SPORTS: Phillies vs. Padres, the TV show

For those of us who don't know squat about baseball, CP contributor Matt Cantor breaks down last night's game in a way we all can understand - like it's a TV show!

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SPORTS: Phillies vs. Padres, the TV show

POSTED: Monday, April 25, 2011, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: TV

For those of us who don't know squat about baseball, CP contributor Matt Cantor breaks down last night's game in a way we all can understand — like it's a TV show!

Every summer, I try to catch all 162 episodes of my favorite show, now in its 142nd season. Some call the series boring, but it puts me on the edge of my seat — and yesterday’s episode, filmed in San Diego, was no exception.

This latest installment, directed by Charlie Manuel, was fairly predictable if you’d seen the previous three. It opened, as usual, with a lone figure perched in the center of a grassy field. The central character, Doc, played by Roy Halladay, appeared at first to be a fairly flat persona — but a certain intensity in his eyes suggested a tide of powerful feeling under the calm surface. Indeed, Halladay has been widely recognized for a string of excellent performances over the years. But the stakes have lately risen ever higher, as the press has fueled sky-high expectations for him and his three fellow leading men.

Our hero had a clear task before him: he had to keep an onslaught of camouflaged figures at bay while his red-capped comrades launched an attack of their own. They had just nine chances to crack their enemies’ defenses, and they made little headway during the first five. That meant continued pressure on Doc, who had to remain as impenetrable as the antagonists.

The plot finally began to thicken more than an hour into the episode, when one of Doc’s companions managed to bamboozle the baddies, denting their defenses. Now, it was a moment of reckoning for the show’s often-tragic figure, a burly character played by Ryan Howard. His small mistake meant a sad ending for the show’s previous season, and in this Saturday’s episode, he struck out multiple times — despite the fact that he’s considered one of the show’s best performers. At first, I thought this was amusing irony; but as the plot device repeated itself, it stopped being funny. Now, as he stepped onscreen, could he redeem himself? In the end, he did — thanks in part to a bumbling opponent’s slip-up.

Soon to appear was John Mayberry Jr., an understudy for the part of Raul Ibanez. It was an exciting moment for the young upstart, granted an opportunity to become a hero. He jumped at the chance, leading a charge that put the protagonists on track for a happy ending.

Before the end of the episode, however, came its highlight, as viewers were treated to an impressive effort from the Flyin’ Hawaiian, played by Shane Victorino. It was an exciting plot twist: instead of relying on power, the character used speed to score against the enemy, whipping around in a circle before landing on his face in the dirt — only to emerge with a winning smile on his face.

My only complaint about the episode was the static performance from members of the opposing forces. They hardly seemed to pose a threat until the show’s climax, when Doc allowed two of them to break through his defenses. Suddenly, the great hero had fallen; the director was forced to give up on Doc and replace him with one Antonio Bastardo. With tension high, the show cut to commercial; finally, some real drama, I thought. But almost as soon as the scene returned, it was all over, and the good guys had won again.

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