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S01.E05: Alfonzo Guzman-Chavez


Tara Ariano

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If Amelia had gone to Oscar about Blip, without Ginny's OK, it would have spared Ginny looking stupid to the audience, and caused a greater tension between Ginny and Amelia. I don't know why they didn't do that. Amelia has done nothing but bone Mike for a while now. She seems useless to terrible as an agent and this could have served to remind us of why she's there in the first place, as well as just reinforcing that she's bad at her job, which they seem to be telling us almost every week.

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12 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

They are loathe to take a tough line directly with any player - especially one of Ginny's importance.

I remember reading of an interview with the Red Sox manager when Ted Williams was playing for them.  He was asked if there was any friction between himself and Williams, who had a rep as being curt and stand-offish with the press.  His reply: "Any manager who can't get along with a .400 hitter must be out of his mind."

3 hours ago, rippleintime17 said:

That was a great monologue and great delivery by Consuelos.

I suspect he may have heard that monologue once or twice in his career.

The guy I really felt for was the one traded first off, only to be bounced around three different teams until he landed right back at San Diego.  While it worked out for him, it's gotta sting a little with the realization that management really doesn't want you there, and you're a pawn in their chess game.

Edited by Dowel Jones
More opinions.
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Yes, @topanga, I was saying that Mike would never agree to a trade.  He loves his manager, is on his last year or so of his career, and wants to lead and then leave a winning legacy with what he senses is an up and coming team.   He's the unquestioned captain/leader in SD and he would be put in an uncomfortable place with any new team, whose current player leadership would resent him.

We could have a great discussion as to whether he would have been given the no-trade clause to begin with.  Lots of pros and cons could be suggested.

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17 minutes ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Yes, @topanga, I was saying that Mike would never agree to a trade.  He loves his manager, is on his last year or so of his career, and wants to lead and then leave a winning legacy with what he senses is an up and coming team.   He's the unquestioned captain/leader in SD and he would be put in an uncomfortable place with any new team, whose current player leadership would resent him.

We could have a great discussion as to whether he would have been given the no-trade clause to begin with.  Lots of pros and cons could be suggested.

I'm pretty sure you know this already as you seem to know a good deal about MLB, but for others who aren't aware, the Padres wouldn't be able to trade Mike anyway even if he didn't have a no-trade clause in his contract because he's a 10/5 guy.   Any MLB player who has accumulated 10 years of service, the last 5 of which (at least) have been with the same team cannot be traded without the consent of the player.  

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On 10/28/2016 at 1:51 PM, gesundheit said:

In fairness to Drunk Dad, it is 2016 and my parents still have a landline with an answering machine AND one smartphone apiece (the latter of which I know to never even bother calling unless I know they're on a trip or something).

We have a landline/answering machine as well as cell phones. We prefer to get spam calls on the landline, and it's a convenient place to get messages that are really meant for both of us. Plus we get spotty reception, so landline works best when we're home.

7 hours ago, rippleintime17 said:

When Ginny and Blip were sitting watching the clock countdown, I was basically shouting "don't trust that clock!" because news of that trade broke AFTER the deadline (the deal itself was done prior, but it took awhile for everyone to be notified, it to come out, etc.).

Me too - but for me it was just logistics. It's impossible to notify the last minute trades within a second of the deal being made.

I was pretty pleased with myself that I immediately understood what was happening with the centerfield trades. I know virtually nothing about baseball, and the mister's a lifelong fan - but he didn't catch what was happening. Of course, it was pretty rapid fire.

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23 hours ago, possibilities said:

I meant he would become her agent, since Ginny's current agent doesn't know baseball and gave her very bad advice this episode. Or that maybe he and Amelia would form a business partnership using his understanding of baseball and her marketing and media savvy.

I like the idea of Mike and Amelia being business partners. Like you said, he knows the sports side, and she knows about PR and the media. It could be good for both of them. I also like their relationship. They have good chemistry, and so far they're both being fairly mature. Like someone said upthread, not necessarily an epic love affair, but 2 people enjoying each other's company. 

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16 hours ago, topanga said:

But is it lying for two people not to want the entire dinner table to know they're hooking up? I get that Mike and Ginny are teammates, and Amelia is Ginny's agent, which puts Ginny in the smack in the middle if things end badly between Mike and Amelia. But all three of them are adults. Neither Mike nor Amelia was obligated to tell Ginny they were dating. It's the considerate thing to do, since she and Mike are becoming friends, and Amelia is essentially her employee. But I don't get a sense of betrayal. It's not like either one of them is Ginny's ex or her love interest.

But there is some middle ground between "We're not dating/fucking" and acting like they've barely heard of one another. Ginny even asked Amelia about knowing Mike when she saw her talking to Mike after the beanball game.  There's a way to answer that question indicating that they knew each other more than they did without confessing that they've slept together. Instead, she way downplayed it.  And they could have said that they weren't dating at the dinner without acting like it was a crazy thought.  There's holding one's counsel and then there's active deception.  They engaged in the latter. 

I think it can be true that Ginny can understand that they're consenting adults, as she told Amelia, but also be true that she feels betrayed/conflicted by their actions.  Not only because of the deception but because she had been developing a close relationship/friendship with Mike and Amelia is supposed to be the one person Ginny feels has her back 100%.  There can be jealousy of the closeness they're developing independent of her. It's just another reminder that she doesn't have a 100% person.  Her dad was probably that, as tough as he could be. 

6 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

I was saying that Mike would never agree to a trade.  He loves his manager, is on his last year or so of his career, and wants to lead and then leave a winning legacy with what he senses is an up and coming team.

I gather the plan is to make all of those not worth staying.   My question is why were the VP person and the GM talking about trading Mike, even if he did agree to it?  Does the trade deadline mean something other than trade deadline?

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The "deadline" isn't an absolute.  As alluded to by Oscar's boss, the waiver wire is always available.  Waivers is when a team decides to move a player off its major league roster.  All the other teams can then "claim" him, for a nominal fee.  If they do, they have to then immediately assume the terms of the player's contract.  The team may revoke, take back,  the waivers if he is claimed by another team.  If the player "clears" waivers, his current team is then free to move his rights any way, anytime, they wish.  A player with a no-trade clause may not be waived.

So...Blip, Ginny, and most of the others could be subject to waivers, and then a trade.  Mike can not.

MLB Waivers Primer

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10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

There's holding one's counsel and then there's active deception. 

In a nutshell. As for Ginny being upset - I agree with you as well. And I'll add that finding out you've been deceived by those closest to you makes you feel stupid - and that does not generate warm and fuzzy feelings in the immediate aftermath. Let the girl have time to be pissed.

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On 10/29/2016 at 0:10 AM, Kromm said:

BTW: did anyone else know that Elisabeth Shue was originally going to play Amelia? Probably would have been less underweary, but maybe a tad better acted (not that Larter is bad, I've actually always liked her, but she's no Liz Shue).

At times I think Ali Larter and Julie Bowen look exactly alike.  I think it's their teeth; they must've gotten their veneers from the same guy.

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5 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

At times I think Ali Larter and Julie Bowen look exactly alike.

Never put them together - but you might have something there. I've never liked Larter, but do like Bowen even if her show is really terrible at this point. I'm starting to warm up to Larter, thanks to this show.

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On 10/30/2016 at 2:05 AM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Amelia royally screwed up the Blip "demand."  Not as most are saying, that it just isn't done in baseball.  But, in that Amelia's entire job is to take the difficult meetings Ginny should never take on her own.  In fact, part of Oscar's anger would have been about this very real dynamic.  Management generally despise agents, but this is the one useful function for both sides they do offer.  They are happy to be a dick to an agent.  They are loathe to take a tough line directly with any player - especially one of Ginny's importance.   It would have been next level for the show to have Oscar vent his anger on Amelia, for whom he has the hots, too.  Oh well.

Edited by marina to
trying to comment on the quote - wanted to thank poster for bringing this up which I totally missed
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Just did a re-watch and I have to say I love the backing soundtrack on this show.  All violins and strings.  it has a great score.

Also, for the baseball challenged like myself (seriously, my most exposure was watching the Ken Burns documentary -- so all I really know is that Billy Crystal and Doris Kern Goodwin are huge fans, Ty Cobb was a sumbitch, and of course, Jackie Robinson)  -- does this trade thingy happen every year?  If so how can anyone relax?

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59 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Just did a re-watch and I have to say I love the backing soundtrack on this show.  All violins and strings.  it has a great score.

Also, for the baseball challenged like myself (seriously, my most exposure was watching the Ken Burns documentary -- so all I really know is that Billy Crystal and Doris Kern Goodwin are huge fans, Ty Cobb was a sumbitch, and of course, Jackie Robinson)  -- does this trade thingy happen every year?  If so how can anyone relax?

Yes, every year.  July is a stressful month for many of the players.  Some are able to fluff it off and play normally but there are some who are often mentioned in trade rumors who have their level of game play affected.  

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Yep, every year, in season, out of season, before games, after games...The younger players can't relax, really.  A long time ago a player named Curt Flood actually took a lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court concerning an unwanted trade.  He lost, but it set in motion free agency and no trade clauses in contracts.  Consider that even Babe Ruth was traded to Cincinnati, where he finished out his career.

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This is also a good read what players go through. Matt Duffy is the player I was referring to earlier in the thread as a fan favorite and homegrown everyday player that was traded basically with no buzz/warning. He was traded right before the deadline, but because he was injured, he was not with the team at the time of the trade and was instead with the AAA team in Sacramento while his team was on an East Coast road trip. He was traded from the San Francisco Giants, in the National League, to the Tampa Bay Rays, in the American League. So not only did he not get a chance to say goodbye to his friends & teammates, he also had to relocate all the way across the country to a team very different from the only one he had ever known where he likely barely knew anyone all that well. PLUS, he was still rehabbing his injury so was also being shipped to North Carolina to the Rays' minor league teams to rehab that. There's a lot to adapt to and while it does get more stressful in July since that is when the trade deadline is, trades start right back up again after the World Series ends. But I'd imagine in-season trades are more stressful, simply because you have to re-locate, settle in and get right to work no matter what your situation required of you. Matt ended up not getting back to California (where his family is also from) until after he ultimately had season-ending surgery in September (playing on the turf in Tampa aggravated his injury), and that's also when he got to pop back into the Giants clubhouse to finally see the guys again too. I can only imagine how much more stressful it must be when you have kids and own homes and all of that on top of it! 

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32 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Holy cow.  I had no idea.  I would imagine then that spouses and children have experiences not unlike military spouses, where they have to relocate with some regularity.

Thanks for all the good info, guys.

Speaking as a former military brat - to me it sounds a lot worse. Generally speaking, our moves weren't as sudden or arbitrary, and we (my family in any case)  moved into a fully fledged community of people like us - with stores, schools, and neighborhoods all made up of fellow dependents. Then again, our parents didn't rake in the same kind of money, and mileage did vary depending on where you were stationed.

Edited by Clanstarling
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Was Ross the actor who was on the show Drake & Josh? I think he was Josh? Through off of his scenes I was just trying to figure that out.

This episode was ok, but it was kind of dumb how they just had Amelia tell everyone about her and Mike. It would've been more interesting for everyone to somehow discover. It was like they have some plot point coming up that involves Ginny knowing, but never came up with a way for her to find out, so they just had her tell her at the end of the episode for no reason. It was weird.

As soon as her friend's dad got in the accident I could tell that's how Ginny's dad died. Plot twist!

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6 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Yes he was Josh Peck.

Thank You! I kept thinking he looked so familiar, but I couldn't place him.

I didn't see the alcoholic dad ending up causing the crash that killed Ginny's dad until he made the illegal turn, then it clicked. I completely agree with those who loved Oscar and Blip's speeches to Ginny. I definitely understand how her surrogate family moving away would turn Ginny's world upside down (again, especially since it seems everyone she's been close to hasn't stayed in her life for long), but she needed to hear that it isn't always about her.

Could Fox have been any less subtle with the cross show promotion for Damon Wayans. They were selling that super hard.

And on a completely shallow note, more shirtless Mark-Paul Gosselaar. That will never not be appreciated by me.

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10 hours ago, Popples said:

And on a completely shallow note, more shirtless Mark-Paul Gosselaar. That will never not be appreciated by me.

ITA. The way he dresses makes him look like a chunky ball player. But he certainly is not. If he were to shave his beard, I wonder if MPG would still look like Zack. (Even with brown hair). 

 

On 10/30/2016 at 6:14 PM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Yes, @topanga, I was saying that Mike would never agree to a trade.  He loves his manager, is on his last year or so of his career, and wants to lead and then leave a winning legacy with what he senses is an up and coming team.   He's the unquestioned captain/leader in SD and he would be put in an uncomfortable place with any new team, whose current player leadership would resent him.

We could have a great discussion as to whether he would have been given the no-trade clause to begin with.  Lots of pros and cons could be suggested.

I also wonder if this story line will become prominent in future episodes. 

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