Pitch’s “Scratched” definitely complicates things before the season one finale. With Ginny and Mike both believing that Mike’s leaving for Chicago, their true feelings finally come out.
Mike Gets His Curtain Call
Pitch’s “Scratched” begins with news speculation that Mike is leaving the Padres for the Cubs. Mike gets a call in the locker room while everyone’s watching the news. It’s a guy from the Cubs. He says they could win with him as catcher, and he wants him there in two days.
Ginny then finds Mike and says she can’t stand the “Mikeomania” with everyone obsessing over him. She’s convinced Mike won’t leave the team. They’re only seven games away from the Wild Card. Would he really leave? Maybe, if going to the Cubs guarantees him getting to the World Series and finally getting his ring.
Amelia also asks Mike if he’s really leaving and says that he should say goodbye to the people who matter to him – like Ginny. Charlie and Oscar, meanwhile, argue over whether this trade will be good for business. Mike comes in and they tell him there are still some things to work out with the deal. He asks to keep the deal quiet until it’s official.
Later, Ginny finds her cleats nailed to her cubbie. Usually, players prank rookies on the first of the month, but since Mike’s leaving before then, Ginny assumes he pranked her early as a goodbye. She goes to talk to him and tries to convince him to stay. He’s never won a World Series, so he wants to go where he can. She says he should stay and try to win with them and they wind up getting pissy with each other.
‘Pitch Recap: Does Ginny Choose Will Over Amelia? >>>
Ginny’s pissed that Mike’s leaving the team, but Blip says that everyone on the team has their own lives and their own problems. Ginny understands and tells Blip Mike’s leaving the team in good hands. Soon Giny starts ribbing on Mike while he practices batting and he actually does a lot better. “You know you’re gonna miss me,” she says. Blip says they’re all going to miss him. “It wasn’t my idea to leave,” Mike reminds him. “So don’t,” Blip replies.
Oscar and Charlie continue with negotiations. The Cubs’ agent says that Mike can’t play for the Padres tonight because he doesn’t want to sign Mike if he gets hurt. Charlie agrees despite Oscar’s pretests. Naturally, Mike’s pissed when he finds out Livan’s playing instead of him.
The fans get upset that Mike’s not playing and Mike gets more and more frustrated throughout the game. Ginny convinces a cameraman to film Mike in the dugout and then convinces Mike to put his helmet on. Soon the whole stadium starts chanting his name, and Al has no other choice than to put him in the game. So Mike gets to help the Padres and get his curtain call. But he gets a strike, a foul, and another strike and the Padres lose. It’s so disappointing. Still, the crowd goes wild for Mike, so he goes out and waves his hat. It’s pretty powerful.
After the game, Ginny says they should go out for a drink, but Mike’s just going home. Blip then says that Mike could have said goodbye to everyone and explained that he wanted to get his ring, but he didn’t. Mike turns to ask him to get a beer right after he walks out of the room. Finally, only Mike and Livan are left. They shake hands and argue over whether Livan should listen to the coaches.
Will Livan Ever Fit Into the Team?
Earlier in Pitch Oscar checks in with Livan, who may replace Mike, and then talks with Al’s daughter Natalie. She tells him she’s been offered another job somewhere else. He wants her to stay though.
Oscar then talks with Al and Buck. Al says he shouldn’t trade Mike for a few reasons: He doesn’t want Mike to leave, but also Livan doesn’t listen to them and will only get worse when Mike leaves. Al then asks Buck to leave the room. He knows about Oscar and Natalie and he’s pretty upset. “I’m not planning on bailing on her,” Oscar says. “That’s reassuring,” Al sarcastically replies.
During the game, Livan proves Al’s point when he continues to do whatever he wants rather than listening to the coaches, and they get so pissed. He only focuses on what’s good for him, rather than the team.
After the game, Al and Natalie argue over her and Oscar’s relationship. Oscar walks in, which is awkward. Natalie then tells Al that Oscar’s always talking about how great Al is and tells Oscar that Al’s right about Mike leaving. Then she announces she’s taking a job overseas. She leaves and Oscar says he’s happy Mike got to hit even if Charlie wasn’t.
Will’s Business Gets Off the Ground
Ginny has dinner with Blip, Evelyn, and Will. Eventually they turn their attention to Will’s business, and Evelyn wants to invest. “Invest what? My money?” Blip asks. Bad move. So they agree to invest.
Ginny later tells Amelia about Will’s new business. She adds that she gave Will some money, and Amelia tells her it’s a bad idea. But Will’s her brother. She has to support him.
So Amelia takes it upon herself to talk with Evelyn. She says Ginny has a blind spot when it comes to Will. “Well, I don’t, and I’ve got it under control,” Evelyn replies.
Eliot ultimately convinces Amelia to apologize to Evelyn and Will. She also offers to help if they ever need it. That actually sparks some concern in Evelyn.
Evelyn goes to see Will later and asks him about some discrepancies with the money. He has excuses and says he found some great deals and calms her down. But Evelyn eventually calls Amelia for help.
Ginny Gets a New Boyfriend
Ginny does some filming for her video game and flirts with one of the guys who works there. It actually happens to be Noah Casey, the CEO of the company. He asks her for dinner, but her life’s all about baseball and she’s just so famous it’s hard to go out in public. She rejects him while Amelia and Will watch. She should have said yes.
Noah’s persistent, though. He sends her this adorable video game about the two of them and asks her to text him. She continues to get texts from him throughout Pitch.
Eventually, Ginny agrees to a date with Noah, though she tells Mike she’s meeting Will. He sets it up in an empty restaurant and says she can have anything she wants. There’s no menu. They get jalapeño burgers. Then Ginny asks him for advice on investing in a restaurant. He says not to. Restaurants always fail and you shouldn’t invest in friends or family. They have a good time, but Ginny gets a text from Mike in the middle of the date and leaves.
Mike and Ginny’s Goodbye
So Ginny goes to meet Mike at an empty bar. He’s supposed to go to a press conference in Chicago tomorrow. Mike explains that it’s his time to leave. His team doesn’t want him. Ginny says that his teammates don’t want him to go. Part of her wants him to leave because all the talk about the trade is distracting from the game though. They reminisce about old times and say they’re going to miss each other. Mike even admits to nailing her cleats. Then they almost kiss before they say goodbye, but they’re interrupted when Mike gets a call from Oscar.
Oscar had continued to argue with Charlie saying the team and Livan need Mike. So Mike’s call was Oscar telling him that he’s staying with the Padres because the trade fell through. This complicates things.
Are you surprised that Mike’s staying? How do you think his and Ginny’s relationship will affect the team?
Pitch airs on Thursday nights at 9/8 c on Fox. Like BuddyTV’s Pitch Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
