9-13-2018 Passed Ball Show- John starts the show by calling into the question the decision to have a press conference just to announce when David Wright is playing again. Obviously, there is more to this- likely the announcement that Wright will either be retiring or not playing anymore after this season. If not, what is the need to have COO Jeff Wilpon and assistant GM John Ricco at the same presser. Khris Davis will almost certainly not be playing for the Oakland Athletics after the 2019 season when he is eligible to become a free agent and may even be traded this off season. This has more to do with precedence than anything else and is (and will be) clearly money-driven. Davis, an AL MVP candidate this season and a huge reason the Athletics are headed to an unexpected playoff season, fits the build of a reasonably paid player who is exceeding the worth of his contract ($10.5 million in 2018). Rather than pay him what he deserves, the Athletics would rather either trade him or simply not retain him once his contract runs out after the 2019 season. Finally, defensive pro football players should not be expected to be nice people. For years, since the days of Buddy Ryan, defensive players have been taught to be ferocious, tenacious, and have little regard for the safety of offensive players, particularly the quarterback. And we expect them to be nice guys? The days of the conventional defensive player becoming the best of all time are likely over for that reason. Players that play with that regard today would likely be suspended and eventually blackballed.
