Pitch - S1E5 - Alfonso Guzman Chavez

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Previously on Pitch, “The Break”

Pitch - S1E5 - “Alfonso Guzman Chavez” | Starring: Kylie Bunbury, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos, Mo McRae, Meagan Holder | Directed by: Paris Barclay

Trading Places

This week there’s a lot of wheeling and dealing happening in the Padres front office. The trade deadline before the playoffs is in less than two days and Oscar (Consuelos) has to get some new players while simultaneously trimming the budget by $2 million. This kicks off a round of musical chairs and anxiety runs rampant amongst all the players except Mike, who has a no-trade clause in his contract. Ginny is particularly afraid because although she doesn’t think she’ll get traded, Blip is an enticing player for another team and he and Evelyn are her only real family.

Watching this was really eye-opening. I’m not a hardcore baseball fan, but I think anyone who’s a sports fan thinks of things like trades pretty casually. The players, on the other hand, already have their bags packed, knowing they might have to go at any moment. They have to tell their wives and children that they are uprooting their lives at a moment’s notice. And as we see in the case of one player, it may happen again as soon as they land in a new city. Though they try to keep up a brave face for Ginny and their kids, even Blip and Evelyn snap from the stress.

In Living Color

The present-day story is juxtaposed with Ginny’s flashbacks to another friend she lost, Jordan. She and Jordan were teammates and friends and Jordan spent a lot of time with her family because of his drunk and neglectful father. At first the flashbacks felt very superfluous. Jordan felt like just another person in Ginny’s past who should be here in the present day with her and you wonder what will be the reason for their eventual falling out. But as this show is wont to do, the story comes full circle with the heartbreaking realization that Jordan’s father was the drunk driver who killed Ginny’s father. When Mr. Baker calls Jordan’s father to admonish him about missing Jordan’s game, he hops into the car inebriated and kills Ginny’s father.

As we learn more about Ginny’s past, it’s clear how much loss she’s endured, so it’s even sadder to see her lose faith in Mike after Amelia finally tells her that they are dating. When his name pops up on her phone screen and she hits cancel, it’s like a punch to the viewer’s gut. And when she watches In Living Color, with Blip’s twin boys, Kylie Bunbury clearly evokes Ginny’s longing for the days when she and Jordan would lay on her living room floor watching reruns. 

Extra Innings

• Oscar continues to shine. He’s trying to balance the needs of the front office while being fair to the players on the team. And when Ginny steps out of line and tries to demand that Blip isn’t traded he clearly puts her back in her place.
• Amelia really likes Mike and Mike really likes Amelia, but I still don’t know if they’re a good couple. Either way, this relationship will impact Ginny even if, like Mike keeps saying, she’s a big girl. From what we’ve seen in flashbacks, Ginny doesn’t have a lot of people she can rely on and Mike and Amelia were two of those few.
• Now that we’ve set up lots of significant people in her past, I’d really like to see some of those people interact with Ginny in the present. Ginny’s mom is the only person we’ve seen in the present. Jordan and her brother would be wonderful to see again.
• Tommy getting traded hit harder than expected. He and Ginny were building a friendship and if we see him again, more than likely, they’ll be on opposite sides.