Chapter 80.1: Wet October Surprise?

Perhaps I should have taken our leaky pipe in the basement as a sign. The 2008 presidential campaign seems to have had its October surprise burble up finally. This time it came up through the pipes in Toledo, Ohio, one of the swingingest states in America.

The gist of it is a guy now known for the rest of his 15 minutes as Joe the Plumber asked Sen. Obama about how his plan to tax only those making at least $250,000 will affect Joe's chances of having a successful plumbing business. (Almost uncommented upon has been that Joe isn't a licensed plumber, which apparently is required in Toledo.)

By clogging up the debate with plumber references, Sen. McCain seems to have re-engaged his campaign with at least some of the voting populace. Whether it will be enough to actually sway what few undecideds are out there or reconvert those Republicans who had given up on McCain remains to be seen.

But if you have your Joe the Plumber t-shirts already, I advise you get ready to sell them, because after early November, regardless of who wins, they'll probably be going cheap.

Chapter 80: This Would Be Nice

It's been a difficult post-season for me. I have no vested interest — even less now that Chicago is out of it. But the Boston Globe put a smile on my face this morning. They reminded me that Don Zimmer is associated with the Tampa Devil Rays. Of course, he's been associated with several different teams; that's what happens when a guy's been in major league baseball for over 60 years.

Zim managed the Red Sox when Bucky F. Dent hit his infamous home run. He got tossed to the ground by Pedro Martinez during the 2003 ALCS. He was an original Met (and went 1-23, if memory serves). He managed the 1989 Cubs to the playoffs. He was on the Dodgers when Don Larsen tossed the only perfect game in World Series history. Even when he worked for the Yankees, Zim was fun to have around.

His stint with the Yankees really solidified his association with Joe Torre — not that they didn't know each other already, but when you serve as someone's bench coach and take over managing the team when that guy deals with butt cancer, you've kinda got a level of relationship that is above mere teammate. And he stood up to George Steinbrenner. Good for Zim!

So I for one would love to see the Rays meet the Dodgers in the playoffs. It would mean the Dodgers eliminate the Phillies, which as a Met fan would make me happy. And while I like the Red Sox and have family who are huge Sox fans, I can't help but like the baby Rays from the other Bay area. B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, a surprisingly consistent starting pitching staff (which basically was the reason for my first fantasy baseball championship ever) ... what's not to love?

So that's what I'm rooting for: Dodgers vs. Rays in the 2008 World Series. Let the interviews with Don Zimmer continue.

Chapter 79.9: Innumeracy, Thy Name is Chucklehead

Thank God I'm not the only person who complains about innumeracy! In a recent column in Forbes, Rich Karlgaard rails against the "American math chuckleheads" who thought that instead of an $85 billion bailout for AIG, each Amerian adult should get their share of that amount. The problem is they don't know how to do math. While they thought the simple division meant the 200 million American adults would receive $425,000 each, it actually breaks down to $425 each.

I mean, come on, wasn't it obvious that $425,000 simply couldn't be right and that they needed to punch the numbers back into the calculator to do things over, only this time with the right number of zeroes?

Unfortunately, using chucklehead math, there's simply not enough money in the world to pay for all the math tutors required to retrain math-challenged Americans. Here's a low-cost alternative: Read John Allen Paulos's book Innumeracy and learn how to think logically. These days, we could all use a little help in the wallet.

Here's a math problem to get you started: If a coffee costs $2 at the corner store and you drink two cups a day each day of the work week, how much do you spend on coffee per month? Per year?

Short answer, too much. Long answer is $20 per week, $80-$100 per month, and $1000 per year (assuming two weeks off for vacation). Wouldn't you like to have another thousand dollars in your pocket? This is why I drink the free stuff at the office.

Thank God I don't smoke!

Chapter 79.8: Playoff Predictions

Ok, I'm a little late on this, but honestly this is what I thought before the games began:

AL
Red Sox vs. Angels: Angels in five. I believe their pitching is simply better than what the Red Sox can muster at this point. And Papelbon hasn't been as sharp lately, which must concern Red Sox Nation.

White Sox vs. Rays: Rays in four. With apologies to my friends in Chicago, I don't think there'll be a Windy City World Series because the Rays, while young and inexperienced, are simply too darn talented. And rested. But those Sox have pluck. They should be able to take at least one.

NL
Phillies vs. Brewers: Phils in four. I'd like to root for the Brewers, since the Phillies are the Mets' chief rivals these days. But I just don't see how the Brewers can do it with CC and God Save Us! as their pitching staff.

Dodgers vs. Cubs: Cubs in five. Ok, here's the one that got affected by last night's game. I honestly was surprised that the Dodgers beat Dempster, so instead of my prediction of Cubs in four, I've added a game. But this could easily be proven wrong. The Dodgers are almost as hot as the Rockies were last year.