S01.E07: San Francisco

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Tensions rise when Livian Duarte is set to catch against San Francisco, moving Mike to first base. Elsewhere, Amelia and Oscar team up to combat the latest scandal involving Ginny.

[dargosmydaddy]

Ugh to the overexplaining of baseball yet again (Wally Pipp and why Ginny skipped a start). 

Meh to the Mike flashbacks, which I was having a bit of trouble following. And little Mike didn't resemble big Mike enough.

Yay to Ginny's teammates supporting her with the photo spread.

I have a little trouble believing Ginny never, ever relieved before (and that Al wouldn't have asked her about it till she was literally on the mound).

[Nanrad]

I just love this show!

Everyone had Ginny's back from Al to the team and they were just all in for it.

"Been working on a cutter, wanna see it?" I laughed every single time.

Mike an Ginny throwing zingers at each other.

Mike had a fucked up childhood--how his mom gon do him like that???

1 minute ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Ugh to the overexplaining of baseball yet again (Wally Pipp and why Ginny skipped a start). 

Try to be a little understanding, I mean they could've done it a different way, but I don't much about baseball beside: pitch, catch, homerun, and out.

[In2You]

That stupid nude photo storyline was a waste of time. By the way those tame photos  for the Body Issue would in no way overshadow leaked nudes. And during the Fappening stars with more a of younger fanbase than Ginny had nudes leaked and they were just fine. Storyline just felt so dated. 

And I'm so beyond tired of flashbacks on this show. Like they cant simply tell a story in the present. Or explain people's past through their present actions.

Edited November 11, 2016 by In2You

[Tetraneutron]

That was the point. Ginny would be held to a higher standard than an actress because she's supposed to be a role model, and because she's a woman in an all-male environment. Realistically, every interview since single A would be someone asking her about if the guys see her naked or if she dates any of her teammates.

The Wally Pipp thing was obnoxious (and a myth) but they have to exposit for the non-baseball audience and I can't think of a better way to do it. The whole thing was dumb because Lawson is a catcher. They're always getting injured and getting out of the lineup.

I'm ready to see some people on the team besides the ones we have. Does anyone besides Ginny, Lawson and now Duarte even have a personality? I'm not counting Blip because he's just a way to move the story along.

Also, are they going to mention Jackie Robinson every episode? I get why they do but the situations aren't the same. With integration everyone knew there were plenty of talented black players, and the issue was that white people didn't want them in the majors for the same horrible reason segregation always happens. Ginny is different. There aren't that many women playing at that level. The challenges she would face are skepticism she could do it at all. And again, unlike with Jackie, there's no GM searching the country for just the right woman to bring up. She went from high school, to the low minors and up the chain like every guy player (at least that we've seen). The real hurdle would be her getting into the minors at all. Most people would be convinced that she's going to get blown away against guys who've finished puberty. Besides, until this episode we've seen she relies on breaking/offspeed stuff. No one's looking for that - baseball want to find the next Aroldis. Knucklers are seen as weirdos.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Tetraneutron

[Moose135]

A few baseball things really annoyed me in this one.  First, in all the time she's pitched - little league, high school, 5 years in the minors - she's never thrown an inning of relief?  And as mentioned above, Al never asked her about it before bringing her in with the bases loaded of a tied game in extra innings?  Then, her continual whining about skipping a start - again, in all those years, she's never skipped a start - or even been on a team where another pitcher skipped a start because of how the schedule fell?  She made it sound like it was some stain on her soul or something.  At least we were spared seeing Amelia bitch to the GM about that.

As to Duarte (that's the name of the new Cuban catcher, right?) he's cruising for a bruising as we used to say.  Hot new rookie or not, his own teammates are going to kick his ass if he keeps acting the way he is - I loved Mike jumping in and "translating" Duarte's remarks for the reporters.  When he hit the home run, the announcers said it was the top of the 6th, but it was his first major league at bat. If he started the game - which he did - his first at bat would have come in the first three innings.  Jose Bautista can get away with flipping his bat after hitting a big home run in a key playoff game, but a rookie, in his first AB with his team down by a bunch? There's no way he hits a second HR in that game - he's going to be eating dirt getting out of the way of pitches every at bat after that.

[Dowel Jones]

I liked the episode well enough, but they're starting to develop into a Hallmark Movie cliche, with a (reasonably) happy ending every time. 

Was Mike's dad the Little League coach?  It didn't make sense for Mike to put out the bus story if so. 

How early, even in an SF summer, do you have to start a game to finish 13 innings in broad daylight?

Would an ML team bring on an imported catcher directly to the team? How long does it take to learn the call signs and the manager's signs?  I would think some would be more or less universal, but each team does it differently to avoid sign stealing.  Then again, with all the trades, I suppose everyone knows everything anyway.

3 hours ago, In2You said:

By the way those tame photos  for the Body Issue would in no way overshadow leaked nudes.

And how much did the team pay those sports journalists to disparage the hacker so ruthlessly?

[cynic]

I know zip about baseball, so I appreciate the explanations. Even with them, I feel like I miss some stuff, like why would it matter if she's never pitched relief? How is it different? I do think I would prefer if they didn't use Ginny as the audience surrogate though.

I really liked this episode. The plot wasn't groundbreaking or anything, but I thought the execution was good and I liked that it had more humor than usual. Even Oscar's bits were okay. And I especially loved the team coming through for Ginny at the end.

My favorite part of this show is Mike Lawson, so the flashbacks giving more insight into his character worked for me. In present day, I love how he stands up for himself, but ultimately does what's best for the team. I don't know if him moving to first is realistic or not, but I'm assuming that he will stay a catcher for the duration of the series for the pitcher/catcher relationship. I'm still rooting for him and Ginny too. 

In the shallow end of the pool, all the partially clothed shots of Mike make the show very pleasant viewing for me. In a show about a female breaking barriers, I guess it's appropriate that the guy is the one that seems to get objectified all the time.

[In2You]

1 hour ago, Tetraneutron said:

That was the point. Ginny would be held to a higher standard than an actress because she's supposed to be a role model, and because she's a woman in an all-male environment. Realistically, every interview since single A would be someone asking her about if the guys see her naked or if she dates any of her teammates.

 

I'm ready to see some people on the team besides the ones we have. Does anyone besides Ginny, Lawson and now Duarte even have a personality? I'm not counting Blip because he's just a way to move the story along.

Also, are they going to mention Jackie Robinson every episode? 

The young actresses fresh off Nickelodeon and Disney were held at higher standards because they had mostly and like I said after a few days they're nude scandals were no big deal.  Considering baseball is less mainstream than the other sports people would actually care even less about Ginny's nude leaks.  So to say she would be held to a higher standard yeah no so sure about that. Nudity is not as shocking anymore in today's society. 

Just like actual baseball continued mention of Jackie and his legacy in the wrong way. 

[Jediknight]

Oscar was 100% right when talking to Amelia.  Ginny and Amelia should have went to Oscar immediately, because like he said he could have gotten MLB on it right away.  Amelia may know good lawyers, but MLB is a multi-billion dollar company with an army of great lawyers.  I'm liking Oscar more and more, nice to see that they changed his story since the pilot.

Livan would get destroyed by his own team.  At some point he'd be like Yordano Ventura.  Duarte would get beaned, charged the mound, and nobody on his team would be in any hurry to help him, and they'd let him get punched.

I called Mike's little league coach being his father when he was being taught Catcher.  Come on, he gave the most important position to a kid that just joined the team, it was obvious.

[Victura]

As someone who's not into baseball and randomly came upon this show, I appreciate the explanations.

Not a huge fan of having too many flashbacks, but I did like that they focused on someone else for a change besides Ginny and that we got to see some of Mike's backstory. At the end, was that his dad he went to go see, along with his grandson?

3 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

And little Mike didn't resemble big Mike enough.

I thought little Mike resembled the younger Mark-Paul Gosselaar quite a bit. (His Twitter profile pic: http://twitter.com/MPG/) It's just that the huge beard makes him a bit unrecognizable.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I am so jazzed after watching this ep.

The first thing is how the team came together to "defend" Ginny - to uphold her honor.  It's what guys do.  Not a lot of talk.  Their teammate needed help and she was getting screwed over.  It didn't hurt that this was going to be an ESPN deal with a ton of great publicity, either.  But, again...the importance of the way she came to them and made everything about the game - the team...  The direct contrast of Livan was no subplot, imo.  It was the main arc.  Really, really, smart storytelling.

I also loved the baseball we got to see.  The conversation on the mound was a true joy.  So much spoken, without specific words being said.  Then, she got hammered!  And lucky.  As did Mike.  If that ball goes 6 inches in either direction, that game is, at a minimum, tied.  Was it good kharma?   The Baseball Gods, they are fickle.  

The Mike flashbacks killed me.  It was overkill for the manager to be bio dad, but simply his loving and stern approach as "coach" is one of the things I most believe in on this often wretched planet.  I've seen it so many times.  Real close, I've seen it.  In fact, I was given almost the exact same speech when I said I wanted to be a catcher.  But, the difference a coach can make, especially for struggling boys?  

Loved Al's night out for Ginny.  Think about it.  He was coming home.  There had to be a coterie of old friends and family with whom he would connect on those trips.  He chose Ginny.  Also, he had waited and waited to do this.  His instinctive understanding that this was the right time?  Marvelous. 

This was my favorite hour of TV in memory.  

[Password]

I loved the episode but I'm somewhat puzzled about Mike's story with his dad. Was Mike and his mother previous to his marriage? Why didn't the dad try to get Mike to stay, was his wife an issue? And Mike's mother, she used her kid to get money from his dad, when she should've gotten it anyway. I hope we get some clarity on this in future episodes.

My favourite scene this episode was Ginny and Al sitting on the bench overlooking the city. The way the management and Ginny's teammates are there for her is pretty amazing. Her well being on the pitch and off is fantastic. I also loved that Al told her to remember her life outside of baseball because it's so important. 

Most hilarious part of this episode was Ginny asking if anyone wants to see her cutter. I died every time.

[GirlvsTV]

7 hours ago, In2You said:

The young actresses fresh off Nickelodeon and Disney were held at higher standards because they had mostly and like I said after a few days they're nude scandals were no big deal.  Considering baseball is less mainstream than the other sports people would actually care even less about Ginny's nude leaks.  So to say she would be held to a higher standard yeah no so sure about that. Nudity is not as shocking anymore in today's society. 

Just like actual baseball continued mention of Jackie and his legacy in the wrong way. 

I think the show has been clear that Ginny's stardom has reached far beyond just the baseball mainstream. Even if people didn't keep up with baseball they would have seen her all over the news, repeatedly. Not to mention the big Nike campaign that no doubt would've resulted in her ads being all over mainstream magazines and other print media. Her place as a role model for young girls has far surpassed that of a Nickolodeon star. 

Baseball and sports as a whole is a male dominated field, I've no doubt some of them would have loved to take this scandal, use it as an opportunity to malign Ginny and damage her reputation. And, while I do agree these kinds of 'scandals' are not as earth-shattering to a woman's career in the way they might have been 15-20 years ago, Ginny absolutely would be held to a higher standard of behavior than an actress or male player. 

I really enjoyed this episode. I liked learning more about Mike. I also liked the photo leak was resolved, not with any kind of apology or mea culpa on Ginny's part, but with everyone taking their clothes off to support her.

Edited November 11, 2016 by GirlvsTV

[In2You]

Ginny as a mainstream athlete would be grouped into the same celeb category as those actresses.  Maybe the baseball community would hold her to a higher standard but the rest of America not really. And like I said there's no way those tame Body Issue pics would outshine the leaked nudes.

[Primetimer]

And while she's bracing for the release of those hacked selfies on the team's San Fran road trip, the call-up of Lawson's replacement sends him into a flashback tailspin.

View the full article

[dargosmydaddy]

11 hours ago, Nanrad said:

Try to be a little understanding, I mean they could've done it a different way, but I don't much about baseball beside: pitch, catch, homerun, and out.

Oh, I definitely think the Pipp thing should have been explained, I just wish it hadn't been at Ginny's expense. Anyone who grew up around baseball would know that. And Al could have just said, "We're skipping your start because we have two days off coming up and we want ace pitcher whoever to face the Giants" rather than have multiple people repeat this several times.

 

8 hours ago, Moose135 said:

I loved Mike jumping in and "translating" Duarte's remarks for the reporters. 

That was awesome. My Mike love grows with every episode.

7 hours ago, Victura said:

I thought little Mike resembled the younger Mark-Paul Gosselaar quite a bit. (His Twitter profile pic: http://twitter.com/MPG/) It's just that the huge beard makes him a bit unrecognizable.

Wow, I stand corrected. That's hilariously accurate!

[Moose135]

6 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The Mike flashbacks killed me.  It was overkill for the manager to be bio dad, but simply his loving and stern approach as "coach" is one of the things I most believe in on this often wretched planet.  I've seen it so many times.  Real close, I've seen it.  In fact, I was given almost the exact same speech when I said I wanted to be a catcher.  But, the difference a coach can make, especially for struggling boys? 

I guess it's the world we live in, but when the coach took such interest in young Mike so quickly, I thought we were going to discover that the coach had molested him.  Glad they didn't go there!

[Ms Blue Jay]

9 hours ago, Moose135 said:

As to Duarte (that's the name of the new Cuban catcher, right?) he's cruising for a bruising as we used to say.  Hot new rookie or not, his own teammates are going to kick his ass if he keeps acting the way he is - I loved Mike jumping in and "translating" Duarte's remarks for the reporters.  When he hit the home run, the announcers said it was the top of the 6th, but it was his first major league at bat. If he started the game - which he did - his first at bat would have come in the first three innings.  Jose Bautista can get away with flipping his bat after hitting a big home run in a key playoff game, but a rookie, in his first AB with his team down by a bunch? There's no way he hits a second HR in that game - he's going to be eating dirt getting out of the way of pitches every at bat after that.

But there are players like that.  There are players who batflip a walk, a hit by pitch even.  Anything.  Maybe not rookies, but there are certain players who batflip every single thing.  Somebody on Cleveland did it against the Blue Jays I think.  I forget who, because I honestly don't even care.  It doesn't bother me.  It's funny at the time, because it's so silly, but whatever.  Only certain players think that's worthy of "a bruising".  The old school players.  There's a lot of new school players, there's a lot of Dominican players, etc. Look at Yasiel Puig.  He batflipped a triple because he thought it was a home run and I thought it was the funniest thing I've ever seen.  Also Jose cannot really "get away with it".  People fucking hate him for it.  Not in Canada, but elsewhere.  Roughned Odor obviously thought it was worthy of a punch to the face in the middle of a game. And that was after convicted felon Matt Bush threw pitches at Jose's head.  I guess I'm saying contradictory things but there's a lot of nuance there.  I think it's very realistic that there could be somebody like Duarte.

12 hours ago, In2You said:

That stupid nude photo storyline was a waste of time. By the way those tame photos  for the Body Issue would in no way overshadow leaked nudes. And during the Fappening stars with more a of younger fanbase than Ginny had nudes leaked and they were just fine. Storyline just felt so dated. 

And I'm so beyond tired of flashbacks on this show. Like they cant simply tell a story in the present. Or explain people's past through their present actions.

No, some female actors were majorly upset and traumatized and even felt sexually assaulted by it, and made that vocal.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Tetraneutron]

8 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Was Mike's dad the Little League coach?  It didn't make sense for Mike to put out the bus story if so.

Yup. It's a surprise reveal. This show loves its surprise reveals. We're supposed to think that he's just a friendly coach Mike gets attached to, but learning he's Mike's dad makes the whole thing sadder (like when he keeps referring to his family and it obviously doesn't include Mike). I was thinking that even asshole dad who abandoned him would be back in his life as soon as he became famous, but the show didn't show that. Doesn't matter really.

8 hours ago, cynic said:

I know zip about baseball, so I appreciate the explanations. Even with them, I feel like I miss some stuff, like why would it matter if she's never pitched relief? How is it different? I do think I would prefer if they didn't use Ginny as the audience surrogate though.

I agree they need a new audience surrogate. There are so many characters on this show who are nothing but plot/exposition delivery devices already. Why not have Blip or Buck or Evelyn do it? The relief thing - that's an issue of some controversy. Some older-school guys thing you need a certain kind of character to do it, that you only save your relieves for certain situation, that you have a special closer who can only be used in late inning, etc. Others think all that matters is how many innings you can go before tiring (and if you're a strikeout pitcher or not) and there should be no distinction between starters/relievers/closers. The real issue, to me, is, if they needed to induce a DP, is whether or not Ginny's pitches get groundballs.

Adding to all the people saying it's insane she's never relieved, especially since we SAW her relieve, in the All-Star Game a few episodes ago. Fine, not a "real" game, but still. Any fifth starter would have spent some time relieving, especially in the minors where they move you around and try to find the best fit for you. Eyeroll.

Also, the batflip thing. Baseball needs to get over that sanctity of the game nonsense. Read up on the Gashouse Gang. Players in the good old says didn't treat baseball like church so I don't know why baseball culture insists on pretending we do.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, cynic said:

I know zip about baseball, so I appreciate the explanations. Even with them, I feel like I miss some stuff, like why would it matter if she's never pitched relief? How is it different? I do think I would prefer if they didn't use Ginny as the audience surrogate though.

A starter like Ginny starts the game, and is expected to 'go deep', meaning pitch for 5-7 innings.  You've got to have a variety of pitches to keep the batters guessing.  There's more allowance for mistakes, because there's time to make up for it, and your team can hit the opposing pitcher enough to make up for it.  You will face the same batter 2-3 times, and by the third time, the batter might figure you out.  You are expected to pitch almost 100 pitches a game.  You need a repertoire or you need to be very good at delivering your 3-4 pitches.  

A relief pitcher is a different thing.  I don't think they need such a variety of pitches.  They can come in for 1 inning, throw pure strikes or anything over 95 MPH and be unhittable.  When a starter is asked to pitch relief without practice it's often a disaster (R.A. Dickey, Ubaldo Jiminez, etc.).  Same when a relief pitcher is asked to throw 2 or more innings, it can get very sketchy because that's not what they're built for or prepare for.  It's a specific talent that is honed over time.  A relief pitcher "seems" to the fans or opposing players to be more dangerous than a starter because they're completely unknown to the batter and can seem unhittable.  (Opposing batters rarely ever see them or know their "stuff").  A starter is almost always hittable at some point, but they have enough experience and finesse to get through tough situations. 

Edited November 11, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, cynic said:

In the shallow end of the pool, all the partially clothed shots of Mike make the show very pleasant viewing for me. In a show about a female breaking barriers, I guess it's appropriate that the guy is the one that seems to get objectified all the time.

As a straight female fan of baseball, I feel like this show is my good karma.  I hope it's somewhat successful and dammit I hope it lasts.  Also as a fan of diversity on television.  This show is so fucking great at it, and it has Zack Morris to boot.  It's like my dream show, I can forgive any of its flaws.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[cynic]

Thanks for the explanations, guys! 

6 hours ago, Password said:

I loved the episode but I'm somewhat puzzled about Mike's story with his dad. Was Mike and his mother previous to his marriage? Why didn't the dad try to get Mike to stay, was his wife an issue? And Mike's mother, she used her kid to get money from his dad, when she should've gotten it anyway. I hope we get some clarity on this in future episodes.

...

I got the impression that Mike was the product of an affair and the wife didn't know about him. It was confusing though. 

Quote

Most hilarious part of this episode was Ginny asking if anyone wants to see her cutter. I died every time.

I loved that bit.

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 hours ago, Password said:

I loved the episode but I'm somewhat puzzled about Mike's story with his dad. Was Mike and his mother previous to his marriage? Why didn't the dad try to get Mike to stay, was his wife an issue? And Mike's mother, she used her kid to get money from his dad, when she should've gotten it anyway. I hope we get some clarity on this in future episodes.

My guesses based on the implications is that Mike's Bio Dad had his own family going, and Mike's Bio Mom had an extramarital affair with him that produced Mike.  But you're right it was presented so confusingly.  ( @cynic - Jinx.)  

I kept thinking the story would be that Mike's mother took him to some ballpark and signed Mike up for baseball and then just left him there.  LOL.  

Edited November 11, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

25 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

Also, the batflip thing. Baseball needs to get over that sanctity of the game nonsense. Read up on the Gashouse Gang. Players in the good old says didn't treat baseball like church so I don't know why baseball culture insists on pretending we do.

I agree it's the battle between those traditionalists or guys who think they're "old school" versus the guys who are "new school" or just young guys like Bryce Harper.  And some believe there are strong racial implications a.k.a. white players who think they own the sport versus players who come in from Dominican, Cuba, etc. and really don't get their feelings hurt over celebrations.  Celebrations are fine in hockey and basketball for some reason.  I don't know anything about football but I know you can get referee punishments for them right.

[Moose135]

It's more about knowing the right time for a celebration.  Yes, get a big hit in a key moment, and by all means celebrate.  If his HR had capped off a big comeback by the Padres, flip the bat, do cartwheels down the basepath, whatever.  But when you're down by a bunch of runs, don't go overboard.  It's like a football player doing a crazy end zone dance after a touchdown, while his team is down by 35 points.

[Tetraneutron]

Ozzie used to backflips in the field, that wasn't THAT long ago and from what I can tell (was before my time) no one cared. The 86 Mets were the 86 Mets. No one cared. Even in 2004, everyone loved the idiots on the Red Sox vs the androids on the Yankees like Jeter and Rivera (althiugh that might have been a narrative thing and it's not like Jeter wasn't the most popular player of the time). It seems to be a recent thing this, "In MY day" stuff. As though people didn't cheer Billy Martin or Tommy Lasorda losing their shit on the field back in the day.

I feel like I'm explaining this badly, but who cares about batflips, seriously.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Exactly.  I don't agree that a batflip is going "overboard".  Not at all.  It's the least amount of celebrating you could do besides nothing.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Tetraneutron said:

Ozzie used to backflips in the field, that wasn't THAT long ago and from what I can tell (was before my time) no one cared. The 86 Mets were the 86 Mets. No one cared. Even in 2004, everyone loved the idiots on the Red Sox vs the androids on the Yankees like Jeter and Rivera (althiugh that might have been a narrative thing and it's not like Jeter wasn't the most popular player of the time). It seems to be a recent thing this, "In MY day" stuff. As though people didn't cheer Billy Martin or Tommy Lasorda losing their shit on the field back in the day.

I feel like I'm explaining this badly, but who cares about batflips, seriously.

 

1 hour ago, Tetraneutron said:

Yup. It's a surprise reveal. This show loves its surprise reveals. We're supposed to think that he's just a friendly coach Mike gets attached to, but learning he's Mike's dad makes the whole thing sadder (like when he keeps referring to his family and it obviously doesn't include Mike). I was thinking that even asshole dad who abandoned him would be back in his life as soon as he became famous, but the show didn't show that. Doesn't matter really.

I agree they need a new audience surrogate. There are so many characters on this show who are nothing but plot/exposition delivery devices already. Why not have Blip or Buck or Evelyn do it? The relief thing - that's an issue of some controversy. Some older-school guys thing you need a certain kind of character to do it, that you only save your relieves for certain situation, that you have a special closer who can only be used in late inning, etc. Others think all that matters is how many innings you can go before tiring (and if you're a strikeout pitcher or not) and there should be no distinction between starters/relievers/closers. The real issue, to me, is, if they needed to induce a DP, is whether or not Ginny's pitches get groundballs.

Adding to all the people saying it's insane she's never relieved, especially since we SAW her relieve, in the All-Star Game a few episodes ago. Fine, not a "real" game, but still. Any fifth starter would have spent some time relieving, especially in the minors where they move you around and try to find the best fit for you. Eyeroll.

Also, the batflip thing. Baseball needs to get over that sanctity of the game nonsense. Read up on the Gashouse Gang. Players in the good old says didn't treat baseball like church so I don't know why baseball culture insists on pretending we do.

When the reveal came I thought with This Is Us on NBC these reveals must be the thing for 2016 TV

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

It's more about knowing the right time for a celebration.  Yes, get a big hit in a key moment, and by all means celebrate.  If his HR had capped off a big comeback by the Padres, flip the bat, do cartwheels down the basepath, whatever.  But when you're down by a bunch of runs, don't go overboard.  It's like a football player doing a crazy end zone dance after a touchdown, while his team is down by 35 points.

The tradition and what we want our representatives, sports or otherwise to be is the issue. A rookie on his first at bat along with the game a seasonal situation is the major objection

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

When the reveal came I thought with This Is Us on NBC these reveals must be the thing for 2016 TV

Same creator,  I think.  Dan Fogelman.

[Rae Spellman]

11 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

How early, even in an SF summer, do you have to start a game to finish 13 innings in broad daylight?

Not that early. Game 5 of the 2016 NLDS between the Cubs and Giants was a 13 inning game that lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes. At certain points in the summer, sunset is around 8:30 p. So, a summer game in SF could start at 3 or 4 p and still finish in broad daylight. Of course games that end in broad daylight in SF tend to start around 12 or 1p. 

[mtlchick]

I mentally tuned out for a good chunk of it so the Pipp part is still lost on me (I'll Wiki it) but I am happy that Ginny's teammates rallied around her and stripped down in support (and made me VERY happy at the result.  Ahem.)  I did have to laugh that Oscar said that they will do another talk about Ginny's bobble head. 

 

Quote

I loved Mike jumping in and "translating" Duarte's remarks for the reporters. 

That was outstanding.  Enough for Mike to be a team player AND showing Duarte who's in charge right now.

[In2You]

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

No, some female actors were majorly upset and traumatized and even felt sexually assaulted by it, and made that vocal.

I don't remember any of them throwing around the words traumatized or sexual assualt. Yes some were embarassed and upset about  their privacy being invaded which they made known but a couple of weeks later everyone else had something new to talk about and it didn't break anyone's career and everyone involved moved on like it never happened. 

[miracole]

Quote

I guess it's the world we live in, but when the coach took such interest in young Mike so quickly, I thought we were going to discover that the coach had molested him.  Glad they didn't go there!

I totally thought that was where they were going to go.  I was like nooooo....So I'm glad it just turned out be that his Dad abandoned him and loved his other children more...

Hate that they had Ginny have a nude photo scandal. Glad it seemed minor and I  hope it's over with.

Mark Consuelos was really good this episode. 

Mike with the new catcher was really good. Right amount of side eye along with camaraderie.

Ginny being so impressed with her new cutter and no one else caring was funny.  I enjoyed her hanging out with her manager. 

[gesundheit]

  14 hours ago, cynic said:

In the shallow end of the pool, all the partially clothed shots of Mike make the show very pleasant viewing for me. In a show about a female breaking barriers, I guess it's appropriate that the guy is the one that seems to get objectified all the time.

As a straight female fan of baseball, I feel like this show is my good karma.  I hope it's somewhat successful and dammit I hope it lasts.  Also as a fan of diversity on television.  This show is so fucking great at it, and it has Zack Morris to boot.  It's like my dream show, I can forgive any of its flaws.

I really hope it hangs on, it's such a delightful piece of escapism (and as a female baseball fan, too, extra fun), but the outlook is pretty dismal.

[DAngelus]

7 hours ago, Tetraneutron said:

The Wally Pipp thing was obnoxious (and a myth) but they have to exposit for the non-baseball audience and I can't think of a better way to do it.

But, as noted, it's ridiculous for them to do it at Ginny's expense.  She's been a pro ballplayer for five years already; she was Blip's teammate in the minors, you don't think she heard somebody make a joke about Pipp before?

What they should have done is just have Ginny give the exposition as a rebuttal to Blip's joke:  "He's not getting Wally Pipped; we're in a pennant race, not buried like the Yankees were when they started playing Lou Gehrig and a whole other bunch of kids back in 1925.  And Duarte sure isn't going to play 2130 consecutive games, because he's a catcher and catchers have to take days off, you know that. Don't be mean."  Something like that.

Fun facts to know and tell:  as the article mentions, Gehrig's streak actually started the day before he replaced Pipp, when he pinch-hit for Yankees shortstop Pee Wee Wanninger.  Wanninger was playing short because he had taken over for Everett "Deacon" Scott as part of the same "youth movement" the Yankees had gone to once they had dropped out the race, breaking Scott's own 1307-game consecutive streak, which is the pre-Gehrig record referenced in the article. (Scott's streak is still the 3rd-longest ever, behind Gehrig and Cal Ripken.) So Gehrig hitting for Wanninger was the man who would set the new record batting for the man who had replaced the man who held the old record.  

(Scott, btw, would be claimed on waivers by the defending world champion Washington Senators before the month was over.  He wouldn't play too much there, as the Senators' shortstop, ex-Yankee Roger Peckinpaugh [for whom Scott had been traded in 1921], was on his way to winning the AL MVP award…and then committing eight errors as Washington lost the World Series to Pittsburgh.)

And Pipp's career wasn't quite over yet, either.  The Yankees sold him to Cincinnati over the winter, and with the 1926 Reds, Pipp drove in a team-high 99 runs, and Cincy came within two games of winning the NL pennant and facing the Yankees in the World Series.  Pipp even got some MVP votes.  (He went into decline after that, but he was 34 years old. The Yankees were right, it was time to revamp that infield.)

As for Ginny sulking about having to miss a start, she's lucky the Padres didn't send her back to El Paso to get some work while she wasn't going to be needed on the big club.  The team has minor-league options for her; if she was on the 40-man roster during Spring Training (apparently not, as she didn't know anybody on the team except Blip when she joined), she would have already been optioned back to El Paso to start the season, and it wouldn't cost them anything to shuttle her back there now.  (If she had been directly purchased from the Chihuahuas when she was called up, then sending her back would use up an option for the Padres, but they would still have two more.)

The photo scandal plot was silly and the resolution is ridiculous.  Shaded dorsal poses in ESPN: the Magazine (isn't ESPN owned by ABC?  Weird cross-promotion, FOX) aren't going to preempt the interest in full-frontal shots in bright light available online, no matter what smug condescending words the show puts in the talking heads' mouths to tell us that's all the nudity people should be interested in.  At the very least, people are going to want to see a nipple.  More likely, Ginny's "solution" just sent more people to check out the nudes.

A much more realistic solution would be for Oscar to have MLB buy the damn pictures from the website.  Never mind threatening legal action, blah blah blah, just let the world know that MLB will pay more to keep Ginny under wraps than some site can pay to publish them. 

[DAngelus]

6 hours ago, Tetraneutron said:

I feel like I'm explaining this badly, but who cares about batflips, seriously.

Well, Rougned Odor, for one, obviously.

Suck fist, Joey Bats!  Can't wait for you to come back to a US-based team and see your stats collapse once you can't get those Quality Canadian Steroids any more.  

(Bautista, who had hit a total of 46 home runs in 5 years as an Oriole, Devil Ray, Royal and Pirate [2004-2008] and who managed all of 13 in his first year with Toronto, suddenly hit 54 bombs in 2010, at the age of 29, when most players' skills have started to decline.  Nah, not suspicious at all.  Perhaps 'roids are covered under Medicare up north, eh?)

[Jediknight]

13 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

I am so jazzed after watching this ep.

The first thing is how the team came together to "defend" Ginny - to uphold her honor.  It's what guys do.  Not a lot of talk.  Their teammate needed help and she was getting screwed over.  It didn't hurt that this was going to be an ESPN deal with a ton of great publicity, either.  But, again...the importance of the way she came to them and made everything about the game - the team...  The direct contrast of Livan was no subplot, imo.  It was the main arc.  Really, really, smart storytelling.

Yeah, some may have had a problem with Ginny getting there, but she had Blip on her side which helped and more importantly she didn't disrespect anybody most importantly Mike.  That's why the team would rally around her, they may not like the coverage she gets, but they've got her back.  Livan, on the other hand disrespected the pitchers by not working with them, he disrespected the rest of the team by not showing up for practice, and his treatment of Mike was a slap in the face to Mike.  Mike's the leader, and everybody looks to him and respects him, he repays them by respecting them.  That more than the bat flip would cause the team to not have Livan's back.

I hate the unwritten rules of baseball.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, the best revenge is winning.

[ProudMary]

16 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

How early, even in an SF summer, do you have to start a game to finish 13 innings in broad daylight?

Assuming we're talking late July as it's been a few weeks since the All-Star Game, sunset in SF is around 8:30 p.m. so the 13th inning of a day game that started at 1:00 p.m. would absolutely still be in broad daylight.  It's probably about 5:30-6:00.

9 hours ago, GirlvsTV said:

I think the show has been clear that Ginny's stardom has reached far beyond just the baseball mainstream. Even if people didn't keep up with baseball they would have seen her all over the news, repeatedly. Not to mention the big Nike campaign that no doubt would've resulted in her ads being all over mainstream magazines and other print media. Her place as a role model for young girls has far surpassed that of a Nickolodeon star. 

Absolutely.  She's only been in the majors a few months and she's already got her own bobblehead!

4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Same creator,  I think.  Dan Fogelman.

Cool.  I didn't know this.  Glad you mentioned it.

3 hours ago, miracole said:

Mark Consuelos was really good this episode. 

Mike with the new catcher was really good. Right amount of side eye along with camaraderie. 

Totally agree on Mark Consuelos being good this episode.  I also think Oscar and Amelia have better chemistry than Mike and Amelia.  

The Mike/Livan scenes were good throughout the episode.  I especially liked the meeting on the mound scene when Ginny looks to Mike for the game plan and he, looking at Livan, says to her, "He's your catcher.  Trust him." 

58 minutes ago, DAngelus said:

As for Ginny sulking about having to miss a start, she's lucky the Padres didn't send her back to El Paso to get some work while she wasn't going to be needed on the big club.  The team has minor-league options for her; if she was on the 40-man roster during Spring Training (apparently not, as she didn't know anybody on the team except Blip when she joined), she would have already been optioned back to El Paso to start the season, and it wouldn't cost them anything to shuttle her back there now.  (If she had been directly purchased from the Chihuahuas when she was called up, then sending her back would use up an option for the Padres, but they would still have two more.)

Agreed.  This was weird to me also.  She's a rookie.  Rookies, especially #5 starters, miss starts which any professional baseball player would know.  I'm surprised they didn't send her down to the minors to make a start on her regular day anyway.  And, if the big club thought they might use her in relief--coupled with the idea that the show seems to like to "teach" viewers about baseball--they should have somehow worked in that she was probably pitching on her throw day.

Lastly, what bothered me about Ginny's relief appearance was that the Padres had taken the lead in the top of the 13th.  Assuming that their closer had already been used, why wouldn't Skip bring her in to start the bottom of the 13th as a clean inning rather than bring her into a bases loaded, one out situation?  I highly doubt they'd do that IRL.  Dramatic effect, I guess but a bit of an eye roll from me on that one.

[Aliconehead]

Got to see the Padres locker room last weekend and they are obviously using it as the set.  Asked a couple of Padres employees about Pitch and the filming and she said they are there a lot, not last weekend since Petco had been turned into a golf course 

[rippleintime17]

As a Giants fan, loved that this episode featured the real Giants broadcasters, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow! Wasn't expecting that even knowing that this episode was going to take place in SF, what a fun surprise. 

Really liked this episode. I am loving that the team has come around to support Ginny and this week was such a great example. It also seems like they are starting to slooowly work in other players. Sonny, the backup catcher who was always dropping quips with Tommy before he was traded, had a bit of a bigger role in this episode (aside from getting hurt and being the reason Duarte was called up). Duarte's attitude reminded me a bit of what went on with Yasiel Puig when he was still new to MLB. I like that Oscar can relate to what he's going through but is still laying it out for him. I also like that part of Mike's journey here is being pushed away from catching a bit and going to first. My favorite catcher isn't as old as Mike but there's been talk about when he's going to move to first or even play first more for years already just because it might help increase his bat, it'll rest his legs, etc. 

I also like the flashbacks, as they're a good way to learn about the players. It's nice seeing that the focus doesn't need to be mostly on Ginny for the show to work, as I think that'll be how they continue to keep things fresh if the show gets to stay around.

[Aliconehead]

1 hour ago, rippleintime17 said:

I also like that part of Mike's journey here is being pushed away from catching a bit and going to first. My favorite catcher isn't as old as Mike but there's been talk about when he's going to move to first or even play first more for years already just because it might help increase his bat, it'll rest his legs, etc. 

Its a common path for good hitters that are losing their arms or knees in the National league. One of My mothers favorite stories, I was nine sitting in the stands before a Padres/phillies game reading a book and they announced Mike Schmidt was playing first, I asked her why he was playing first, he was a third baseman. She never thought I paid attention and it threw her for a loop. 

[possibilities]

On 11/11/2016 at 1:44 AM, cynic said:

I would prefer if they didn't use Ginny as the audience surrogate though.

Yeah, I agree. It makes her look stupid. They should use Amelia for that stuff. It's well-established that she doesn't know baseball so much as marketing and PR in a more general way. I know Amelia's not always around, but they should work it out because Ginny needs to not look clueless.

Based on how the guys were acting, including Blip joking about his reputation being ruined, I think we are meant to infer that the photos were not as tame as the show let us see. They can't show us full frontals on network TV.

On the other hand, I think we were also supposed to think it was cute and funny that Mike was looking at Ginny disrobe, but I found it obnoxious. I'm not even squeamish about nudity, and I think a big deal being made about teammates changing discreetly is a bit ridiculous. But sneaking a look at someone who doesn't know, or in any situation that's supposed to be considered private, to me is just not funny or cute. Showing the solidarity and ease between them is something I would support. But that wasn't the way to do it, if they want me to buy in.

Edited November 12, 2016 by possibilities

[wendyg]

I'm increasingly less interested in this show and will probably abandon it soon. But in the meantime...I don't understand why they don't give up on having the characters explain stuff they already know to each other and simply introduce a rookie announcer who can go around asking questions and being told what's going on because it's somebody's nephew or niece being given a chance to learn. Or something like that.

btw, when did baseball start having 13 innings? I thought it was nine.

Edited November 12, 2016 by wendyg

[attica]

My greatest objection to the episode is how photoshoppy all the team nude shots were. I'm assuming MPG had body-double approval, because his new body was quite, quite good.

I'm also not liking Ginny's wind-up (and no she would not do a full windup with bases loaded, show.).

[romantic idiot]

Maybe because they are aware that they have members of the audience who only know if a play is good or bad by the reaction of the characters?

[Raja]

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

I'm increasingly less interested in this show and will probably abandon it soon. But in the meantime...I don't understand why they don't give up on having the characters explain stuff they already know to each other and simply introduce a rookie announcer who can go around asking questions and being told what's going on because it's somebody's nephew or niece being given a chance to learn. Or something like that.

btw, when did baseball start having 13 innings? I thought it was nine.

The game was tied and went into the 13th inning. Being the second extra innings game in a row the pitching staff was used up. Sort of like game 7 of the most recent World Series where the closer was used up and gave up a hit and tied the game  so second tier relief pitching was all that was left

[angora]

In this case, I give a little leeway on Ginny being upset about missing her start.  I feel like, here, it's not about what she does or doesn't know about baseball, it's about what's been going on in her personal life.  With the photos about to break, she just wants to be busy doing something and not have to think about it for a few hours.  And with all the higher-ups knowing about her breakdown last week, she's probably feeling on edge that they - despite their reassurances to the contrary - are doubting the "little girl's" ability to hack it in the majors.  So, even if, intellectually, she KNOWS that it's just a tactical thing and has nothing to do with her, her mind still goes right to "they don't think I can do this," "this is about the video," and "shit - how am I supposed to get out of my head NOW?"  Under normal circumstances, she might have been disappointed to skip her start, but I don't think she'd have been WORRIED.

[cynic]

3 hours ago, attica said:

My greatest objection to the episode is how photoshoppy all the team nude shots were. I'm assuming MPG had body-double approval, because his new body was quite, quite good.

...

 

Was that a body double? I had just assumed that it was photoshopped to hell. If it's a double, that would be another reason why it looked so weird and unnatural. The pose was awkward and it seemed like his head was popped on there. I also didn't like how stylized the photos were and how it seemed like every little imperfection was smoothed away. We've had plenty of peaks at MPG's body on this show. It's not like he isn't hot on his own and he doesn't seem particularly shy. Considering the show made a point to contrast him with a younger hardbody in this very episode, it was strange that they chose to make the photo look like that.

[rippleintime17]

3 hours ago, attica said:

My greatest objection to the episode is how photoshoppy all the team nude shots were. I'm assuming MPG had body-double approval, because his new body was quite, quite good.

I'm also not liking Ginny's wind-up (and no she would not do a full windup with bases loaded, show.).

They looked pretty similar to some of the real ESPN Body Issue shots, though (like Prince Fielder's: http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/prince-fielders-naked-espn-cover-is-sexy-as-hell-1603146649 or Jake Arrieta's: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chicagoinc/ct-chicago-inc-arrieta-body-issue-spt-0630-20160701-story.html). They were just a little darker, probably partially because of television. And I don't know, MPG looked pretty muscular in the earlier scene when he's in the clubhouse and he wasn't posing then. I would imagine he probably looks alright when he's flexing. 

And yeah, you pitch out of the stretch with runners on! 

There are SOME things that GInny should know that she doesn't for exposition but I don't think the Wally Pipp thing is a huge one. Most everyone knows about Lou Gehrig but that doesn't mean everyone has to know the name of the guy he played for.