S01.E08: Unstoppable Forces & Immovable Objects

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

A rain delay at Petco Park causes the team to hold Kangaroo Court in the clubhouse in order to pass the time. Meanwhile, per Oscar's suggestion, Mike mulls over the option of trading to a new team, and an unexpected visit from Ginny's brother, Will (guest star BJ Britt), causes friction with Amelia.

[SimoneS]

Oh, Mike. Is he leaving because of his feelings for Ginny or because he really wants to go to a winning team? Blip figured it out.

So Will is one of those hanger on posse types. Too bad, but realistic.

E is annoying as the vice president. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by SimoneS

[marina to]

Happy to see Will back and loved seeing him interacting so well with Evelyn. 

I'm really coming around to Oscar. He had to handle some difficult political footballs in this ep and I enjoyed watching his balancing act. And he's seeing Al's daughter?

And Mike isn't going anywhere. Good for him to face what's coming up for him though. Thanks Blip for the assist.

[mtlchick]

I didn't recognize Sarah Shahi at all....guess it was the lack of monotone and Root (RIP Person of Interest!) 

So Mike is willing to get traded for what? Staying away from Ginny? Uh...huh...nope. Though it became obvious of his interest when he mentioned the Katy Perry off key singing.  Blip's faces throughout were great.

So I guess the good news is Ginny and Will get along? Too bad that's becoming a slippery slope between them.  

[marina to]

Wow, I didn't recognize Sarah Shahi either! According to IMDB, she's in the next ep as well.

[memememe76]

Can someone help me out? I thought the trade deadline passed. So how can Mike be traded?

[zibnchy]

He can be traded if he clears waivers (and drops his NT clause). It's likely more complicated than that but that's basically it. I wish there was more baseball in this show and less Amelia.

[Emily Thrace]

Yeah Mikes got a thing for Ginny and now Blip knows. Although the way Mike was reacting to her with the new catcher he definitely came off as jealous. I still don't think Mike is really going to act on it. He's not stupid and I can see him and Ginny deciding baseball matter more. At least for this season. 

All the trade talk with Mike is kinda annoying cuz you know no way in hell is Mark-Paul Gosselar is going anywhere. With Blip I could see the show going there at least.

Ginny's shady brother is an interesting wrinkle. The guys a good salesmen, I just hope he doesn't suck Evelyn in to far.

[Purple Hyatt]

Mike wants to go to the Cubs?  They already have 3 catchers. smh

[Jediknight]

Oscar has kicked ass since the premiere.  Charlie on the other hand, is still a dumbass.

I like Amelia looking out for Ginny, and I have some hope that Evelyn is only pretending to be interested in Will's business so as to warn Ginny.  When he first started talking about the sports bar, Evelyn had a look on her face that she knew this was no good.

Blip not knowing what Ginny has been humming was hilarious.

51 minutes ago, Purple Hyatt said:

Mike wants to go to the Cubs?  They already have 3 catchers. smh

And they've got Schwarber who can catch.  So yeah, the Cubbies wouldn't trade for a Catcher when they've got Montero, Contreras, and Ross (I know 2016 was his last year, but that's when the show is taking place), and Schwarber when he's healthy.  Perhaps they're going to try to say he might be 1st base there, just ignoring they've already got a decent one.

[Tetraneutron]

That's not even slightly as ridiculous as the show having the VP be a nerdy sabermetrics nerd who lives in his mom's basement and is a bad at baseball because he's never played the game (and apparently has no people skills). Haha, he likes math! What a loser! I mean, honestly. We're still doing this? Theo Epstein JUST won the Cubs the series. (Yes, I know this was filmed before, but still). It's 2016. Most teams have analysts on staff. It's not a bunch of outsiders on fangraphs anymore, if it ever was.

And who cares if the VP can hit a baseball? Why should he? That's not his job. Even if you leave the completely false and reductive new-school Moneyball guys vs old-school trust-your-gut guys narrative out of this, when have VPs and owners ever known how to hit a baseball? Steinbrenner didn't. Wrigley didn't. Veeck didn't. Ed Barrow didn't. Branch Rickey spent two years as a backup catcher for shitty teams and he wasn't any good. Executives haven't played pro ball since basically Connie Mack. Not only does it not matter if Entourage guy can hit a ball, I don't even buy he'd be insecure about it. 

As for the rest, blah on the Lawson-Ginny romance, Blip and Evelyn are still well-groomed exposition devices, the thing with the brother could be interesting even if it is a total cliche and I'm glad they're giving Livan a personality (and not making him an asshole just so Lawson looks good by comparison).

Edited November 18, 2016 by Tetraneutron

[Maximum Taco]

1 hour ago, memememe76 said:

Can someone help me out? I thought the trade deadline passed. So how can Mike be traded?

The MLB has 2 deadlines, and neither of them actually prevent trades.

July 31st is the non waiver trade deadline. Trades completed before this deadline can be done without putting the player on waivers. This makes trades much easier to complete.

Aug 31st is the waiver trade deadline. This is the deadline to acquire players to participate in a potential post season run. 

Trades can still be completed after the waiver trade deadline too, but any player acquired is ineligible for the postseason, he however may play in all regular season games. 

[Snarkette]

Okay, I ship it. At least we'll end with a kiss.

(I don't like the overly clever 9 innings of shows, without them going overtime. I'm guessing they won't be picked up.)

[biakbiak]

How did Amelia not respond with "I believe I own whatever $20k in your new restaurant amounts to!"?

[SimoneS]

While I understand Amelia wanting to protect Ginny, she cannot lie to her about her brother. Ginny's reaction to Will's sports bar scheme indicates that she knows her brother.  She will have to make the decision about when to cut him off.

There are only two more episodes so I hope they end on a good note. 

[Primetimer]

A rain-delay kangaroo court brings up a lot of feelings. Is the show guilty of first-degree unrequited-love clichés?

View the full article

[Tetraneutron]

49 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

While I understand Amelia wanting to protect Ginny, she cannot lie to her about her brother. Ginny's reaction to Will's sports bar scheme indicates that she knows her brother.  She will have to make the decision about when to cut him off.

There are only two more episodes so I hope they end on a good note. 

Especially since we JUST saw this plot and it ended badly. Amelia lied to Ginny to protect her about dating Lawson, Ginny finds out anyway, and it was worse than if she'd actually just told her instead of behaving like a character on a bad TV show. It's dumb from a character angle AND it kills the drama by pushing the issues away until Ginny finds out, and it makes the issue about the lying agent rather than the, you know, actual conflict about family member with his hand out.

Besides, if Amelia is supposed to be this superagent genius, wouldn't she have tied up Ginny's money and put Will on an allowance or something? You know, actually solve the problem instead of keep dropping (her own?) money on Will and hope it goes away. Come to think of it, Amelia's kind of bad at her job, isn't she? She alienates management and couldn't keep the naked photos off the internet and had no clue Ginny was so unstable in the endorsement episode.

Still most annoyed by the dumping on sabermetrics, though. I want someone to explain WHY statistical analysis is so horrible, if they're going to use this thing that was hackneyed when Moneball (the book) came out.

[Maximum Taco]

58 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

Besides, if Amelia is supposed to be this superagent genius, wouldn't she have tied up Ginny's money and put Will on an allowance or something? You know, actually solve the problem instead of keep dropping (her own?) money on Will and hope it goes away.

Ginny honestly probably didn't have a ton of money before. When she was in AAA or AA she was probably making just enough to get by. And remember Amelia was very careful about not letting her sign any long term endorsements when she was in the minors with the fear that she'd be held to those deals in the majors. 

Even now she's just a rookie, who's played under a season making the league minimum. The majority of the money she has now probably is from that endorsement deal with Nike. And she just signed that deal very recently. 

It makes sense that Amelia has been floating Ginny (and her brother) with her own money in hopes of a big pay day (like the Nike deal or a multi million contract when she hits free agency), it also makes sense that now is the time the brother would come to see her with his hand out, her new endorsement deal with Nike means she has a LOT of money to potentially help him. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Maximum Taco

[Tetraneutron]

I know, I understand that. My point was, Amelia is supposed to be this great agent. She shouldn't have been surprised or even that annoyed by Will coming in trying to sponge off her. She should have expected it and dealt with it, in a way that doesn't involve waiting until he's beaten up and then doing everything with secret and shady deals. While Ginny wouldn't have an ACTUAL big payday until the Nike endorsement, all the media attention and fame would have meant that greedy family members and hangers-on would still be exploiting Ginny before she actually got rich. It's a missed opportunity to show Amelia actually being good at her job.

[cali1981]

It was a very good episode with a lot things happening at once.  If the there was any doubt about Mike's feelings for Ginny, the tease for the next episode sure seemed to clinch the deal and, surprise (or maybe not so much), Ginny may feel the same way about Mike.  Of course those two crazy kids may end up pulling back from that kiss but if they don't...hmm.

Edited November 18, 2016 by cali1981

[caseylane]

Am I the only one that thinks Mike was clueless about how he felt about Ginny until he watched her stretch? He's been so insistent about getting his wife back that I don't think it registered until that point. Blip, tamed married man that he is, saw the signs and was looking at Mike like he was a dumbass. 

Only me then. 

I'm also going to admit to a sinfully lack of knowledge. I had no flippin' clue that was PMK. Color me amazed and impressed. 

[piequinn35]

IMO, Mike is fighting his feelings for Ginny, and when he saw her and the other catcher like besties, he got jealous and his crankiness was funny.

[Dowel Jones]

I lost all respect for Oscar, until it was shown that his squeeze is Al's daughter instead of someone's wife.  Although, it's still going to lead to fireworks.

I'm with you, Blip.  That was Katy Perry? 

I think that the entire setup of Amelia vs. Will vs. Ginny is to force a showdown, emotional or otherwise, between Ginny and Amelia over her role as manager and agent.  How it ends up is anyone's guess.

Mike, how can you bet against rain when the sky is 80% clouds?  It does rain in San Diego.

I can see how Will drifted off the track a bit, after a childhood like that.  Not that he's a leech by nature, but he's apparently always taken the easy path.

[tennisgurl]

Ginny...stick to baseball. Your singing is clearly not going to be a possible fall back career. 

So we finally get to see the Ginny and Will dynamic in the current time line, and while its a good relationship, they clearly have some issues. Will, it seems like, makes some bad choices and is always trying to get his life on track, but he seems to struggle. And Ginny will always let him get away with stuff, even if the show is kind of implying that, while Will has good intentions, he might be looking for a lot of "get rich quick" schemes. I can imagine she feels guilty with how he was treated by her dad during her childhood, so she cuts him a whole lot of slack. 

Oh Mike. He might as well pull of his notebook filled with "Mr. Mike Baker" all over it. It looks like he wants to leave both because of Ginny and his confusion about his feelings towards her, and his feelings of being replaced on his team. I dont think its all Ginny, any more than I think Mike is really going to leave. 

Oscar really is good at handling sticky situations. I was trying to figure out what the deal was with Root from POI, and, of course, its Als daughter. Awkward. 

[topanga]

4 hours ago, Tetraneutron said:

I know, I understand that. My point was, Amelia is supposed to be this great agent. She shouldn't have been surprised or even that annoyed by Will coming in trying to sponge off her. She should have expected it and dealt with it, in a way that doesn't involve waiting until he's beaten up and then doing everything with secret and shady deals. While Ginny wouldn't have an ACTUAL big payday until the Nike endorsement, all the media attention and fame would have meant that greedy family members and hangers-on would still be exploiting Ginny before she actually got rich. It's a missed opportunity to show Amelia actually being good at her job.

Yeah, I'm surprised that Will is the only family member or friend who has approached Ginny with his hand out. When Will said that Amelia can't be Ginny's agent and business manager, I wondered if that was true. Is it? And does Ginny need a business manager now that she's going to start making money and managing endorsement deals?

58 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

I can see how Will drifted off the track a bit, after a childhood like that.  Not that he's a leech by nature, but he's apparently always taken the easy path

But when he was Ginny's manager, he was brokering deals with local car dealerships for Ginny. I don't know many minor league players with endorsement deals. He didn't seem like the shady guy he is now. So when did he start getting money from loan sharks and accumulating tons of debt? 

But I still feel for Will. He was definitely the forgotten child of the Baker family. Even Ginny only remembers him on one flashback. It's like he didn't exist. 

 

6 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

A rain-delay kangaroo court brings up a lot of feelings. Is the show guilty of first-degree unrequited-love clichés?

I liked the court scenes. MPG and Kylie did a great job creating dramatic tension when Ginny challenged Mike's ruling. And later when he called her a duckling and told her to find another duck to follow around, I actually gasped. Great work from MPG. 

And the player who lied about seeing the call because Ginny looked at him? Hilarious. 

But it's not obvious to me that Ginny and Mike have feelings for each each other beyond friendship and a mentor-mentee relationship. Despite next week's preview, Mike really convinced me that he still loves his ex-wife. I refuse to believe that he "thinks" he still loves his ex-wife but all of these butterflies in his stomach are really for Ginny. Mike is a grown man. I trust him to know his feelings. 

Ginny never displayed any romantic inklings towards anyone. Her mind has been on baseball and nothing else. Come on, we never even heard a throwaway line like her telling Blip she didn't know there were so many fine men on the Padres. Because some of those guys in the club house are hella fine. 

I'm looking forward to the Dec. 1 ep. I can't believe it'll be the season finale. Hopefully not the series finale. I really love this show. *sniff*

[Ms Blue Jay]

I feel like it was really obvious that they had Ginny sing Katy Perry's "Firework" off-key so that they wouldn't have to pay for the rights to the song, which is so so stupid.

Also, a rain delay, as a plot?  Rain?  For a plot?  This just seemed like a lame way to avoid showing real baseball stuff.

Is the show implying that Mike wantED to stay in San Diego because of Ginny?  And then he realized Ginny would be too much of a distraction, I guess.

No offense but why are people discussing the next episode from now, and previews for it?  Definite pet peeve of mine; I don't want to know a week beforehand.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Moose135]

32 minutes ago, topanga said:

I'm looking forward to the Dec. 1 ep. I can't believe it'll be the season finale. Hopefully not the series finale. I really love this show. *sniff*

It's not the season finale - it's the next episode (they're skipping next week for Thanksgiving) but there are two episodes left, December 1 and December 8.  I was surprised by that though, I didn't realize they were only doing 10 episodes.

[piequinn35]

Sorry, whose that guy with the GM? wiki said interim president of operations, what's that? middle man between owner and GM?

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Yes, basically.

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, Moose135 said:

It's not the season finale - it's the next episode (they're skipping next week for Thanksgiving) but there are two episodes left, December 1 and December 8.  I was surprised by that though, I didn't realize they were only doing 10 episodes.

This was originally supposed to be a mid-season show premiering in January.  They moved it up o Fall b/c of good word of mouth so i think 10 was always supposed to be the ep count.

I hated Livan last week, but I have to admit I was kinda groovin' on him this week.  Maybe Ginny's mojo is rubbing off on him or their battle of the dimples or something, because the two of them were kinda fun together:

"Relax, Mami, I got you."

"You better...Papi."

And their groupie comparisons.

I was feeling really bad for Mike.  So far the story has been really about Ginny's youth and breaking barriers and the starry-eyed welcome all that brings, but Mike's story is the other side of the coin.  The veteran who is seeing the downside of his career and the shifty eyed manipulations that brings as management tries to ease him out.  Obviously Mike isn't going anywhere so i am curious as how this is going to play out.

In the Amelia v. Will thing,  I am team Amelia all the way.  Ginny's brother is all kinds of shady. I am glad to see that Ginny is quite so credulous about her brother.

Meanwhile I am love in Evelyn more and more.  I love how super sharp she is.

And finally, the character of Russell the grounds keeper guy was everything for me.  I love how he was not feeling little front office pissant and how he used his size to intimidate.  I giggled through that scene.

[rippleintime17]

Well, the end of this episode made me yell "MICHAEL!!!" So, this is officially really like watching actual baseball for me, haha.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

Mike really convinced me that he still loves his ex-wife. I refuse to believe that he "thinks" he still loves his ex-wife but all of these butterflies in his stomach are really for Ginny.

I don't think these things have to be completely mutually exclusive. I do think that Mike still has feelings for his ex and misses his marriage.  Their scene in the second episode is still one of the most authentic in the series for me.  But he can be drawn to the comforts and nostalgia of a past relationship and intrigued by a new close relationship.  I feel like he's making a definite choice to focus on his ex because, as impossible as it might be right now, it's not a relationship that would upset both his professional and person life.

 

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Is the show implying that Mike wantED to stay in San Diego because of Ginny?  And then he realized Ginny would be too much of a distraction, I guess.

I think he's feeling trapped.  I think he sees himself as a Padre because that's where he spent all of his career.  He wants to stay as a Padre, win as a Padre, be a Padre's catcher.  But he's getting to the end of his career and being the Padre's catcher isn't guaranteed. Instead of sailing towards the playoffs they're struggling to get in.  And Ginny likely represents both a reason why he'd want to stay and a reason why it's best if he goes.

4 hours ago, topanga said:

He didn't seem like the shady guy he is now. So when did he start getting money from loan sharks and accumulating tons of debt? 

I agree.  That isn't the vibe I got during his original appearance.  I actually think it'd be more interesting to build this slowly.  To have it be a well-intentioned great idea and not following previous failures. 

I guessed that Sarah Shahi's character was Al's daughter.  I hope she gets more to do.  And I'm impressed with how they're using Oscar.  They've been giving him some interesting managerial challenges the past few weeks.

[Rae Spellman]

A lot happened during that rain out. In a real game, wouldn't they have put another pitcher in?

[Dowel Jones]

It was less than 4 1/2 innings.  She might not have had that much of a workout.

[topanga]

5 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

No offense but why are people discussing the next episode from now, and previews for it?  Definite pet peeve of mine; I don't want to know a week beforehand.

I'm one of the people who discussed the preview. My apologies! I noticed this topic doesn't have a spoiler/speculation thread. I know it's kinda late, but should we create one?

 

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

And Ginny likely represents both a reason why he'd want to stay and a reason why it's best if he goes.

Please explain: why would Ginny be a reason why Mike would need or want to leave?

 

38 minutes ago, RaeSpellman said:

A lot happened during that rain out. In a real game, wouldn't they have put another pitcher in?

Didn't the manager say that he was giving the rain 45 minutes to stop, and after that he would pull Ginny? 

Edited November 19, 2016 by topanga

[Irlandesa]

22 minutes ago, topanga said:

Please explain: why would Ginny be a reason why Mike would need or want to leave?

Oh as someone else mentioned above, that whatever is going on with them is a distraction to him. But also as said above, it's just one thing that could factor into his decision. 

[Moose135]

25 minutes ago, topanga said:

Didn't the manager say that he was giving the rain 45 minutes to stop, and after that he would pull Ginny?

Yes, if it's a short rain delay, they will often leave the pitcher in (especially a starter) but if it's a lengthy delay, they will pull him/her.  It's mostly about keeping warm and loose to avoid injury.

[ahisma]

Damn it! I love BJ Britt, but Will is all kinds of wheeler dealer with more dreams than sense. Putting Ginny on the spot like that was not cool, and I'm glad she called him out on it. 

Also damn it! I really love the Mike/Ginny mentor and friendship story, and that's what I see between them. But the storyline is obviously pushing in the romance direction. Mike is completely incapable of keeping a secret from Blip, and Blip knows. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I hated and loathed this ep with the fire of dozens of bad losses to the Yankees. 

Again with Ginny playing ignorant.  She would have been on the receiving end of Kangaroo Court several times by now.  She would also understand in her bones the need to go along with whatever "justice" is meted out - WITHOUT QUESTIONING.  Time honored.  A true baseball ritual.  Sacrosanct in all locker rooms.  It's a great way to release building pressure and to bond together as a unit.  And Ginny sassed back?!

Henry Winkler was surely in attendance.

Then she challenged him in the 1 on 1 she forced, which again would never, ever have happened (he would have sent her away with physical force if necessary) as legit angry as he was at her.  Her teammates would have locked her path.  But no, and she then challenges him to "lead"???!!!!!!!!!  Worst soap opera writing so far.  And later, it's as if it never happened.  Just turrible.  

I really hate that the show is seemingly headed toward a Laker romance.  At least it is within reason.

As others have pointed out, Mike approving a deal to the Cubs would be pie-in-the-sky.  The White Sox?  Not in a bazillion years, either as they were horrendous and in the midst of a rebuild.  So...could this have been a rare moment of writer genius in this ep by having Mike appear to be open to management, have the "word" leak out that he is willing to walk - only to re-affirm his commitment to the Padres when no trade can be consummated?  He makes himself more invaluable to his mates, who might cuold have to confront a world without him.  And, ugh, he gives Ginny a twinge of jealousy/missing him.  

I'm really not kidding about how angry and disappointed I am with the emasculation of Mike by Ginny in that "hearing."  

The whole barnacle leech brother arc?  It feels like a desperate move from a show foundering on the rocks.  Awful.

The one great piece of continuity, and baseball reality, was Oscar going through Mike's agent to broach the topic of waiving his no-trade.  Nowhere near enough to save this ep from itself, but I did appreciate that effort.

[romantic idiot]

2 things:

1. What is a waiver?

2. Al's tone asking Oscar about where they are with Mike - where they implying that Al is or the trade after all?

[dargosmydaddy]

1 hour ago, romantic idiot said:

1. What is a waiver?

I'm sure someone else can explain this better, but my understanding is that, after the official end-of-July trade deadline, a player must clear waivers in order to be traded. I believe it goes from last place teams up having a chance to claim the player. So teams have a chance of claiming someone in order to prevent a rival above them from getting him. However, in Mike's case, teams aren't going to claim him because he could block it with his no-trade clause (plus, realistically, most teams aren't going to want an aging catcher with bad knees and a big contract). Once he clears waivers, the Padres can trade him to anyone, assuming he waives his no-trade clause, which he just said he would do to the Cubs.

Speaking of which, did anyone else think that him going to the Cubs is no coincidence? That maybe they filmed that scene a few times with several contending teams' cities, and then used the one who won? Next week's promo makes it look like he's going to go (which of course could turn out not to be true), but if he does, maybe they want to turn Mike into a champion? And then if there's a next season, he could retire on top and come back to coach for the Padres? Of course that would be even worse than them being teammates in terms of the potential Mike/ Ginny relationship, but I feel like it being the Cubs was no coincidence. Or maybe if he does end up staying, it'll be to enormous regret after the Cubs win. If they just want to get him out of there, an AL team where he could DH some would make more sense.

1 hour ago, romantic idiot said:

2. Al's tone asking Oscar about where they are with Mike - where they implying that Al is or the trade after all?

If you're asking whether they were implying that Al supports the trade, no, I don't think that's what they were going for. Seemed more like he knew it was going to happen or not happen regardless of his opinion, but of course he'd be interested in terms of the effect it would have on his team.

[attica]

I agree with Buntsy that MPG's delivery of "ffFeelings?!?" was the highlight of the hour.

Always happy to see Sarah Shahi. I hope her character gets more to do. Like investigate crimes and stuff.

1 hour ago, romantic idiot said:

What is a waiver?

It's complicated and related to MLB's labyrinthine player trade system. But wiki describes it ably.

[possibilities]

The show is implying that Mike is a hot property, but if that's the case, why would the Padres want to get rid of him? I get that sometimes you just need a particular skill in your line up, but if Mike spent his entire career as a catcher with the Padres, and they no longer think he's worth keeping, why would another team think he would be a better catcher for them, either? It's not like they are trading him for someone else who is dynamite at something they lack, they're just trying to get rid of him... why? To save money? Because they think he's useless? I don't really get how it adds up that another team would be so eager to have him if that's true.

[Tetraneutron]

The way they're playing it with Mike is he's a great player but he's old and injured and has a few years left before his career is over. In these cases, big-market teams with money and who are in playoff contention (Yankees, Red Sox, usually) buy him. They don't care if he's a bad long-term investment, they want to win now. Conversely, small-market teams (like the Padres) have to think long-term. They are barely clinging to a wild-card possibility. So they decide to forget about the playoffs this year, and focus on rebuilding. They sell an expensive player and use the money to stock their farm system, get a lot of young players that will help them in the years to come.

Also, the show didn't go into this, but half the teams are in the American League, meaning they are allowed to have a player who hits but doesn't field. A guy like Mike (great hitter, weak fielder at first base) would try to get into the AL (the Padres aren't) so he could prolong his career a bit by just hitting. Realistically, Mike would be looking for the best deal so he can get as much money as possible before his career is over, and get a World Series ring. Even with the flashback, to me the show didn't do a super-credible job of showing why he's so desperate to stay with the Padres when other teams want him.

[marina to]

This is the final year in Mike's contract, IIRC? So he needs to make a deal at the end of the season anyway?

I'm pretty sure that we're meant to assume he meant the Cubs. He would know that they don't need a catcher, wouldn't they? Which would be a smart way of appearing to acquiesce but not really. Given the context just before that though, that's probably not what they're going for.

[dargosmydaddy]

8 minutes ago, marina to said:

I'm pretty sure that we're meant to assume he meant the Cubs. He would know that they don't need a catcher, wouldn't they?

But considering that show-universe Padres are not the real Padres, it's quite possible that show-universe Cubs are in need of a catcher...

[rippleintime17]

1 hour ago, dargosmydaddy said:

But considering that show-universe Padres are not the real Padres, it's quite possible that show-universe Cubs are in need of a catcher...

Yeah, while the show universe uses really MLB players, they have shifted little things here and there. Such as, they announced Brandon Crawford, the Giants shortstop, at the Pitch Universe All-Star Game, even though he didn't make the real All-Star team (though he should have, so thanks for righting that wrong, Pitch!). So maybe the Cubs in Pitch universe don't have David Ross and Mike would fill that kind of role (new old guy who becomes beloved despite the fact that he has no actual history with the team).

[netlyon2]

So, I binged this show last Saturday and have been cautiously obsessed* for the past week.  I'm stoked for the remaining two episodes.

First off, I now have "Something's Gotta Give" playing on loop in my brain.  Interesting how the title was called out by snot-nosed Charlie, but those song lyrics are so applicable to Mike.  I wonder if it was intentional.  In any event, I'll eagerly await the Bawson fanvid using the song.  (yeah, they got me on the ship)

OMG, Ginny was sooo annoying during this episode.  It drove me crazy until I remembered how I felt reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."  I kept getting irritated at Harry and wondering what was wrong with Rowling until I recalled that 15-year-olds ARE pretty fucking irritating.  Same with 23-year-olds, I guess.

It's interesting how much I identify with Mike.  Ginny gets me on the black woman score, but Mike is around my age and his situation (moving into the position of mentoring much younger coworkers) just really resonates with me right now.

I am not loving shifty, shady Will, and I'm glad that Ginny seems to be somewhat hip to his game (just willing to give him what he wants, probably out of guilt from their childhood).  I don't think what we saw of him in this episode contradicts the little we saw of him before.  I'm also glad that Ginny didn't kick Amelia to the curb (which is where I thought things were going) because I love the character.  Anytime someone is disrespectful to her, a part of me roots for Jessica to come out and play.

On a shallow note, do people talk about how much Kylie Bunbury looks like Geena Davis?  Is it just me?  Especially when she smiles and the dimple gets to winkin' and I'm like "Aww, baby Dottie!"  [Okay, maybe it is just me.]

* I haven't watched anything on Fox (other than home team NFL games) since a fateful Friday night in April.  I wasn't going to watch this show, but Tumblr broke me down.  Well, Tumblr and MPG. 

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

But considering that show-universe Padres are not the real Padres, it's quite possible that show-universe Cubs are in need of a catcher...

And maybe the Cubs don't even win the pennant.

[peachmangosteen]

12 hours ago, netlyon2 said:

On a shallow note, do people talk about how much Kylie Bunbury looks like Geena Davis?  Is it just me?  Especially when she smiles and the dimple gets to winkin' and I'm like "Aww, baby Dottie!"  [Okay, maybe it is just me.]

I've never noticed it before but now that you mentioned it I definitely see it.