Gomez has been hit by Cardinal pitching in the last 4 games against them. Whether or not you agree with payback, this is not an acceptable trend, and it needs to be addressed. Whether that means retaliation or addressing it to the league is not up to me, but it needs to be addressed. Ok, retaliate. Hit a guy. HEre is my question, and no one will ever answer it. Do you believe that it will make the Cardinals stop hitting batters? WHich is the stated purpose, yes? Why else are you giving a free base runner? I don't know the answer to that. I know that not knowing the answer to that doesn't absolve us from a responsibility to take actions to protect our players. Gomez is going to end up injured one of these times, and that's not okay, and Matheny deserves discipline for carrying it this far. I'm not directly suggesting retaliation, just suggesting that as one course of action. And if you do, I'm not advocating giving them a free runner. Just doing it in a situation that it doesn't hurt you (a blowout, or a situation where you would give an IBB anyway)