Criticism of Oswalt Justified

Roy Oswalt went home to check on his family after their area was struck by the devastating tornadoes that were recently in the news. No one questioned the team for giving him the time off, nor Oswalt for taking it.

Even after he missed a second start, few raised an eyebrow.

Now Oswalt has returned and is going directly on the disabled list. Apparently, Oswalt did a lot more than check on the family and got directly involved in rebuilding projects. He also let everyone know how far down his list of priorities baseball sits, suggesting he could walk away from the game tomorrow.

Maybe he should.

Obviously, Oswalt is tucked safely behind the “family comes first” line that no one will question. But his actions just don’t cut it.

Oswalt has not walked away from baseball. He’s still getting a better paycheck than most people ever dream of. He has an obligation to his teammates, organization, and, yes, Phillies fans, to pitch every fifth game, and he will be failing to meet that obligation for a while.

I get Oswalt missing a start – as in one. If someone wanted to question it, I wouldn’t defend Oswalt a heck of a lot. But I wouldn’t necessarily be the guy raising my hand to ask why he needed to go.

If I was in the Phillies organization, I absolutely would have questioned him missing the second start. Go home, see everybody, hug the kids, comfort your spouse, and get back to work. As far as I know, no one in Oswalt’s family died. There is really no reason for him to have missed the second start.

There’s no way in the world he should have come back unable to pitch.

What the hell is he doing manual labor for? He’s a millionaire, and the fact is that his livelihood is based on his ability to pitch. I first heard Mike Missanelli make this argument this afternoon – he can easily pay somebody to do it.

It’s wonderful that he wants to play Bob the Builder, and he can do that all winter long. He doesn’t get to do it during the season and pull the “family comes first” card. People say that meaning they’re willing to sacrifice to live up to that credo.

I’m fairly certain Oswalt won’t miss a paycheck at any point this season. He’s not sacrificing for his family – the Phillies and their fans are.