S01.E10: Don't Say It

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Ross warns the Padres that Ginny is dangerously close to her pitching limit, but management is reluctant to end her season. Meanwhile, Amelia confronts Will about money that has gone missing from the restaurant fund.

[Primetimer]

A couple, actually -- but does it have anywhere else to go?

View the full article

[Jediknight]

Ross and Oscar were right.  That's why Oscar likes him.

Yeah, the Padres are Mike's ex wife, and the Cubs are Ginny, his true love is his ex wife.  I liked the team giving Ginny crap about finally dating, they really do see her as one of the guys.  Wasn't a fan of Ginny getting pissed at Amelia, Amelia was right, her brother was up to no good.  Although, I don't know why Amelia didn't mention that Evelyn came to her about Will, that probably would have changed Ginny's stance.  I did like that Ginny saw through Will, and didn't fall for anything.

And here's hoping there's a season 2.

[AmandaPanda]

I liked the way they resolved the Ginny/Mike thing. I'm not a Bawson shipper at all. The age difference squicks me out a bit. It's also because I've loved Tyler Hilton ever since he was on One Tree Hill way back in the day and I was swooning right alongside Ginny while he was singing. His debut album was one of my obsessions when I was in high school.

[DaBigDave]

Not sure where they got their data from, regarding elbow injuries for women - but on ligaments as a whole... It's been widely studied for decades, and female athletes are three times as likely to suffer a torn ACL as a male athlete.

My sister suffered a torn UCL playing softball last year (oddly, crashing into a 3rd baseman, not throwing) the Dr. told her not to get Tommy John surgery as she was over 40 and it wasn't worth it for her.

[Tetraneutron]

Amelia continues to be dumb. This is one of eight hundred things that wouldn't be a problem if she had just gone to Ginny and told her about Will weeks ago. Just a casual, "Your brother's in debt to some scary people and his coffee shop is failing. Think about getting a money manager." I mean, Amelia's supposed to be this great agent. The job is managing tempermental talent. Why would she act like it's some big burden?

Also, does anyone think the show is aware of fan complaints and writing to address them? For the first time, Oscar was pro-analytics and Entourage guy (and it's a bad, bad, sign when ten episodes in I can't remember the character's name and I never even watched Entourage) was sentimental. And we weren't supposed to see stat stuff or new trends (ie/pitch counts) as something only nerds in their mothers' basement care about. And they've stopped having Ginny be the exposition conduit and writing her like an idiot. The last two episodes she's actually believable as someone in baseball. Although all the pitch count stuff made me wonder why, if they're going to write that she fades in September, they just didn't have her be a reliever. Which would probably be more realistic for someone who relies heavily on one pitch.

And for the first time in the show, Blip feels like an actual character. Evelyn still feels like a plot device. And who did Joanna Garcia piss off to get put in the world's most hideous pantsuit? I was unaware cropped pantsuits belted so they bunch up around your belly existed, and I don't feel better knowing they do.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Tetraneutron

[SimoneS]

1 hour ago, Jediknight said:

Yeah, the Padres are Mike's ex wife, and the Cubs are Ginny, his true love is his ex wife. 

If that is the case, it sucks to be Mike because like the Padres, his ex-wife clearly doesn't want anything long-term with him. 

Ginny was right about Amelia crossing a line. She should have talked to Ginny directly and abided by her wishes. Ginny needs a real sports agent like Scott Boras who has years of experience in MLB, not Amelia who needs to grow thicker skin and learn some boundaries.

I felt for Blip, but he has two beautiful sons so it isn't like Evelyn is being unreasonable.

I loved how Ginny told off Mike on mound. Too bad the show likely won't be around for us to see how they work their way back to each other.

Edited December 9, 2016 by SimoneS

[DaBigDave]

I had a whole thing ready to go about how they didn't handle the shutdown thing all that well on this show (do I want to revisit the 80,000 articles about every side of Strasburg here in DC) ... but it's just another example of this show rushing through a baseball point they could have spent more time on. Without really even making the Shutdown / pitch limit / innings limit thing a metaphor for something else.

OTOH, I guess now we know Ginny is a good enough major league pitcher to reach her innings limit. So she's better than Todd Van Poppel.

[Snarkette]

Quote

I felt for Blip, but he has two beautiful sons so it isn't like Evelyn is being unreasonable.

Two beautiful sons. A sacrificed college degree. Complete devotion in supporting his dream. And the kids are doing well and are out of diapers. And he's still having temper tantrums that everything isn't about him.  (But then again so is Ginny) And he was a total jerk to Mike several times.

If the show gets renewed, I don't know if ex wife is end game, but I was really happy how that worked out. That's a great resolution for a guy who has said repeatedly he's still in love with his ex. And even if it doesn't go towards reconciliation, it feels natural. 

I'm also super happy that Ginny was upfront hating the idea of dropping everything and being dragged around to be part of Billionaire's dream. Damn right he can come to Arizona. I also think he loves the idea of Ginny rather than her reality. One date (or two half dates) does not lead to that kind of overstepping. And a Billionaire Prince Charming may end up as a good boyfriend but she has huge priorities in her own life, or at least she did until the big owie.

And as much as I hate to say it, Ginny was right about her brother too. He lied. She would still have paid to get him out of trouble. And he's gone because of Amelia who didn't get how Ginny prefers a flawed person in her life than a perfect wall against being hurt with him gone. (And she was wrong wrong wrong about the game. Go stats guy!)

I'm sure if Pitch is renewed, she'll be back pitching pretty quick since this is the end of the season, and there's probably going to be a time lapse. Right? Or is this something that would drag on longer than September to April, no?

[Moose135]

12 minutes ago, Snarkette said:

I'm sure if Pitch is renewed, she'll be back pitching pretty quick since this is the end of the season, and there's probably going to be a time lapse. Right? Or is this something that would drag on longer than September to April, no?

It depends on her injury.  If she does need Tommy John surgery (where a ligament in her elbow is replace) she would normally miss at least a year.  I really thought she was going to get hurt during the dugout scuffle, and that would be how she lost the no-hitter.

[Randomosity]

I hope this gets renewed. So much about how that just ended would be so awkward to just leave hanging :(

1 hour ago, DaBigDave said:

Not sure where they got their data from, regarding elbow injuries for women - but on ligaments as a whole... It's been widely studied for decades, and female athletes are three times as likely to suffer a torn ACL as a male athlete.

My sister suffered a torn UCL playing softball last year (oddly, crashing into a 3rd baseman, not throwing) the Dr. told her not to get Tommy John surgery as she was over 40 and it wasn't worth it for her.

That's not really 'ligaments as a whole' though. Knee issues, including ACL tears, are more common in women because the pelvis is wider, automatically putting the femurs at a wonky angle to the knees and adding more stress to the joint than for men. So it's not a ligament issue there, it's just a knee/pelvis geometry thing. I don't know upper body anatomy as well, but I don't see that issue translating to arms/elbows/shoulders.

[colorbars]

Man, if Ginny's injury was supposed to be some big dramatic cliffhanger at the end, they really shouldn't have shown it in the promo for the episode. I totally expected her to get hurt early and the drama to be in her feeling bad about missing these important games leading to the wild card spot.

I see both Ginny and Amelia's sides. Amelia has tried to talk to Ginny about her brother, just like she tried to talk to Evelyn, but everytime she tried to warn Ginny, Ginny told her to back off. I totally get why she was hesitant to bring it up to Ginny. That being said, she's obviously in over her head as a sports agent and is treating Ginny more like a regular celebrity and getting too invested, which was bound to happen considering her reasons for signing Ginny in the first place. 

Glad they slowed down the Mike/Ginny stuff after last week. I'm still not into them, and much prefer they never really go there, so I'm glad that the finale gave them both semi happy endings/moments with other people if it's not renewed. I do think Mike's wife wants to be with him, I think part of why it didn't work with her fiance was because of Mike, but she's also probably worried that Mike is only it in for the chase again and the same thing will happen as last time.

Can't say I feel much sympathy for Blip. This is the second time he's been very dismissive about Evelyn's feelings and the things she has/continues to sacrifice for their marriage.

[spamrivers]

Good episode that made me feel down thinking it might be the end.

I know if this show does get more episodes that she'll probably return but please, Ginny, for the love of god, get an actual sports agent instead of Amelia. One who doesn't think they're working in show biz and tells her that she has a say in who does or doesn't get traded from the team. Ginny's also right about her overstepping her boundaries. You do your job and take your paycheck.

Also being a Dodgers fan, I almost couldn't take the storyline seriously since it was nearly a carbon copy of what happened with our pitcher Rich Hill a few months ago. He was throwing a perfect game but was on a strict innings limit and got shut down by our manager after the 7th and only 89 pitches. Al should have done the same with Ginny obviously. Have some balls, man. 

Edited December 9, 2016 by spamrivers

[cynic]

Argh. This show can't end on that note with everything down or in flux. I actually liked quite a lot of this episode, but I can't even talk about it right now, because I'm so depressed. If this really is the end, I just wanted the show to end in a good place. Please get renewed!

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Wasn't a fan of Ginny getting pissed at Amelia, Amelia was right, her brother was up to no good.

Ginny was right in this episode, though.  She heard Amelia's advice and chose to invest anyway. So even Amelia was right that Will was up to no good, it was a risk Ginny was wiling to take because it was her brother.  And she would deal with the consequences.  I actually hated Amelia's speech about being there when Will and others wouldn't be.  It read too much like a controlling "no one will ever love you like I do" partner. 

I'm sure Amelia won't be gone but while she is a decent outside-of-sports-agent, she's not great at the sports thing. And there's room to bring on a better agent for Ginny.

I really felt for Evelyn for having put her professional dreams on hold in order to support her husband's professional dreams and raise children.  And Blip was a bit all about him.  Seeing him play with his ring as if he were reconsidering his marriage was a bit over-the-top.  That said, I did feel for him too in the situation.  The children are eight years old.  The way he talks about having a third child makes it seem like it's something they had discussed before and eight years of letting him think that a third child was "postponed" instead of completely off the table isn't the best way to deal with this issue.

I didn't see Al's speech as some kind of definitive statement on Mike's long term romantic future but I do think it made Mike think about reconciling the feelings he has for his ex with those he has for Ginny and what makes sense for him right now--not that he didn't already know because of their teammates situation--but it was still solidifying.  Of the two other love interests, I do think Ginny and the billionaire were cute but didn't bring the heat of Mike and Ginny from last week.  I am far more interested in the story they're telling with Mike and his ex.  I have been impressed since the second episode with how well they write them.  I get a sense of nostalgia from them. I get intimacy. I get two people who ultimately care about each other even if they're not together. I get familiarity.  I could see them getting together and working out and not working out but still manage to be okay.  It makes me wonder if they're going to do the kid route with them since he has been focused on family.  He's not getting that with Ginny any time soon even if he were to retire.

As far as cliffhangers go, I do think it would have worked better had they  left off with Ginny still pitching for a no hitter but not giving us an answer.  It would have felt more satisfying if it is a series finale (but I hope not) and it would save an injury for another season.

[Dowel Jones]

Nitpick:  Note to producers:  Watch your CGI, or the extras, whatever.  When the camera showed Ginny pitching the first inning, the stands behind home were completely vacant.  Yet they were filled by 5th inning.

Ginny, I think, is in a less than ideal place now.  The club will put her on a disabled list and bring someone else up to fill her shoes for the very abbreviated season left, and she goes back to Arizona with no support system in place.  Will can't be trusted, Amelia is gone, Evelyn probably won't want too much to do with her, and maybe even work with Will. And the team members will go their own way in the off season.

[catrox14]

11 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Nitpick:  Note to producers:  Watch your CGI, or the extras, whatever.  When the camera showed Ginny pitching the first inning, the stands behind home were completely vacant.  Yet they were filled by 5th inning.

That's actually realistic in L.A. and San Diego. Fans show up by the 3rd inning and leave by the 8th. Seriously. 

[SimoneS]

2 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Nitpick:  Note to producers:  Watch your CGI, or the extras, whatever.  When the camera showed Ginny pitching the first inning, the stands behind home were completely vacant.  Yet they were filled by 5th inning.

I am pretty sure the empty stands were deliberate. It was done to show that Ginny was visualizing to push back all the distractions and focus on the game. 

I don't buy that Mike is still in love with his ex or that she is his true love. He is undergoing a life transition. He is aging and nearing the end of a career that has consumed his life since he was a kid. It is lonely, scary and traumatic. We see him looking wistfully at his teammates' families and girlfriends greeting them when they return home. He wants an emotional connection to someone, his ex, his father, but ultimately it is Ginny that he has those strong feelings for. However, a romantic relationship with Ginny is untenable. They are teammates and she is at a different stage of her life and career. So Mike is trying to recreate a relationship with his ex. I just don't think that is the answer. A new woman without that their unhappy history would be the best for MIke. 

[DaBigDave]

  3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Nitpick:  Note to producers:  Watch your CGI, or the extras, whatever.  When the camera showed Ginny pitching the first inning, the stands behind home were completely vacant.  Yet they were filled by 5th inning.

I am pretty sure the empty stands were deliberate. It was done to show that Ginny was visualizing to push back all the distractions and focus on the game. 

I don't buy that Mike is still in love with his ex or that she is his true love. He is undergoing a life transition. He is aging and nearing the end of a career that has consumed his life since he was a kid. It is lonely, scary and traumatic. We see him looking wistfully at his teammates' families and girlfriends greeting them when they return home. He wants an emotional connection to someone, his ex, his father, but ultimately it is Ginny that he has those strong feelings for. However, a romantic relationship with Ginny is untenable. They are teammates and she is at a different stage of her life and career. So Mike is trying to recreate a relationship with his ex. I just don't think that is the answer. A new woman without that their unhappy history would be the best for MIke. 

His ex did not seem super into that future relationship.

[attica]

It's certainly a twist on the trope to have a Manic Pixie Dream Boy, but here comes Noah! He's young! And handsome! And a billionaire! And a genius self-made man! And a tender-voiced sensitive singer-songwriter! And handy with a coffee pot! With a plane! And a boat! And all kinds of sage advice well beyond his years! And has nothing else to do all day but sweep Ginny off her feet!

I feel like Joanna Garcia spent the ep auditioning for all of Amy Adams's cast-off scripts. (Not that that's a bad thing.) I guess she's had enough practice smooching a grizzly face on Nick to manage the Goss's face fur, right?

I'm not proud to admit that "So is my NUTSACK!" made me bark with laughter. Well delivered, right down Broadway.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

(good fundies)

[ClareWalks]

I was unfamiliar with the whole "first rule of no-hitters: don't mention no-hitters" thing. Reminds me of when I was on my college bowling team and if someone had a run of strikes, we would not mark down their scores on the sheet until it was over. We'd mark the strikes but not the scores because it was considered a jinx.

Amelia kind of sucks. When she was saying "your dead dad won't be there, and now I won't be there either," I was just like "yeah, because you would have been SUCH A GOOD FRIEND."

[In2You]

10 hours ago, catrox14 said:

That's actually realistic in L.A. and San Diego. Fans show up by the 3rd inning and leave by the 8th. Seriously. 

But they keep stressing Ginny is bringing the Padres sold out games. We know in real life they have a hard time filling the stands but on the show we're told Ginny has bringing buts to the seats

[tennisgurl]

Now, they cannot possibly cancel the show, everything is up in the air, all the characters are mad at each other, and Ginny and Mike have found their replaceable love interests! I need closure damn it! And lots of hugs and slow claps!

It was tough seeing Blip and Evelyn fight, especially when I do understand both of their perspectives, even though I am more on Evelyn's side. Its fine that Evelyn is done having kids and wants to do more than be a mom/baseball wife, but Blip should have a say in it all. And, I kind of agree that the restaurant is a bad investment, even without Ginny's brother and his sketchy money management. As tons of people have said, restaurants are often doomed to fail, and I get Blip not wanting his wife to put all their time and effort and money into it, and he shouldn't lie about his reservations. On the other hand, he could be a LOT more supportive of Evelyn, especially considering everything she has done for him. Stop fighting, your the only couple who really works here!

I like Amelia, but she is kind of a bad sports manager. I can see her coming back in some capacity, but Ginny really should find a sports agent. And a money manager! Maybe ask Billionaire boy toy for some advice? Speaking of him, wow is that guy perfect. Super rich, world traveler, smart, nice, sings, plays guitar, gives good advice. I like him, but no way is someone so perfect sticking around. Either that, or he actually does have some flaws we will need to see later. 

Oh Ginny, what a crappy day. I am glad they are slow burning with Ginny and Mike, and, if the show goes on, I am sure they will turn out to be end game. Its actually grown on me over the season. The age difference is kind of weird, but since they're meeting as adults and equals, it works for me. They re just cute ok? I think they could work out. 

So, who do I need to send baseballs to to get a second season?

Edited December 9, 2016 by tennisgurl

[marina to]

Noah!!!!!!! *flails around*

Can we just ditch the Bawson bullshit and go full-on Ginny and Noah? There's so much potential there. Noah being someone used to being in control yet having a caring side can create a lot of relationship tension without needing the "will-they-won't-they" dynamic I'm so very bored of. Plus, they're fun together. God, I miss watching relationships that are just fun. So sick of angst.

Ginny going down after a angry(?) throw to first reminded me so much of what happened to Jose Bautista. His arm hasn't been the same since. Is that where they're going with Ginny? I didn't see the promo so I didn't know she was going to get hurt and gasped in shock when it happened. I don't blame anyone for going for the no-hitter. I still think pulling Rich Hill was dumb. You've got to go for it. That opportunity may never come again (see Morrow, Brandon and McGowan, Dustin).

I really hope it gets renewed. Can't wait to see how they're going to handle the injury. And good riddance, Amelia! Give Ginny a real sports agent.

[marina to]

16 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

A couple, actually -- but does it have anywhere else to go?

View the full article

@Sarah D. Bunting Actually, a lot of broadcasters will use the term "no-hitter in progress". There was a whole debate up here in Toronto about it. Their argument was that it's their job to notify the viewers/listeners of what is going on and besides, what they say or don't say doesn't affect the outcome on the field.

[Moose135]

3 minutes ago, marina to said:

Ginny going down after a angry(?) throw to first reminded me so much of what happened to Jose Bautista. His arm hasn't been the same since. Is that where they're going with Ginny? I didn't see the promo so I didn't know she was going to get hurt and gasped in shock when it happened. I don't blame anyone for going for the no-hitter. I still think pulling Rich Hill was dumb. You've got to go for it. That opportunity may never come again (see Morrow, Brandon and McGowan, Dustin).

I agree - a no hitter is a fairly rare career achievement for a pitcher (not named Nolan Ryan) and I don't have a problem leaving her in the game.  I don't think it was her pitching (or pitch count) that was the problem - she made a hurried, out of position, off-balance throw to first to get the batter, and I think that's why she hurt herself.

In their real life history, the Padres have never had a pitcher throw a no-hitter, the only team in MLB without one.  The NY Mets had gone 8,019 games over 50 years before Johann Santana threw on in 2012.  Coming off shoulder surgery the year before, Santana threw a career high 134 pitches to get the Mets no-no.  There was quite a bit of debate after that over whether Santana should have stayed in the game that long, but like Ginny, I think they were going to have to physically drag him off the mound to get him out of the game.  I really liked how that played against her first start, after walking three guys she was asking Al to take her out of the game, now she is fighting to stay in - it showed her growth as a player and a person.

[colorbars]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Ginny was right in this episode, though.  She heard Amelia's advice and chose to invest anyway. So even Amelia was right that Will was up to no good, it was a risk Ginny was wiling to take because it was her brother.  And she would deal with the consequences.  I actually hated Amelia's speech about being there when Will and others wouldn't be.  It read too much like a controlling "no one will ever love you like I do" partner.

To be fair, she warned Ginny about it being a bad investment and Will being bad with money, while this was about him straight up stealing money from the fund. Not to mention she had decided to stay out of it last episode until Evelyn called her and asked her for help with the matter, bringing her back in.

That said, she is clearly over invested in Ginny and her outside affairs that don't have anything to do with her job. I get that she sees her as a friend and her responsibility - I want to say the show wants us to see her as trying to be a mother figure, given Amelia's backstory and Ginny's own distant relationship with her mother, but I don't think it totally translates that well - but that's not what Ginny wants, so. 

But then again, Ginny has often blurred the lines as well, like calling Amelia in the middle of the night when she was having her panic attack, bringing her to dinner when her mother was in town (though I can't remember if she or her mother invited her), clearly having an opinion on who Amelia was sleeping with (even though that was obviously more about her feelings for Mike than Amelia, Amelia didn't know that), so I get why the wires get crossed here, and think it's a bit unfair for Ginny to kind of go back and forth with her, go to her for things like personal stuff, and then yell at her for this.

Edited December 9, 2016 by colorbars

[attica]

1 hour ago, marina to said:

besides, what they say or don't say doesn't affect the outcome on the field.

[gasps] Shut your mouth! Or, better yet, go outside, spit, and turn around three times while chanting Gehrig! Jeter! Ueker! Cobb! /Scully! Enberg! Barber! Bob!

:)

[marina to]

1 minute ago, attica said:

[gasps] Shut your mouth! Or, better yet, go outside, spit, and turn around three times while chanting Gehrig! Jeter! Ueker! Cobb! /Scully! Enberg! Barber! Bob!

:)

That's my thought but my broadcasters don't agree. :(

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

I really liked how that played against her first start, after walking three guys she was asking Al to take her out of the game, now she is fighting to stay in - it showed her growth as a player and a person.

I absolutely missed that. Great point.

Edited December 9, 2016 by marina to

[Moose135]

23 minutes ago, attica said:

[gasps] Shut your mouth! Or, better yet, go outside, spit, and turn around three times while chanting Gehrig! Jeter! Ueker! Cobb! /Scully! Enberg! Barber! Bob!

:)

The night Johann pitched the no-hitter for the Mets, around the 7th inning, I texted a friend, another long-suffering Met fan and simply said "Are you watching the game?"  She said yes, and I replied "I'll talk to you later..."  I also didn't move out of the chair I was sitting in until the final pitch.  You don't want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing.

[dargosmydaddy]

Quote

"Besides, the Cubs'll never win it." ...Sigh. Plenty of time to cut around that line, but no, it stays in. 

Um... shouldn't it? Show-universe is still in September, the Cubs haven't won yet, and even though they were having a great season, "the Cubs'll never win it" is it perfectly appropriate response when talking about a "cursed" team (not to mention trying to make Mike feel better). Whether or not you as an audience member laugh or groan over it (personally, I laughed), it worked in the context of the conversation.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I'm still convinced that the near-trade to the Cubs was no accident, and that perhaps several cuts of certain scenes were filmed so they could go with the Series winner. If there's a season two, I could see Mike being enormously pissed that the trade didn't happen. (Or, even if it was a coincidence, they could still run with it now.)

This show definitely has it's flaws, but I still love it. Fingers crossed...

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

The night Johann pitched the no-hitter for the Mets, around the 7th inning, I texted a friend, another long-suffering Met fan and simply said "Are you watching the game?"  She said yes, and I replied "I'll talk to you later..."  I also didn't move out of the chair I was sitting in until the final pitch.  You don't want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing.

Toby, is that you? ;-)  Gee, I thought you were a fan of the other NY team!

[mtlchick]

So...show?  I like MPG with a beard.  Find a way to stay on so I can stare at it. xoxo

 

Pretty decent episode overall.  Lots of little cliffhangers around, hopefully enough to spark a renewal.   I'm leaning a bit more for Amelia.  It is Ginny's brother, so Ginny will be defensive and would tell her to butt out.  But when there's money at stake and Ginny's rep on the line, Amelia is looking out for her.  And has been when Ginny had her breakdowns or her moments where she needed someone for support.  

Quote

I'm not proud to admit that "So is my NUTSACK!" made me bark with laughter. 

Own that barking, it cracked me up too! 

[SimoneS]

17 hours ago, colorbars said:

But then again, Ginny has often blurred the lines as well, like calling Amelia in the middle of the night when she was having her panic attack, bringing her to dinner when her mother was in town (though I can't remember if she or her mother invited her), clearly having an opinion on who Amelia was sleeping with (even though that was obviously more about her feelings for Mike than Amelia, Amelia didn't know that), so I get why the wires get crossed here, and think it's a bit unfair for Ginny to kind of go back and forth with her, go to her for things like personal stuff, and then yell at her for this.

I don't see anything of these things as blurring the lines. These are the kinds of things that professional sports agents do for their clients, especially the ones with the highest earning power like Ginny. This is how they earn their percentage. They pick up the phone in the middle of the night when their clients call them and do what it takes to get them out of trouble. Agents go the extra distance to keep their clients happy and stop them from going to another agent. 

Amelia's problem is that she thinks that she should be thanked for doing these things even though they are her damn job. Amelia also thinks that doing these things means that she and Ginny are close, even friends. Yes, she should advise Jenny, but the bottom line, she works for Ginny. She is earning millions of dollars from her cut of Ginny's endorsements, etc. An experienced professional sports agent would know this and act accordingly. Getting into money disputes with Will was never going to end well for Amelia. A professional sports agent would have convinced Ginny to hire a financial manager and given Will and all the people in her life a monthly allowance so they aren't constantly pestering Ginny for money and getting into schemes like Will.

Edited December 10, 2016 by SimoneS

[catrox14]

5 hours ago, In2You said:

But they keep stressing Ginny is bringing the Padres sold out games. We know in real life they have a hard time filling the stands but on the show we're told Ginny has bringing buts to the seats

Being sold out doesn't guarantee a SoCal baseball fan gets to the ballpark for the first inning.I'm not being facetious or mocking.  Watch most any non playoff Dodger game and you won't see the seats behind home plate fill up until the 2nd or 3rd inning. It happens at Padres games too. I know this because whilst I'm not a Padres fan per se, I go to Padres games when my team plays them.  If  the game is close they might stay until the end of the game. It's just a thing that happens at Dodger and Padres games.

[rippleintime17]

Ok, first off, the baseball fan in me needs to sideye the fictional Dodgers for BUNTING during a no-hitter in the 8th inning! That's low. 

I felt for Al, Ginny, Oscar, everyone in that decision. At the beginning of this season, a Dodger pitcher named Ross Stripling was pretty deep into a no-hitter. It was early in the year though, and he was coming off an injury, and his manager pulled him in the 7th or 8th (can't remember which) after he walked a guy. They were not in LA and STILL Dave Roberts was booed by the crowd for the decision! The next pitcher promptly gave up a homer to tie the game, and then the Dodgers lost in extra innings. It's a tough kind of decision to make, because the individual accomplishment is so rare but looking to the future is also important, especially with young pitchers or pitchers late in the season. Similarly, a Giants pitcher was left IN his no-hitter to throw over 130 pitches and that was criticized for the OTHER side of it (he lost the no-hitter with one out to go). I really hope Ginny doesn't need surgery and a lengthy recovery. She has really found herself and her place and her confidence. Her speech on the mound was great, even if I think she needs a little more than she thinks she does. 

Man, do MPG and JoAnna Garcia Swisher have some nice chemistry. Was fun to revisit their relationship just to see that.

Blip, don't be an idiot. Evelyn has loved and supported you for years, sacrificing her wants and needs so that you could shine. You can take a little out of yourself to give back to her and support her ambitions. It won't kill you. Get off that couch and stop playing with that wedding ring. 

Please don't let this be the last episode of this show we see! Don't let this be the note we go out on! 

Edited December 10, 2016 by rippleintime17

[Moose135]

53 minutes ago, rippleintime17 said:

Ok, first off, the baseball fan in me needs to sideye the fictional Dodgers for BUNTING during a no-hitter in the 8th inning! That's low.

I thought the same thing - that's the kind of thing the Padres players won't forget.

[colorbars]

3 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Um... shouldn't it? Show-universe is still in September, the Cubs haven't won yet, and even though they were having a great season, "the Cubs'll never win it" is it perfectly appropriate response when talking about a "cursed" team (not to mention trying to make Mike feel better). Whether or not you as an audience member laugh or groan over it (personally, I laughed), it worked in the context of the conversation.

I mean, I'm pretty sure it was an intentional meta joke. I'm almost positive the finale was filmed after the World Series, so the whole point of the line was that they go on to win in the real world.

2 hours ago, SimoneS said:

I don't see anything of these things as blurring the lines. These are the kinds of things that professional sports agents do for their clients, especially the ones with the highest earning power like Ginny. This is how they earn their percentage. They pick up the phone in the middle of the night when their clients call them and do what it takes to get them of trouble. Agents go the extra distance to keep their clients happy and stop them from going to another agent. 

Amelia's problem is that she thinks that she should be thanked for doing these things even though they are her damn job. Amelia also thinks that doing these things means that she and Ginny are close, even friends. Yes, she should advise Jenny, but the bottom line, she works for Ginny. She is earning millions of dollars from her cut of Ginny's endorsements, etc. An experienced professional sports agent would know this and act accordingly. Getting to money disputes with Will was never going to end well for Amelia. A professional sports agent would have convinced Ginny to hire a financial manager and given Will and all the people in her life a monthly allowance so they aren't constantly pestering Ginny for money and getting into schemes like Will.

I don't get why it's in Amelia's job description to go sit on the floor and hang out with Ginny when she has a panic attack in the middle of the night, but not to try to stop someone from stealing from her? Because Ginny asked for one thing but not the other? Because I totally agree that she was overstepping her bounds before with the advice and pestering her about a bad investment and needed to back off when Ginny told her she didn't want her input, but having knowledge that someone is straight up stealing from Ginny and Ginny's friends is totally different to me. She's just supposed to not tell her or let her know? I don't get how any person can expect someone in their life (be it a family member, friend, acquaintance, boss, employee or coworker) to know this is happening and not tell them about it? Evelyn asked for Amelia's help and she was going to tell her, wasn't she? Amelia even tried to get Will to tell Ginny himself so that she could be as uninvolved as possible. I do agree that in other matters, like in the dress episode, she has expected a thank you for doing her job (and in some instances, I don't think that's too much to ask to be appreciated, to be honest), but in this case, she didn't ask Ginny for anything for looking out for it until Ginny yelled at her for talking to Will. She just came in to ask if there was anything Ginny needed.

I don't know, I think the Ginny/Amelia dynamic is one of the most interesting ones on the show, because there's so much going on there and I usually get where both of them are coming from in their conflicts. So it's just so weird to see the blame placed on one or other, because I think they're both kind of at fault for most of their issues.

Edited December 10, 2016 by colorbars

[possibilities]

I'm relieved to see Amelia go, and I hope she stays away. I hated her "you'll regret it" speech-- does she think Ginny can't find another agent? Seriously? She infantilizes Ginny and always has, plus she's terrible on the sports angle, which is hardly a small detail. She should get a job in marketing or PR and not try to be a personal assistant or sports-anything, because she has terrible boundaries, an off-putting personality, and knows zip about the industry she's supposedly guiding Ginny through. She is also shitty to her own assistant and discounts his savvy even though he's been proven to be right in the face of her own incompetence more than once. I wonder where he was when she was in the airport. Did she even tell him they'd been fired? Did she pay for his ticket to wherever, or has he been stranded? I actually like him and I hope he can stick around in some capacity, but that Amelia is well and truly gone.

There is also a huge component of my dislike of her that comes from my aversion to the way Ali Larter clenches her jaw all the time.... I find her incredibly annoying even when she's not actually doing anything particularly objectionable in the moment.

Sure Amelia was sometimes right. But that's not enough. She should have let Evelyn tell Ginny about Will, as E originally wanted to do. She should have butt out when told to, or found a tactful way to approach Ginny, instead of ordering her around and insulting her judgment. How do you expect to function in sensitive situations if you have no people skills?

[SimoneS]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I'm relieved to see Amelia go, and I hope she stays away. I hated her "you'll regret it" speech-- does she think Ginny can't find another agent? Seriously? She infantilizes Ginny and always has, plus she's terrible on the sports angle, which is hardly a small detail. 

In real life, no young baseball player would choose such an inexperienced person like Amelia as their agent, especially one with as much earning potential as Ginny. You know that IMG, Creative Artists, and Scott Boras would have been racing to sign Ginny. The show could have made Amelia better at her job, but they are clearly going for the drama angle so be prepared for her to be back if the show gets a second season.

Edited December 10, 2016 by SimoneS

[Dowel Jones]

4 hours ago, rippleintime17 said:

Ok, first off, the baseball fan in me needs to sideye the fictional Dodgers for BUNTING during a no-hitter in the 8th inning! That's low. 

What, that was a bunt?  I thought it was a normal Dodger hit.  (Pffft)  :)

[DaBigDave]

According to fangraphs, Hector Santiago is the only pitcher who thre a sscewball in the majors last year. Basically, ppitchingcoaches had eeveryoneswitch to change ups years ago because the screwball is supposedly murder on the elbow. Throwing oneas much as Ginny.... yikes.  

[Tetraneutron]

8 hours ago, SimoneS said:

In real life, no young baseball player would choose such an inexperienced person like Amelia as their agent, especially one with as much earning potential as Ginny. You know that IMG, Creative Artists, and Scott Boras would have been racing to sign Ginny. The show could have made Amelia better at her job, but they are clearly going for the drama angle so be prepared for her to be back if the show gets a second season.

I don't know if that's true. There have been a few women playing pro ball on men's teams (Eri Yoshida, the women on the Sonoma Stompers, Tiffany Brooks) and they're generally seen as novelty acts who won't get near the show. Or even Triple A. Once it looked like Ginny had a real shot, all the big-time sports would have tried to represent her, but it's fanwankable that Amelia locked her down when she signed Ginny off the low minors.

For me, the biggest hurdle is that Ginny would get any attention from the majors at all, going into the farm system (as opposed to an independent league). That requires the biggest suspension of disbelief. Especially since people who throw exclusively offspeed stuff and have a fastball in the 80s are not considered prospects (although some do have great careers in the majors). It's fine for an old Bartolo to be effective throwing junk, but not someone just starting out.

It doesn't bother me that it's a consistent character beat that Amelia knows nothing about sports and sucks as a sports agent (although she shouldn't also suck and the non-sports-specific parts of her job, like handling relatives). That could be an interesting source of drama. But the audience is being asked to believe Amelia is brilliant, even though everything we've seen her do contradicts that. We're being told she's brilliant but haven't seen her make one non-stupid decision.

Edited December 10, 2016 by Tetraneutron

[ahisma]

I don't care how on-the-nose the dialogue was, I loved Al's conversation with Mike and Noah's conversation with Ginny, because the metaphors were exactly why I don't like Bawson (she's a shiny, young distraction/he's a mentor). I did love Mike and Ginny's reactions to their near miss. You can tell she's been working around guys her entire life, the way she slots right into the "shutting it down, not talking about it" that Mike lays down. 

Eliot is awesome again for three lines! I, too, was wondering whether Amelia even gave him a heads up about taking off. 

Ginny's teammates considering taking her to some Magic Mike place was awesome, and a great mental image... :D I also laughed at the Cubs line, nutsack, the elevator of shame with Mike and Noah, and Mike frozen by seeing his ex and Ginny at the end of the hall. Ross continues to be an adorable stats geek—loved seeing him again.

Other than the funny lines, it was painful to see Blip, Ginny, and Amelia with hair-trigger tempers this ep. Blip was especially cranky, shutting out Mike and, oh no you didn't!, telling Evelyn "what about me" when she EXPLICITLY told him during All Star break that it's been all about him for years and she needs her moment?!  Bad move. And because he's also cranky Mike was going to trade, he's not talking to Mike, who was more than willing to lend an ear.

Ginny and Amelia—well I agree with everyone above that it is past time that Ginny get a specific financial manager. And I'm thinking Amelia probably should have let Evelyn be the one to tell Ginny about Will, since Ginny asked her to stay out of it, but Amelia is too used to taking care of any and all problems. Did not like Amelia letting her temper get the better of her right before the game. "Taking it" actually pretty much is her job, and plenty of celebrities are more demanding than Ginny. 

C'mon, Fox, I want more Pitch! I love this show.

[cynic]

I'm going to be so disappointed if Fox doesn't renew Pitch. While it definitely has its issues, I've grown to love this show and these characters. Plus, the cast is so great. MPG has especially surprised and impressed me, but everyone from Kylie to one-off guest stars like Wendy Malick have been amazing. I only wish that the show had gotten a 13-episode run instead of just ten, because the story sometimes felt rushed or shortcutted. The brother stuff in particular seemed like it was just too much too soon. I wish they had held that off until season 2 (please!). Without it, maybe we could have gotten more of Ginny growing from her breakdown and really establishing her place with the team leading into her mound empowerment speech. Also, it would have been nice to actually see more of Ginny and Mike getting close in ways that were different from a normal catcher/pitcher relationship or a captain mentoring a rookie, before threatening to change the relationship with UST or having him pull away as he thought about leaving. Outside of the All-Star episode, did we see them have non-baseball related interactions? I would have appreciated seeing their cilantro talk, not just hearing about it. TPTB should be thankful that KB and MPG's chemistry saves a lot of their stuff.

Things I liked about the episode:

Ginny and Mike pulling back from their almost-kiss and keeping it fairly professional. Both of them have other things they need to concentrate on right now They're still endgame in my head though.

Mound speeches bookending Ginny's season 1 journey. I loved Ginny taking charge and turning things around from the pilot, but I also like that there was some hubris in it. I think season 2 (please!) is going to show that she's overshooting a bit and learning that she can accept help and support without it overpowering her owns wants and needs. 

All the female/female interaction. For a show that could have been so testosterone-heavy considering its subject matter, I think they've done a good job with balancing that with Amelia, Evelyn, and even Rachel. 

Speaking of Evelyn, Meagan Holder is so endearing. Her reactions are always great, but her "wh-what?!?" upon hearing that Ginny had a moment with Mike made me howl. In fact, that whole conversation was gold. "Say more words!" Hee! 

All the funny. In addition to Evelyn's stuff, we got "Yeah, we're not doing that", "Just because you're not moving doesn't mean we can't see you", "What's up, guys? Get away!", Ginny's reaction to being ignored, and all the gloriously awkward Mike/Ginny moments. 

Oscar, once again, showing that he's really good at his job. After disliking him in the pilot, Oscar has somehow become one of my favorite characters and Mark Consuelos is killing it. His "huh??" when being told about the nude photos in the San Francisco episode is probably my favorite reaction shot in the show outside of Evelyn's moments. 

Things I didn't like:

Noah is way too much of a fantasy. The actor is great, but the character and relationship are straight romcom territory.

Blip's drama. After pointing out how it's not easy for Mike to Ginny in the last episode, why was he being such a giant baby in this one? Blip's tension with Evelyn and Mike's with the rest of the team was enough, I didn't need the division between Mike and Blip too. I would have rather have seen Mike and Blip disagree over pulling Ginny while still remaining professional and showing why Blip is next in line to be captain. 

Ending on this note. I think cutting off the high of a possible no-hitter with a cliffhanger injury was well-done, but coupling that with breaking almost every single other relationship was a downer to potentially end the series on. Even if it does come back, feeling like it's going to return with everyone fighting won't exactly make me wait with bated breath for nine months until it does. Give people something to look forward to show! 

Shallow thoughts:

Rachel's cropped pantsuit was freaking awful. What the heck. 

I have similar hair texture to Ginny and my hair never looks that good in the morning. I need to learn her secret. 

Even if I didn't think this show was as great as I do, l would still wish for renewal just so I could continue staring at MPG as Mike Lawson. 

Edited December 11, 2016 by cynic

[jhlipton]

On 12/9/2016 at 6:12 PM, dargosmydaddy said:

Um... shouldn't it? Show-universe is still in September, the Cubs haven't won yet, and even though they were having a great season, "the Cubs'll never win it" is it perfectly appropriate response when talking about a "cursed" team (not to mention trying to make Mike feel better). Whether or not you as an audience member laugh or groan over it (personally, I laughed), it worked in the context of the conversation

I thought it was added after the World Series, too.

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, cynic said:

"Just because you're not moving doesn't mean we can't see you"

I loved that line! I'll have to find ways to work it into conversations.

[Nanrad]

On 12/9/2016 at 0:26 AM, colorbars said:

I do think Mike's wife wants to be with him, I think part of why it didn't work with her fiance was because of Mike, but she's also probably worried that Mike is only it in for the chase again and the same thing will happen as last time.

Can't say I feel much sympathy for Blip. This is the second time he's been very dismissive about Evelyn's feelings and the things she has/continues to sacrifice for their marriage.

TBH, I don't think Rachel wants to be with him. Shortly after the episode, I concluded that Rachel was projecting onto Mike. 

Mike's life has been all about baseball every since he was a kid because it was the only stability he had. Of course he is overly invested and, unfortunately, at times forget to be there for Rachel. But, I don't think that has anything to do with a chase. Mike's far from perfect, but he comes off as considerate, emotionally aware, and accountable when confronted about his bad behavior. Unless he learned this behavior because Rachel left him, which I don't believe, it hard to believe that he neglected his wife so much that he wasn't even aware to their marriage falling apart.I'm not trying to absolve Mike of anything, but not only did Rachel cheat, she blamed Mike for her cheating and didn't take any accountability of the hurt she caused him. When you apply the chase philosophy to Rachel: once she got married and didn't get the attention she wanted, she cheated and left her husband for the other man; got engaged to the other man and only "liked" him; she broke up with the other man and went back to her ex after an intense moment at a dinner he crashed; after they slept together, she doesn't appear hesitant about taking another chance, but rather not interested because she isn't vested in giving their relationship another go.

Now, she does go back to him, but again, this chase thing seems to be more of her thing than Mike's. When you look at Mike and Amelia, it didn't work out because his heart was somewhere else not because the thrill of the chase was over; when you look at Ginny, after the almost kiss he was still interested in her, but there were a thousand real reasons to stop both personal and professional; with his ex wife, he extends himself to her and allows himself to be vulnerable that shows he's invested in a long term thing. She's the only one who appears to have a change of heart when you compare the kitchen encounter to their morning after.

On 12/9/2016 at 4:42 AM, SimoneS said:

I don't buy that Mike is still in love with his ex or that she is his true love. He is undergoing a life transition. He is aging and nearing the end of a career that has consumed his life since he was a kid. It is lonely, scary and traumatic. We see him looking wistfully at his teammates' families and girlfriends greeting them when they return home. He wants an emotional connection to someone, his ex, his father, but ultimately it is Ginny that he has those strong feelings for. However, a romantic relationship with Ginny is untenable. They are teammates and she is at a different stage of her life and career. So Mike is trying to recreate a relationship with his ex. I just don't think that is the answer. A new woman without that their unhappy history would be the best for MIke. 

I agree. Mike craves stability and companionship, which Rachel at one time represented. Like, imagine if Mike had Ginny in another environment (and she was older), he would've picked her up like he did Amelia. He would've been better off with a new love interest, but hopefully Pitch is explains why Rachel is bad for him and that she was lucky to have him. lol

On 12/9/2016 at 5:12 PM, dargosmydaddy said:

Um... shouldn't it? Show-universe is still in September, the Cubs haven't won yet, and even though they were having a great season, "the Cubs'll never win it" is it perfectly appropriate response when talking about a "cursed" team (not to mention trying to make Mike feel better). Whether or not you as an audience member laugh or groan over it (personally, I laughed), it worked in the context of the conversation.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I'm still convinced that the near-trade to the Cubs was no accident, and that perhaps several cuts of certain scenes were filmed so they could go with the Series winner. If there's a season two, I could see Mike being enormously pissed that the trade didn't happen. (Or, even if it was a coincidence, they could still run with it now.)

This show definitely has it's flaws, but I still love it. Fingers crossed...

It definitely worked because of the Cub's history and the curse thing. The throwaway was hilarious because, despite them being a contender, something has always happened no matter how good of a team they were. lol. But, from what I've read, they were trying to fit a Cubs line in the series in general, so I think the line would've been in their regardless, but maybe in a different context if they won. Like, "They'll never win, they'll reach the WS and be beaten by the Indians or something."

Edited December 11, 2016 by Nanrad

[ahisma]

On 12/10/2016 at 5:35 PM, cynic said:

Mound speeches bookending Ginny's season 1 journey.

These were great. But they really had it out, airing all their laundry, without their gloves raised!  There must have been a whole lot of lip readers out there who got a lot of dish on what's going on between Mike and Ginny via super zoom lenses. It was hilarious that they both got their gloves up to yell "back off," but had all the rest of their respective speech/not-getting-to-give-great-speech in clear air.