CryptoSoxery No. 6
This week's attempt to give the verbally inclined away to pass the time without worrying about what's going on in the world leans on the most quotable White Sox personality ever. And it's about a favorite subject of Ozzie Guillén's.
But first, the answer to CryptoSoxery No. 5, actually a dialogue from Eight Men Out, the 1988 movie about the Black Sox. It's very short, but very to the point about the Black Sox and about what's happening (or not happening) in baseball right now:
Sport Sullivan: You say you can find seven men on the best club that ever took the field willin' to throw the World Series? I find *that* hard to believe.
Chick Gandil: You never played for Charlie Comiskey.
Just a little owners vs. players thing, like today.
Everything Ozzie says is heartfelt. Especially this quote.
Sports Illustrated
The Ozzie quote for this week is more manager vs. large inanimate objects, or somewhat smaller animate objects, as usual with thanks to the encryption template at wordles.com:
VEI HXC QEWFQ KE KHDC JHKKWFQ NXHMKWMC HFT KGC XHKO UEED
JWQQCX KGHF H NWQ EIK KGCXC...W KGWFD KGC XHKO EIK KGCXC HXC
UWPKWFQ RCWQGKO.
For those who have never done a cryptoquote, it's a basic letter-for-letter cipher. One letter represents another, the same way all through the quote.
The key to solving the puzzle is thinking of the most common letters — "e" is tops — and the most common letter patterns in words. That "w" above is all by itself, so it's bound to be either and "a" or an "I". Plug those in an more patterns will emerge...for example, there's a KGC and a KGCXC. Consider that a moment and you'll have a bunch of key letters.
Have fun. Next week we'll find out what Ozzie had to say in this particular case, and have another quote to work on.
Past puzzles:
CryptoSoxery No. 1: Jean Shepherd
CryptoSoxery No. 2: Barack Obama
CryptoSoxery No. 3: Al Lopez
CryptoSoxery No. 4: Tommy John
CryptoSoxery No. 5: Eight Men Out