S01.E09: Head On

[radishcake]

episode 9 preview:

[ToastnBacon]

Another great episode, and I think I've changed my mind about he 30 minute format. I'm beginning to think that is part of the reason the show rocks.

The ending of this episode was a bit of a WTF moment. I'm not sure if Balsamo intentionally beaned the cameraman with that baseball.

Anyway, this show grew on me and has became one of my favorites.

[nilyank]

I thought it was great that Spencer was finally get closure with Balsamo but also gave him that moment with his son. I am softy so that made me tear up. It really shows what makes Spencer special in how he treats his clients and everyone. 

[guilfoyleatpp]

I thought he did it on purpose...just to get the crazy reaction.  But I could be wrong because I also thought it was an accident at first.

This was a good one.

 

Fun House Dude whose name I forget, never call your Latina girlfriend a coconut.  Even in jest.

 

Glad Spencer squared things with Balsalmo.

 

Does the preggo wife mean that BlackSwan is going to give up on his dreams of returning to football glory or does it just solidify his urge to do that for the money?

[thuganomics85]

I wasn't sure if Balsalmo knocking out the camera man was on purpose or not, but I guess it was more important to show how quickly he took advantage of it, and how quickly the crowd seem to eat it up.  It doesn't matter how badly injured the guy was: they were entertained.  Besides that, while it was a bit too convenient for Balsalmo to forgive Spencer, I did like his idea that part of it was because he knew deep down, he was going to make it as a pro.  I find that happening a lot these days: someone who was a megastar in college, suddenly struggles once they go to the big times (meanwhile, I've notice a lot of players who are drafted further down, end up being pretty successful.)  It's kind of interesting.

 

I'm glad that Vernon finally sees what Reggie is, and told him to get leave.  Of course, know it seems Vernon's run off somewhere, so if they don't find him, the deal might still end up falling apart.

 

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky.  This is just getting sad to watch.

 

Charles is struggling at getting back into the game, and now his wife is pregnant, so who knows how that will change things.

 

Joe clearly is getting tired of being Richard Schiff's punching bag, and will probably bail soon.  I did love his drunken, somewhat angry description of Spencer as a "bald, multicultural motherfucker."

[Mean Machine]

Yeah, I haven't been that puzzled by an ending to a TV show since like some Sopranos-dream-sequence stuff many years ago.

 

But I have to agree with what has been mentioned, I freaking love this show for some reason.

[Ottis]

If Balsalmo would have been a QB, then his hitting the camera man would have been funny as hell, and it would have tied directly into his admitting that he wasn't going to make it as a pro (his arm was so bad that now he can't even throw in the right direction). Or, since he was a Bill, if he had said he hated Dolphins and their fans, that would have at least provided a motive.

 

But since Spencer introduced him as a RB, I have no idea what it was supposed to mean that Balsalmo hit the camera man. Is he a jerk? How will his kid view that? It was nonsensical.

[DrSpaceman]

What I couldn't figure out was why Balsalmo was mad at Spencer to begin with if he truly felt like he did him a favor.  There has to be a little regret at least because it was obvious he was carrying a pretty deep grudge at the beginning. 

 

The show is growing on me.  I think a half hour is long enough. 

[ToastnBacon]

What I couldn't figure out was why Balsalmo was mad at Spencer to begin with if he truly felt like he did him a favor.  There has to be a little regret at least because it was obvious he was carrying a pretty deep grudge at the beginning. 

 

The show is growing on me.  I think a half hour is long enough.

I can see Balsamo finally vocalizing the truth about his career when faced with being alone with Spencer.

Especially when you consider they way Spencer came clean with him and admitted that he made a dirty hit. Maybe Balsamo just let Spencer off the hook for feeling guilty because he appreciated his honesty instead of a bullshit apology.

I have no idea about that pitch being on purpose. I'm leaning with he just threw it with a lot of heat and it curved on its own?

[Traveller519]

I think the pitch was a mistake. He had no idea he was going to be doing it, and being the ex jock tried to throw it as hard as possible and lost control. Not unrealistic given the number of terrible first pitches out there, especially from people who should do better. I think the most unrealistic aspect was how many people would be at a Miami Marlins game in the middle of the week during the summer.

 

One little aspect I loved was that Charles had obviously talked with Julie about trying out again before he went for his work-out. A lazier show would have had him continuing to sneak around, like he was previously, for some cheap laughs. It's shown that he obviously loves and respects his wife, and wanted to do right by her.

[ribboninthesky1]

I don't think the botched pitch was on purpose, just a cheap way to get a laugh.  (It was funny, but I also hoped the poor cameraman got some medical attention).  But most importantly, because the crowd loved it, it gave Dan the feeling that he never got as a pro.  I couldn't quite tell what Spencer's final expression was about - understanding what Dan meant about that moment, or missing the cheers for himself. 
 
Bella's "The sad part is, you're no better than he is" to Ricky about his dad was cutthroat, but needed to be said. Maybe homeslice will get a clue now.
 

Joe clearly is getting tired of being Richard Schiff's punching bag, and will probably bail soon.  I did love his drunken, somewhat angry description of Spencer as a "bald, multicultural motherfucker."

 

Ha, that cracked me up. Joe was so very bitter, bless his deluded heart.

 

I keep waiting for the show to reveal that Reggie set Vernon up with the photos, and thought Spencer telling Vernon about Reggie and Angie's "rendezvous" was the set-up to that.  Given how it was Reggie who lured Vernon into the compromising position to start with, I assumed that eventual conclusion would be the ultimate sabotage. And who knows - it might be. Vernon's devastation about it all is a bit weird, but maybe he and Reggie were really close.  I don't know - that storyline has been off since the beginning for me. 

 

The childish arguing at Dan's office was also funny.  "I don't wanna fucking talk about it!" "Well, I do wanna talk about it..." "I don't care..." "I do care..." "Well, I don't suck dicks!" "Well, I do....NOT! You almost got me."  Burly men acting like toddlers will always be funny. 

Edited August 18, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[Maysie]

 

I don't think the botched pitch was on purpose, just a cheap way to get a laugh.  (It was funny, but I also hoped the poor cameraman got some medical attention).  But most importantly, because the crowd loved it, it gave Dan the feeling that he never got as a pro.  I couldn't quite tell what Spencer's final expression was about - understanding what Dan meant about that moment, or missing the cheers for himself.

 

I thought it was on purpose. Despite the confessional, Dan is human after all and we've seen how hard it is for a lot of the guys to transition from the field to the reality of day to day life. I felt like he saw it as his chance to be relevant again. Nailing the cameraman probably didn't worry him too much because things worked out pretty damn well for Spencer, despite the fact he purposely tried to hurt Dan with that hit. So I didn't think it was a wild pitch. I'm not sure what Spencer's look was about either.

 

You know, I like this show much more than I thought I would. I figured it'd be the Entourage of the sports world and thank god it isn't -- at least not yet (I didn't mind the first few seasons of Entourage). I realized after this episode that Ballers is far more subtle than Entourage ever considered being and the cast is able to pull it off. I expected far more T & A and was afraid Rob Cordry was going to be used as Ari Gold 2.0.

[Vixenstud]

If I were Bella, the only way I'd give Ricky a second glance is if he sold the Funhouse....as long as he keeps that house he'll always have the 'playa' mentality. 

 

 

The childish arguing at Dan's office was also funny.  "I don't wanna fucking talk about it!" "Well, I do wanna talk about it..." "I don't care..." "I do care..." "Well, I don't suck dicks!" "Well, I do....NOT! You almost got me."  Burly men acting like toddlers will always be funny.

 

Co-sign, lol.

[Ottis]

I think the pitch was a mistake. He had no idea he was going to be doing it, and being the ex jock tried to throw it as hard as possible and lost control. Not unrealistic given the number of terrible first pitches out there, especially from people who should do better

 

 

Except that ... after he did it, Balsamo wasn't sheepish or apologetic. He celebrated. That's a weird reaction for a mistake, in front of lots of people, with your kid there.

 

I thought it was on purpose. Despite the confessional, Dan is human after all and we've seen how hard it is for a lot of the guys to transition from the field to the reality of day to day life. I felt like he saw it as his chance to be relevant again. Nailing the cameraman probably didn't worry him too much because things worked out pretty damn well for Spencer, despite the fact he purposely tried to hurt Dan with that hit. So I didn't think it was a wild pitch. I'm not sure what Spencer's look was about either.

 

 

Except that ... this would undermine everything we knew about Balsamo and Spencer's past. if Balsamo had held a grudge for years over the hit he viewed as cheap, even if he later came to realize that the hit "did him a favor," why then purposefully bean an innocent cameraman when you are in the spotlight? He would still view dirty hits as wrong.

 

And if he did it for the applause ... uh, throwing a good pitch would have resulted in far more applause than what he did - which shouldn't have resulted in any applause at all, and the fact it did (eventually) was also puzzling.

 

The only possible explanations I can see are that 1) Balsamo is basically a dick, which isn't what we saw with his wife and son, or 2) Balsamo made a near instantaneous decision to to do something dirty so that he could have that reputation, somehow divining that Spence did it and Spence did OK. That would be a tremendously immature choice given his kid was there, and we have no reason to believe that Spence was viewed as a dirty player (in fact, people seem to respect him now).

 

I can't find a way for that ending to make sense as it was portrayed.

[marcee]

I watched it again. As far as I can tell, it was an accident. He didn't purposely bean the guy. He tried to throw a hard fast pitch and it went wonky. There was a definite pause when it happened, but then he was so happy to be the center of attention, to be on the field, to get a reaction from the crowd that he milked it. And once he threw up his hands and the crowd cheered, he just soaked it in and enjoyed the spotlight. The guy was gobsmacked. Spencer's reaction, to me, was just processing the situation. When Dan first hit the camera guy, Spence was shocked, disappointed and afraid that Dan would be upset - but once he saw Dan revel in it, and heard the crowd cheer him on, he was like 'huh, look at that.' Dan had made it a point to say the crowd never cheered for him when he was a pro - well, now they're cheering. It was a look of, "Heh, funny how things work out."

Edited August 19, 2015 by marcee

[Ottis]

I watched it again. As far as I can tell, it was an accident. He didn't purposely bean the guy. He tried to throw a hard fast pitch and it went wonky. There was a definite pause when it happened, but then he was so happy to be the center of attention, to be on the field, to get a reaction from the crowd that he milked it. And once he threw up his hands and the crowd cheered, he just soaked it in and enjoyed the spotlight. The guy was gobsmacked. Spencer's reaction, to me, was just processing the situation. When Dan first hit the camera guy, Spence was shocked, disappointed and afraid that Dan would be upset - but once he saw Dan revel in it, and heard the crowd cheer him on, he was like 'huh, look at that.' Dan had made it a point to say the crowd never cheered for him when he was a pro - well, now they're cheering. It was a look of, "Heh, funny how things work out."

 

 

I think your reasoning is sound, given what we saw. I struggle with what was shown. I don't know why Balsamo would throw up his arms and cheer right after he beaned the cameraman, when the crowd was still booing him. That doesn't seem a likely reaction in that situation, unless he reveled in boos as a player. Yes, he was the center of attention ... but he just looked like a fool. Or a dick. And I don't know why the crowd would go from boos and derision to cheers after Balsamo celebrated beaning the cameraman. Seems the crowd would more likely boo more, especially since he wasn't a former Dolphin. Probably not worth worrying about.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Ottis

[MiseryIndex]

i don't know if anyone said it, but i figured hitting the camera guy with the pitch was a good way to go viral and get attention for his business. maybe i'm wrong. i don't know any other reason he does it on purpose after basically coming to terms with spencer and resolving things.