Pitch
Season 1, Episode 2: “Interim”
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Spoilers through Pitch season 1, episode 2: “The Interim.”
The entire country has caught some Gin-sanity on this week’s episode of Pitch, “The Interim” (this seems like an awesome opportunity for Baker to strike up a contract with a liquor company), as Ginny’s rise to the MLB is all anyone can talk about. Some critics ponder whether Ginny deserves all this attention, such as the sportscaster who states:
“My grandma throws faster than that. It’s not sexist, it’s factual.”
Other sportscasters, such as Katie Nolan, make fun of Ginny’s teammates for not being able to handle the spotlight being shone on her: “ Come on boys, haven’t you seen the movie? There’s no crying in baseball” (FINALLY an A League of Their Own reference. I was wondering how long it would take to make one!)
Adoration for A League of Their Own aside, this is not the kind of the attention that Ginny wants or needs right now. Already an outcast for bringing extra attention to the poor state of the San Diego Padres, Ginny needs the media to lay off so she can be “one of the boys.” By separating her from her team and then putting her on a pedestal, it makes it harder for her to fit in.
Despite her best efforts, like having beer with the guys, it is apparent there is still animosity towards Ginny when she boards the team bus for their series against the LA Dodgers: not a single teammate is willing to sit next to her. It is like elementary school (or Forrest Gump). Luckily she has Mike on her side and she plops her behind next to him and the two start talking shop. That is until they look up and see Al on the TV. The whole bus puts on their headphones to watch an interview from two years ago where Al says the following about Ginny:
Al: “I mean have you seen her. Easy on the eye. I’m sure a lot of the guys would love to have her in the locker room”
This is a PR disaster. The owner of the Padres already wanted to fire Al and this little incident just gives him more ammunition. But it also puts Ginny in a precarious position. If she speaks out in support of Al, it makes her look like she condones his remarks, if she speaks out against him, she isolates herself from her teammates even further. And coincidentally, if she stays silent, both will happen. To the world Al is a misogynistic asshole, but Ginny knows that sometimes he just says the wrong things. She knows that no one will see the heartfelt apology he gave to her behind closed doors so because of this, she wants to release a statement in support of her manager. However, her agent, Amelia, refuses to do for “Ginny’s own good.”
Al goes on TV to apologize for his sexist statements about Ginny. The press meeting starts off well, but once the flurry of questions regarding the state of the clubhouse come flooding in he gets flustered and exclaims, “Can we just go back to when I called Ginny pretty?” Oh, Al. Poor, poor, stupid Al. This is the final straw and the owner of the franchise officially wants Al to pack his bags.
Ginny has her own media jungle to navigate while in the City of Angels. The news story of a female athlete getting raped in a male locker room has broken and everyone wants to know what Ginny’s take on it is. But Ginny doesn’t want to make a statement, she doesn’t want to be the example for all women, she just wants to play baseball. One reporter, Rachel Patrick, tries to convince Ginny to come on air and speak about the Florida Rape case:
Rachel Patrick: Woman to woman this girl was in your exact shoes.
Ginny: No one’s in my shoes. And woman to woman, screw you for putting that on me.
But what is Ginny’s responsibility to the young girls in the country? In my head, I’ve gone back and forth about the issue for days. On one hand, I can’t help but think, “With great power comes great responsibility.” She didn’t ask to be the first female pitcher, but she is. She pursued it and with that title does come responsibility. But on the other hand, she already has so much pressure on her shoulders, why she should she be subject to being a champion for women’s rights? I don’t know the answer, but I just know I don’t want to be in Ginny’s shoes.
The next obstacle in Ginny’s media jungle is the Jimmy Kimmel appearance that Amelia has set up for her. Ginny is apprehensive about going on the show, but Lawson convinces her it is the right decision. Gin-sanity is not going away anytime soon, so she might as well embrace it. And embrace it she does. When she gets on the stage she is awkward and cute and shy and amazing but when it comes time for her segment entitled “Ginny Baker Redecoraker”, Ginny’s demeanor changes. She doesn’t want to talk about redecorating tips because she doesn’t know anything about decorating, she is a baseball player. She apologizes to Jimmy if she is making this interview awkward and says:
Ginny: “Seems like I’m making a statement just by existing lately, right? So what the hell, why not make a few more?”
And then Ginny speaks her mind for the whole country to hear. First she makes a statement in support for Al. She admits he says stupid things but he has a good heart and has acknowledged that comment he made two years ago was wrong. And then she gives her opinion about the Florida Rape case ending with this powerful message:
Ginny: “We don’t need to make sure every girl goes in the right room, we need to make sure every boy knows it is wrong to rape.”
I think I need to repeat that one more time: “We don’t need to make sure every girl goes in the right room, we need to make sure every boy knows it is wrong to rape.”
This scene as a whole is so incredible and powerful. While this show is pretty progressive, it still is aired on Fox, a network not known for being particularly liberal. And then here comes a statement from a character in a prime time show stating, “it is our duty as a society to end the rape culture in this country.” On top of that, you have the way that Ginny delivers her point of view: it isn’t from a released statement primed by a PR rep, or a long essay about why it is important for women’s rights, or a response to a direct question. She is expressing herself in her own words for the country to see. And her comment does not just address the Florida Rape case. She takes it a step further and says “we need to make sure every boys know it is wrong to rape.” With that interview, Ginny Baker somehow figured out how to have it all, how to be honest to herself while still doing what she loves.
All throughout this media frenzy, Amelia is trying to deal with her own issues. She has put everything on the line for Ginny. Before Amelia went down to try to sign Ginny her life was falling apart. Immediately after learning her IVF treatment did not work, her asshole husband tells her that he is done with their marriage. Amelia was lost and unhappy at work, but then she saw Ginny on the TV and knew that she was meant to work with this girl; that they were meant for each other. Down to San Antonio Amelia went where she met Ginny and Willie, her older brother/agent. After Amelia proves to Willie that she is what Ginny needs if she wants to make it to the big leagues (by filling the stands with girls holding signs reading “I’m Next”), Amelia becomes Ginny’s new agent.
Lawson
On top of dealing with keeping his team intact during this Gin-sanity, Mike Lawson is also dealing with the mortality of his baseball career. His ex-wife (who just happens to be Rachel Patrick) is getting remarried, his body is failing him, and now he is watching his team fall apart. After witnessing yet another brawl break out in the locker room, Lawson has had enough:
Lawson: “I gave my life to this game! So I’ve got a radical idea, mooks. Hear me out here: how ‘bout we start winning in front of sold out crowds? How bout we start winning for Al and his job? How bout you start winning for your captain, too? We’re gonna shock the world and yeah, we’re gonna do it with a pretty girl in the dugout. Yeah, a pretty girl who by the way works a hell of a lot harder than you lazy losers. So maybe we all start working as hard as her.”
Blip
Oh Blip and Evelyn, how I love thee. They are so sickeningly sweet and cute together, I can’t handle it. I would watch a show just about their lives. Blip is freaking out because Evelyn accidentally washed and destroyed Blip’s lucky Grandmaster Flash concert t-shirt. But Evelyn is the best wife ever and remedies the situation. She found the exact same shirt from the exact same concert on Ebay so Blip could have his lucky charm before the game. She even placed it in a bag with her mother’s pot roast so it would have the same smell as his last shirt. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.
Additional Thoughts:
- That Kimmel segment “Ginny Baker Redecoraker” was absolutely ridiculous. First the title is both horribleand very difficult to say. Second why was this sexist idea ever pitched. Ginny has never shown interest in redecorating so the only reason it was proposed was because she is a girl. Here are some suggestions for segments the could have gone with:
- Having Ginny make a bunch of Screwballs but instead of using vodka make it with gin
- Something involving nectarines
- Something that involves throwing or tossing something
- Literally ANYTHING about baseball that does not include decorating tips
- Is anyone else scared that something bad happened or will happen to Ginny’s brother? They seem very close, he was her agent for the beginning of her career, but he is nowhere to be seen in the pilot or anywhere but flashback.
- Having Rachel Patrick be the news anchor who is hounding Ginny and Lawson’s ex seems very soapy to me. They made it seem like Ginny didn’t really know of Rachel and I just don’t buy that Ginny wouldn’t have known she was Mike’s ex.
Pitch airs Thursdays on Fox at 9pm EST.
