. Snodgrass goes out to replace you at Floyd | first. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't know where your head is, Merkle, but it ain't in the game. Go Floyd | hit the showers. It'll be a long time before you start again in this Floyd | league," McGraw growls. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** This is not a good way to end it *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell's throw is as close to you as it's going to get. It's now or Floyd | never, Fred. Floyd | | ChrisC says, "Ok I don't know, sorry." | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >First Base Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell has just thrown the ball to you. It's not within reach yet, Floyd | but it's looking like it will be off-line. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant Floyd | throw from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step on bag" | ||
Floyd | >You plant your right foot on the bag, and extend your gloved left hand Floyd | out as a target for the throw from Bridwell. Floyd | Floyd | The ball sails by as you make no attempt to catch it, ricochets off the Floyd | tarpaulin, and rolls halfway up the right field line. Pfiester easily Floyd | trots into second, while Kling comes around to score. The official Floyd | scorer gives you an error on the play. The crowd boos your Floyd | mercilessly. You even hear "bonehead" mixed in with the jeers. Mr. Floyd | McGraw leaves the dugout to pull you from the game, a grave step when Floyd | taken in the middle of an inning. Snodgrass goes out to replace you at Floyd | first. Floyd | Floyd | "I don't know where your head is, Merkle, but it ain't in the game. Go Floyd | hit the showers. It'll be a long time before you start again in this Floyd | league," McGraw growls. Floyd | Floyd | The one-run lead holds up: Cubs 2, Giants 1 is the final score, and the Floyd | Cubs are now in first place. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** This is not a good way to end it *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "RESTORE" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "cf6" | ||
Floyd | > Enter saved game to load: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go to first base" | ||
Floyd | >You probably want to listen to this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | Floyd | He then turns to Bridwell and Herzog. "Al, you cover second. Fred, if Floyd | you field the bunt, Buck will cover first for you. Otherwise, you Floyd | cover first as usual." Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "x bag" | ||
Floyd | >A small white bag filled with a powdered tree resin. Rosin is dry and Floyd | just a little bit sticky. Pitchers use it to get a better grip on the Floyd | ball when their hands get slick. Floyd | Floyd | "Matty, get ready to help out if the bunt is right at you." With that, Floyd | Hank O'Day starts lumbering towards the mound to break up the Floyd | conference and get the game moving. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "get resin" | ||
Floyd | >You pick up the rosin bag and toss it a couple of times. Your hands Floyd | are now dusted with rosin, making them very faintly sticky. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | ChrisC says, "I wonder if that changes a thing..." | |
| MrPatient says, "It might...." | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "creep up" | ||
Floyd | >You and Devlin take a few steps towards home plate to pounce on Floyd | Pfiester's bunt, should it come your way. Floyd | Floyd | Matty sets and delivers. The pitch rides up high and tight to Floyd | Pfiester. There's nothing he can do with that pitch, but he tries to Floyd | bunt anyway. The result is a two-hopper, straight to Matty. Looks Floyd | like you've covering first base after all. Kling takes off for second, Floyd | and Pfiester heads to first, disgusted. Instead of a sacrifice bunt, Floyd | it's looking like a double play. The cranks along the sidelines are Floyd | screaming "Two! Two!". Floyd | Floyd | Matty wheels around 180 degrees just as Bridwell reaches the bag. He Floyd | fires. Bridwell takes the throw and sweeps his foot across the bag, Floyd | just as Kling comes bearing down on him. One out. He steps to the Floyd | outfield side of the bag, and gets set to throw the ball to you, to Floyd | complete the double play. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step on plate" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step on bag" | ||
Floyd | >(the bag) Floyd | You're already stepping on it. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell throws off-balance as he tries to get out of Kling's way. Floyd | Even as it leaves his hand, you can see that it's starting to tail Floyd | toward the home plate side of the bag. It's still a little ways off, Floyd | but you can tell that it's going to be a real stretch to field this Floyd | cleanly when it arrives. Time seems to slow down, as the image of a Floyd | botched play flashes before you. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >(the bag) Floyd | You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant throw Floyd | from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >You catch the throw from Bridwell cleanly, just as Pfiester arrives. Floyd | But then disaster strikes. Your laces must have come untied again, and Floyd | you trip over yourself, just as you're about to apply the tag to the Floyd | Giant Killer. Somehow Pfiester manages to avoid your toppling frame Floyd | with a deft bit of acrobatics. He's safe, while you collapse in a pile Floyd | on the turf. Floyd | Floyd | Fortunately, you're not injured, just a little embarrassed, but it was Floyd | an awkward play to begin with, and to most observers, it looked as if Floyd | you were trying to avoid being run over by Pfiester while tagging him. Floyd | Bridwell gets most of the blame for his errant throw. The Cubs Floyd | ultimately win the game 2-1, which is terrible, of course, but you will Floyd | win other pennants with the Giants, and most importantly, you are not Floyd | humiliated. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** It's not a total loss *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | Ellison says, "hmm" | |
| Tale arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | ChrisC asks, "Any hints, Mr?" | |
| Tale says, "Oops, connection failed." | ||
| MrPatient says, "The rosin bag is indeed helpful. Makes slick things sticky." | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "restore" | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "cf6" | ||
Floyd | > Enter saved game to load: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | >I beg your pardon? Floyd | | Ellison asks, "can we get the ball while we are at the mound? put rosin on it?" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "x ball" | ||
Floyd | >It's a somewhat misshapen sphere of filthy horsehide tied with yarn, Floyd | wrapped around a rubber and cork center. Filthy and misshapen, because Floyd | the same ball is used for nearly the entire game. Foul balls are Floyd | retrieved from the stands whenever possible. Pitchers coat the thing Floyd | with dirt, tobacco juice, pine tar, whatever is available, to make it Floyd | more difficult to hit. Late in a game, with the shadows advancing on Floyd | the field, the ball can become nigh-invisible to a hitter. And nobody, Floyd | except Bresnahan, wears a batting helmet. Floyd | Floyd | He then turns to Bridwell and Herzog. "Al, you cover second. Fred, if Floyd | you field the bunt, Buck will cover first for you. Otherwise, you Floyd | cover first as usual." Floyd | | ChrisC says, "Looks like a plan" | |
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "put resin on ball" | ||
Floyd | >(first taking the rosin bag) Floyd | Floyd | You pick up the rosin bag and toss it a couple of times. Your hands Floyd | are now dusted with rosin, making them very faintly sticky. Floyd | You need to be holding the rosin bag before you can put it on top of Floyd | something else. Floyd | Floyd | "Matty, get ready to help out if the bunt is right at you." With that, Floyd | Hank O'Day starts lumbering towards the mound to break up the Floyd | conference and get the game moving. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "get ball" | ||
Floyd | >When it's thrown to you, and when it's in range of your glove, you can Floyd | CATCH it. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | >The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC says (to Floyd), "touch ball" | ||
Floyd | >The ball isn't within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | ChrisC says, "ffff." | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "RESTORE" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "cf6" | ||
Floyd | >Enter saved game to load: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "get rosin" | ||
Floyd | >You pick up the rosin bag and toss it a couple of times. Your hands Floyd | are now dusted with rosin, making them very faintly sticky. Floyd | Floyd | He then turns to Bridwell and Herzog. "Al, you cover second. Fred, if Floyd | you field the bunt, Buck will cover first for you. Otherwise, you Floyd | cover first as usual." Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "tie shoes" | ||
Floyd | >You double-knot your spikes. With the rosin on your hands, and now on Floyd | the laces, you feel pretty confident that they will finally stay tied. Floyd | Floyd | "Matty, get ready to help out if the bunt is right at you." With that, Floyd | Hank O'Day starts lumbering towards the mound to break up the Floyd | conference and get the game moving. Floyd | | MrPatient exclaims, "Huzzah!" | |
| Ellison says, "if only Jacqueline were here to see this day..." | ||
| ChrisC asks, "Isn't double-knotting kind of impossible to untie themselves in the first place?" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go to first base" | ||
Floyd | >You probably want to listen to this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Pitcher's Mound Floyd | This is the pitcher's mound. It rises to a height of about fifteen Floyd | inches to give the pitcher a better angle from which to throw. In the Floyd | old days, the hurler had a chalk-outlined box on level ground, and Floyd | could throw the ball from anywhere inside that area. (Thus the Floyd | expression, "knocked out of the box", when a pitcher is hit hard by the Floyd | opposing team.) Nowadays the pitcher must throw from the pitching Floyd | rubber. Floyd | Floyd | Home plate is west; second base is east; first base is south; and third Floyd | base is north. Floyd | Floyd | You can see a rosin bag here. Floyd | Floyd | Bresnahan wraps things up. "OK, everyone know what they're doing?" Floyd | The other fellows all nod their assent. Bresnahan heads back behind Floyd | the plate, and Matty gives you a quick wink. The other infielders, Floyd | including you, move back to their original positions. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You stand a few steps behind and to the right of first base, wearing Floyd | your glove, and ready to field your position should the ball come your Floyd | way. Matty is on the mound, looking in at Bresnahan behind the plate. Floyd | To your right is Buck Herzog, the second baseman. The cranks along the Floyd | first base line are almost close enough to touch. They're certainly Floyd | close enough to hear. Floyd | Floyd | Johnny Kling is here, taking a short lead off first base. Floyd | Floyd | Matty steps on the rubber. He looks in at Bresnahan, who flashes the Floyd | signs. Matty nods, and sets. He gives a quick look back at Kling, to Floyd | make sure he's not taking a big lead. Then he begins his windup. Floyd | Pfiester starts to square around to bunt, holding his bat right out in Floyd | front of him to deaden the ball. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "creep up" | ||
Floyd | >You and Devlin take a few steps towards home plate to pounce on Floyd | Pfiester's bunt, should it come your way. Floyd | Floyd | Matty sets and delivers. The pitch rides up high and tight to Floyd | Pfiester. There's nothing he can do with that pitch, but he tries to Floyd | bunt anyway. The result is a two-hopper, straight to Matty. Looks Floyd | like you've covering first base after all. Kling takes off for second, Floyd | and Pfiester heads to first, disgusted. Instead of a sacrifice bunt, Floyd | it's looking like a double play. The cranks along the sidelines are Floyd | screaming "Two! Two!". Floyd | Floyd | Matty wheels around 180 degrees just as Bridwell reaches the bag. He Floyd | fires. Bridwell takes the throw and sweeps his foot across the bag, Floyd | just as Kling comes bearing down on him. One out. He steps to the Floyd | outfield side of the bag, and gets set to throw the ball to you, to Floyd | complete the double play. Floyd | | Tale says, "She will see this in the scripts. Hi Jacq! Thanks for the work!" | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >The ball isn't within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Bridwell throws off-balance as he tries to get out of Kling's way. Floyd | Even as it leaves his hand, you can see that it's starting to tail Floyd | toward the home plate side of the bag. It's still a little ways off, Floyd | but you can tell that it's going to be a real stretch to field this Floyd | cleanly when it arrives. Time seems to slow down, as the image of a Floyd | botched play flashes before you. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "set off bag" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >You take your foot off the bag, in an attempt to snare the errant Floyd | throw from Bridwell. It's now within reach. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester is racing down the line as fast as he can, as the ball follows Floyd | its errant arc, as near your glove as it's going to get. The Polo Floyd | Grounds faithful gasp. It's going to be a tough play. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "catch ball" | ||
Floyd | >You catch the throw from Bridwell just as Pfiester arrives. Quickly, Floyd | you sweep your glove around, and barely graze a loose bit of the Giant Floyd | Killer's jersey as he ducks to avoid your tag. The umpire Bob Emslie Floyd | saw it clear as day, though. He makes a tagging motion with his arms, Floyd | and yells "You're out!". The crowd erupts in sustained cheers for a Floyd | thrilling double play. Matty turns to you and points, as if to say, Floyd | Great play, Fred. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | (press any key) | MrPatient says, "We're nearly done." | |
| Ellison says, "let's stop there" | ||
| Ellison says, "great job, us!" | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | You know, Fred, I admire your moxie. Obstacle after obstacle in your Floyd | way, and you've cleared them all. But I've been trying to tell you, Floyd | this isn't going to end well if you insist on trying to win. Floyd | Floyd | Let me make it perfectly clear. Your name becomes a verb in the sports Floyd | pages for the next few decades. "To Merkle" means to make a colossal Floyd | blunder. "Merkle's Boner" will be perhaps the most infamous play in Floyd | baseball history, at least until someone else screws up as badly. You Floyd | already know about your common sobriquet. Not a game will go by for Floyd | the rest of your career without your hearing it from someone. To avoid Floyd | having your tombstone defaced with "Bonehead," as it surely would be, Floyd | you will be buried in an unmarked grave. I am not joking, Fred. Floyd | Floyd | You've got one more chance to avoid this. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | MrPatient says, "He really was buried in an unmarked grave, btw." | |
| zarf says, "I thought we *did* just avoid this." | ||
| MrPatient says, "The worst is yet to come." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Not the worst puzzle, thankfully." | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Into the bottom of the ninth inning, with the score still knotted: Cubs Floyd | 1, Giants 1. Cy Seymour, the Giants' center fielder, leads off the Floyd | inning by grounding out to second base: Evers to Chance. Art Devlin Floyd | follows with a single off Pfiester to center field. Moose McCormick, Floyd | your left fielder, hits a ground ball to Evers, who throws over to Floyd | Tinker at second base to put out Devlin. McCormick is at first, with Floyd | two outs. Batting next for New York: Fred Merkle. Floyd | Floyd | The Polo Grounds crowd have risen to their feet in anticipation. You Floyd | stand in the batter's box, bat in hand. Sixty feet, six inches away, Floyd | Jack Pfiester glares in at Johnny Kling, getting the signs and twirling Floyd | the ball in his left hand. Umpire Hank O'Day crouches behind Kling. Floyd | Out of the corner of your eye, you see Moose McCormick take his lead Floyd | off of first base. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | Ellison says, "dang, Jacqueline was our power-hitter" | |
| Jacqueline asks, "I'm in the middle of getting ready, but what's up?" | ||
| Ellison says, "we're at bat" | ||
| MrPatient says, "They need your all-star bat in the lineup." | ||
| Tale says (to Jacqueline), "Go! The Park needs you more than us!" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Nah, this is me getting ready to have lunch with Emily and Iain and maga." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Still, I could step up to bat for five minutes." | ||
| Tale says (to Jacqueline), "Go! The Pack needs you more than us!" | ||
| Ellison says, "oh, I didn't realize Iain was stopping over in Seattle. nice." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Are we up right now, or is this a flashback." | ||
| MrPatient says, "I think you're up. Hit space or something." | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | (press any key)
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Home Plate
Floyd | Though the bugs are screaming, and there's a runner on first, and a
Floyd | dugout full of teammates cheering you on, and two umpires and eight
Floyd | other Cubs arrayed in front of you, your field of vision is narrowed to
Floyd | the one man on the hill. It's just you and Jack.
Floyd |
Floyd | Pfiester winds up. During his windup, you can see that he is grasping
Floyd | the ball with two fingers spread out on top of the ball and his thumb
Floyd | tucked underneath. The pitch tails away to the outer half of the
Floyd | plate, with tight backspin.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd |
Floyd | +---------+
Floyd | | Part IV |
Floyd | +---------+
Floyd |
| ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf7" | ||
Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | Ellison says, "Jacq vs Jack" | |
| Jacqueline says, "heh" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Let's see..." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing early to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You offer at the pitch, but it's got late movement. You get a piece Floyd | of it, fouling it off. O'Day pumps his fist to indicate a strike. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester gets the ball back as the din of the crowd grows ever louder. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "Huh" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester begins his delivery. As he reaches the top of his motion, you Floyd | notice he is grasping the ball with two fingers spread out on top of Floyd | the ball and his thumb tucked underneath. The ball tails away to the Floyd | outer half of the plate, with tight backspin. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "So, tight backspin means it's a fastball, and we should swing early. Outer half of the plate means it's outside and we should bat to the opposite field, I thought." | |
| Jacqueline says, "But that didn't work last time. Maybe that was just chance." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Yeah, but hitting Pfiester is harder than hitting McGinnity, because he's trying to get you out." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Right. Okay. So I'm interpreting it correctly, at least?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Or is there more room for nuance?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "The descriptions are deliberately less clear in this section of the game, but your interpretation was correct." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing early to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You offer at the pitch, but it's got late movement. You get a piece Floyd | of it, fouling it off. O'Day pumps his fist to indicate a strike. Floyd | Floyd | The crowd roars, trying to get you a hit through sheer force of will. Floyd | | Ellison says, "this is where we point to the fence, signaling our imminent home run." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Maybe I should have typed >SWING REALLY EARLY TO THE OPPOSITE FIELD" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Heh" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "For some reason I didn't recall fouls equal to strikes. Kind of like a let in tennis in my head. Huh." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester winds up. When he comes to a set position, you can see that Floyd | what looks like a fastball grip. The pitch flutters toward the inside Floyd | part of the plate with a sort of loose backspin. Floyd | | ChrisC says, ">SWING AWAY, MERRILL" | |
| MrPatient says, "If we had a status line, you could see the score and strike/ball count." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So... swing late to pull?" | ||
| Gerynar says, "hey batter batter batter suh-WING" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Well, that's my best guess, anyway. Guess I'll go since no onw is saying anything." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to pull" | ||
Floyd | >You wave at the offering, but it's too far outside the strike zone. A Floyd | swing and a miss. Strike three. Floyd | Floyd | The official scorer marks a "K" for a strikeout. Kling hands the ball Floyd | to O'Day and the Cubs head to the dugout, all smiles. Floyd | Floyd | In the tenth, Chance leads off with a double, Steinfeldt advances him Floyd | to third on a groundout to Herzog, Hofman flies out, but then Tinker Floyd | strikes again. He raps a single to left, Chance scores, and the Cubs Floyd | win. They're now in first place in the National League, and never Floyd | surrender it. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Your failure in the ninth is painful, but short-lived. Everyone Floyd | strikes out sometimes. Two days from now, no one will remember the Floyd | details of what happened in the ninth inning. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** Your failure is pleasantly mundane *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last Floyd | command? | Tale says, "This must've been a pain to code" | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd | > Home Plate Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | Home Plate Floyd | Though the bugs are screaming, and there's a runner on first, and a Floyd | dugout full of teammates cheering you on, and two umpires and eight Floyd | other Cubs arrayed in front of you, your field of vision is narrowed to Floyd | the one man on the hill. It's just you and Jack. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester has just thrown a pitch that looks like it won't get a piece Floyd | of the plate. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | You let the pitch go by. It's well out of the strike zone. "Ball Floyd | one!," yells O'Day. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester gets the ball back as the din of the crowd grows ever louder. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "It was. Crazy for a first project." | |
| MrPatient says, "Good eye, batter." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Man, this is your fiest piece of IF?" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "point to fence" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Yeah. I never did the my apartment thing." | |
| Jacqueline says (to MrP), "Undo hindsight is 20/20." | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester begins his delivery. As he reaches the top of his motion, you Floyd | notice what looks like a fastball grip. The ball flutters toward the Floyd | inside part of the plate with a sort of loose backspin. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "look" | ||
Floyd | >Home Plate Floyd | Though the bugs are screaming, and there's a runner on first, and a Floyd | dugout full of teammates cheering you on, and two umpires and eight Floyd | other Cubs arrayed in front of you, your field of vision is narrowed to Floyd | the one man on the hill. It's just you and Jack. Floyd | Floyd | You let the pitch go by. It's well out of the strike zone. "Ball Floyd | two!," yells O'Day. Floyd | Floyd | The crowd roars, trying to get you a hit through sheer force of will. Floyd | | Jacqueline says (to MrP), "The community thanks you for the no apartment thing." | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester winds up. During his windup, you can see that he's gripping Floyd | the ball with three fingers spread out on top. The pitch tails away to Floyd | the outer half of the plate, with what might be backspin. Floyd | | Ellison says, "ok, this is you, J" | |
| Gerynar sits in the stands and munches on his cracker jacks | ||
| Jacqueline says, "So, that one is going to be slow. Not sure how we were supposed to see that other one as outside the strike zone, but I'd swing late and to the opposite field." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late and to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >You can't see any such thing. Floyd | | MrPatient says, "Minus the 'and'" | |
| Jacqueline says, "ah" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah, took me a second to figure that out." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "swing late to the opposite field" | ||
Floyd | >It's an off-speed pitch on the outer half of the plate. You draw your Floyd | hands back, step with your left foot, and swing. There's a satisfying Floyd | THWOCK sound: you got good wood on it. The ball shoots between Evers Floyd | and Chance into right-center. It's a clean single! The crowd erupts. Floyd | McCormick takes off towards second base. Floyd | | Ellison says, "run, Jacqueline, run!" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf8" | ||
Floyd | >Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "run to first" | ||
Floyd | >You race to first base, tossing the bat aside en route. You make a Floyd | wide turn, but there is no point in trying to stretch this into a Floyd | double. Your run doesn't count. You settle in at first as the Polo Floyd | Grounds cranks cheer wildly for you. McCormick makes it all the way to Floyd | third. The winning run is only ninety feet away. Floyd | Floyd | First Base Floyd | You're a few steps off first base, this time as a baserunner. The Floyd | cranks nearby are singing your praises. Floyd | Floyd | First and third, two outs. Frank Chance, the Cubs' manager and first Floyd | baseman, stands next to you, keeping you close to the base. Al Floyd | Bridwell steps up to the plate. In the on-deck circle, Matty gives you Floyd | a congratulatory nod. Floyd | Floyd | For the first time this inning, you exhale. You've done your part, Floyd | kept the inning alive, put the winning run in scoring position. Floyd | Everything is right with the world. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester and Kling agree on the pitch. You take a few steps off first Floyd | in anticipation. Maybe a few too many steps. You catch Bridwell's Floyd | eye, and he looks at you as if to say, Are you nuts, Merkle? Where are Floyd | you going? Pfiester steps off the rubber, and you scamper back to Floyd | first. Floyd | | Jacqueline says, "So, on that note, I must get ready." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Don't screw up, peeps." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Thanks again! Great hitting." | ||
| Jacqueline waves good-bye. "Thanks. Good luck!" | ||
| ChrisC exclaims, "Yes, thanks!" | ||
| Ellison says, "later, J!" | ||
| Tale says (to Ellison), "The burden is yours now, sucker" | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "step off bag" | ||
Floyd | >But you aren't on the bag. Floyd | Floyd | The crowd roars, cheering on Bridwell as he gets set for the pitch. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "lead" | ||
Floyd | >I didn't understand that sentence. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | >Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | Pfiester winds, kicks and delivers. Bridwell swings -- it's a hit! Floyd | McCormick starts racing home with the winning run, and the cranks go Floyd | insane. They start pouring onto the field, whooping in celebration, Floyd | hoping to touch the idols of the Polo Grounds in the fading afternoon Floyd | light. Floyd | Floyd | You are halfway to second base when Bridwell reaches first, and Matty Floyd | and McGraw greet McCormick at home. The roar from the crowd is Floyd | deafening, and the field is swarming with the faithful. The scene is Floyd | utter chaos. Floyd | | Ellison says, "so, I imagine we keep running to third or something dumb like that" | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "go to second" | ||
Floyd | >Go to second base, you say? Oh, the thousands of times you have Floyd | wished this, lying awake, pleading with God, anyone, to let you go to Floyd | second base. It has tormented you for decades. You would trade Floyd | anything you've ever had, except your family, to go to second base. Floyd | But it's a trade you can't make. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "z" | ChrisC asks, "Floyd?" | |
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "run to second" | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | MrPatient says, "This is one of those forced-input things. Guess it isn't working." | |
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | Ellison asks, "what command are we entering, out of curiosity?" | |
| ChrisC says, "I think we can force through it" | ||
| MrPatient says, "It will say "Go back to the dugout."" | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | MrPatient says, "You can also just restore and actually enter that as a command" | |
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ChrisC says, "That would be too easy." | |
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | > go back to the dugout Floyd | Avoiding the crush of fans, you head back to the Giants' dugout, Floyd | hollering after your victorious comrades. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | What happens next is a matter of some dispute. Floyd | Floyd | In one account, Johnny Evers turns and yells to Solly Hofman, the Floyd | center fielder. Merkle hasn't touched second base. The force play is Floyd | still in effect. Hofman finds the ball, throws it back in toward Floyd | Evers, but Joe McGinnity, who had been coaching third, intercepts it, Floyd | and throws the ball away into the crowd somewhere. In the meantime, Floyd | Evers gets the attention of O'Day, and somehow finds a ball. Almost Floyd | certainly not the ball Bridwell hit. Just a ball. He steps on second, Floyd | and O'Day raises his right fist. Three outs, and McCormick's run Floyd | doesn't count. Floyd | Floyd | In some retellings, McGinnity doesn't intercept anything. And Bridwell Floyd | and Snodgrass both later say that Evers never had any ball at all, and Floyd | that Chance just argued the point with O'Day. What isn't in dispute is Floyd | that you never touched second base, and thus McCormick never scored. Floyd | It so happens that a few weeks earlier in Pittsburgh, a similar thing Floyd | happened, and Evers tried to get O'Day, who was umpiring that game as Floyd | well, to rule the player out. He didn't, but Evers was determined to Floyd | press his claim if it were to ever happen again. And this time, he Floyd | succeeded. Floyd | Floyd | This is the most infamous play in baseball history. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | Tale asks, "I don't get it. What did we do so infamous?" | |
| Ellison says (to Tale), "we kept the play in motion by not going on to second base" | ||
| MrPatient says, "You failed to do the simplest imaginable thing: step on second base." | ||
| ChrisC says, "went home without touching the base" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Didn't even go home; just left the field, really." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Right, sorry." | ||
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | There is no way to resume the game with the crowd on the field and the Floyd | shadows lengthening. The Giants press their case with the National Floyd | League office, but the game is ruled a tie. You are immediately Floyd | crucified by the fans, and especially by the newspapers. "Censurable Floyd | stupidity on the part of player Merkle" is how W.H. Aulick puts it in Floyd | tomorrow's New York Times, ignoring the fact that the rule you violated Floyd | had never really been enforced. Floyd | Floyd | For the next two weeks, the Giants play poorly, but manage to hang on Floyd | to a share of the lead in the pennant race. The Merkle Game, as it is Floyd | now known, is replayed at the Polo Grounds on October 8. It's Matty Floyd | for the Gothams once again. Pfiester starts the game for the Chicagos, Floyd | but gives way quickly to Mordecai Three-Finger Brown. Matty is uneven, Floyd | Cy Seymour drops an easy fly ball, and Brown is brilliant. Chicago 4, Floyd | New York 2 is the final score. The Cubs win the National League Floyd | pennant, and go on to beat Detroit in the World Series, four games to Floyd | one. Floyd | Floyd | If it's any consolation, it's the last World Series they will ever win. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | ||
| ChrisC pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | (press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | No one on the Giants blames you. "Being held close to the bag, the Floyd | crowd rushing on him before he'd made it to second, seeing the winning Floyd | run already cross the plate, why I think anyone would have done the Floyd | same thing that Fred Merkle did," says Al Bridwell, many years later. Floyd | Floyd | "It is very unfair to put all the blame on Merkle for our losing the Floyd | pennant in 1908," said Fred Snodgrass. "McGraw never did, and neither Floyd | did the rest of us. It was mostly the newspapers. They were the ones Floyd | who invented the term 'bonehead.' How could you blame Merkle, when we Floyd | lost the play-off game and besides that we lost five other games after Floyd | the Merkle incident?" Floyd | Floyd | Mr. McGraw is always your stalwart defender, and for years, turns to Floyd | you for advice in tough spots. But as far as the rest of the world is Floyd | concerned, you are Fred Merkle, bonehead. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | (press any key) | zarf says, "and, a century later, we are left with a throwaway gag line on Babylon 5" | |
| Ellison pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | July 30, 1950, the Polo Grounds. It's not the same Polo Grounds. The Floyd | old wood park burned down in 1911. The new one is on the same patch of Floyd | ground. You played here too for several years. It's undergone some Floyd | renovations since -- most notably, to enclose the whole outfield -- but Floyd | it still feels like home. Floyd | Floyd | It's Old Timers' Day. To your children's amazement, you accepted the Floyd | Giants' invitation to come back. Floyd | Floyd | New Giants' Dugout Floyd | You're in the dugout, mingling with some of the current ballplayers. Floyd | There's Sal Maglie, the Barber -- so named because he pitches so high Floyd | and tight that he shaves the hitters' stubble. There's Alvin Dark, the Floyd | terrific young shortstop. Over in the corner is Bobby Thomson. He'll Floyd | have a big moment soon enough. And you've just greeted the manager, Floyd | Leo Durocher, famous for coining the phrase, "Nice guys finish last." Floyd | He didn't say that exactly, but that's how people remember it. Floyd | Floyd | The public address announcer gets the attention of the crowd: "Our next Floyd | returning player manned first base for the Giants from 1907 to 1915, Floyd | appearing on three pennant-winning clubs. A great fielder, a great Floyd | hitter, and a leader on and off the field -- please welcome: Fred Floyd | Merkle!" Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "bow" | ||
Floyd | >That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | | ||
| Ellison says (to Floyd), "out" | ||
Floyd | >You step out onto the field, for the first time in years, and survey Floyd | the lovely, if crumbling, horseshoe-shaped park. You brace for the Floyd | worst. Floyd | Floyd | Then, something shocking and beautiful happens. The crowd rises to Floyd | their feet, and they cheer. No boos, no heckling, no insults. Just Floyd | cheers and applause and love for you, Fred Merkle. You wipe a tear Floyd | away, and trot towards first base. Floyd | Floyd | Maybe Mr. Durocher was wrong. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** The End *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT, UNDO the last Floyd | command or READ the Bibliography and Afterword? | zarf says, "awww" | |
| Ellison says, "that's nice" | ||
| Ellison asks, "I look forward to the next game, Who Killed Bonehead Merkle??" | ||
| zarf walks off through the wall; vivid gold light flares briefly around him. | MrPatient says, "This was terrific. Thanks everyone for humoring me." | |
| Ellison says, "thanks for writing it! hooray for IF!" | ||
| Tale says, "This was a great game !" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Thanks for that." | ||
| ChrisC says, "Yeah, It's always fun to have the author around while playing." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Especially with unfair puzzles." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Incidentally, you could have just STRETCHed to catch the ball from Bridwell, instead of worrying about the laces. That was the second solution. Obscure to anyone but a dedicated baseball fan." | ||
| Gerynar wonders what a cricket-based IF game would be like for us poor 'mericans | ||
| Iain says, "z. z. z. z. z. z. z. eat lunch" | ||
| Ellison says, "ha" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Cucumber sandwiches, naturally." | ||
| Ellison says, "speaking of lunch, I'm off. later, all!" | ||
| Ellison goes back to Squeamhurst.. | ||
| Ellison has disconnected. | Tale says, ">ENTER TARDIS >HAVE SPACE ADVENTURE >TRUST TURLOUGH" | |
| ChrisC exclaims, "Yeah, it's bedtime for me. Bye all!" | ||
| ChrisC becomes covered in cross-hatching | Tale asks (of mrp), "What inspired you to write about this?" | |
| MrPatient says, "I wanted to do something that we hadn't seen much of in IF." | ||
| MrPatient says, "At Wit's End by Mike Sousa has some baseball. And now there's also Fan Interference. But that's it." | ||
| Iain asks, "Hmm, has neild never written any baseball games?" | ||
| MrPatient says, "Also, it's a cool story, that allowed me to play with expectations a bit. The winning ending being the worst and all." | ||
| Iain says, "Surprising if not." | ||
| MrPatient says, "Nope, but Lost New York does feature The Polo Grounds." | ||
| MrPatient says, "I knew about neild long before I rediscovered IF a few years ago." | ||
| MrPatient says, "I have his baseball stuff on my shelf." | ||
| Iain says, "Ha, cool." | ||
| Tale says, "It's like when I read something or other and Nick's name popped up." | ||
| Tale says, "Anyway, I have to go, too." | ||
| MrPatient exclaims, "Thanks for playing!" | ||
| Tale is fired from breathing. | ||
| Tale has disconnected. | MrPatient says, "I probably should eat as well. See you guys around, and thanks again." | |
| MrPatient goes home. | ||
| Gerynar has had his fill of playing for now, and goes back to the Lounge. | djfletch says, "I remember seeing a reference in an old film, not long after I played Bonehead, where somebody said "they forgot to touch second"." | |
| djfletch says, "And I only understood it because I'd played this." | ||
