the ball into the blimp itself, causing it to deflate and crash onto the field; as Homer alone runs from the wreckage, Buck realizes Tabitha had no part in the message. He charges Homer, bat in hand, but Marge dissuades him by saying that Homer was just trying to help, and that marriage is hard work but worth it. Tabitha then comes on the Jumbo-Vision to tell Buck she wants to stay together. The episode closes with another Isotope player, Tito, saying he does not care about the healed marriage because bandits just kidnapped his mother. Reception Sociologist Tim Delaney wrote that the episode illustrates the bandwagon effect: interest by fairweather fans drives further popularity of the Isotopes as they win, and they lose their popularity during slumps. Physicist Simon Singh wrote that the episode's throwaway use of Mersenne primes and other mathematical concepts is an example of Simpsons writers, many of whom have a strong math background, adding bonus math jokes tofr others who can recognize them. References External links The Simpsons (season 17) episodes 2006 American television episodes Baseball animation