Matchup/Game Thread at Phillies 6:05 CST

Roy Oswalt	Brett Myers
1 - 0, 1.08	0 - 1, 6.75

Most people have forgotten that the Phils' starting pitcher tonight has what Cronenberg called a history of violence.

Nearly a year later, I'm finding that while hardly anyone's talking about Myer's assault of his wife on a Boston street one night last June, I still find myself feeling something very close to hatred for the guy when I contemplate his actions.

If some man of lighter stature and lesser means committed the same act, it would be no less reprehensible, but that in addition to his having spent some time boxing as a kid, the fact that Myers is both 6'4"-240 AND a millionaire several times over does somehow serve to make the crime for which he was never charged that much more heinous.

Once again, I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with this. I mean, I would certainly never have suggested that Myers be tossed from baseball for what he did. The Phillies need to be doling out criminal sentences like the Circuit Board of Appeals needs to be umpiring our next homestand. And although I think that, in general, your average professional baseball player is about as good a guy as your average accountant or your average pipefitter, I'm sure other pro baseball players have committed worse.

What kind of man punches a woman in the face?

I don't discount the idea of absolution or of rehabilitation. I understand Myers has been in counseling since, and maybe he's improved a little bit over the past ten months, but still, what kind of guy, ever, punches a woman in the face?

On thought, I guess what I'm trying to say is this: After ten months, maybe people have forgotten that Brett Myers is a cowardly craven fuck, but I haven't, and I'd love to remind you. Beyond the normal antipathy I would feel for any opponent on any night, I hope very much that he takes the loss this evening.