That, of course, does not keep me from offering it at every opportunity ... or them from ignoring it whenever they feel like it.

But there is one thing I don't need to tell them anymore, because they've all heard it from me ad nauseam since they were young teens.

'If a man ever hits you — leave. Leave right away, no second chances. I don't care if he begs your forgiveness, swears he'll never do it again, cries buckets and tells you he's found Jesus ... or Moses ... or Muhammad.

'Leave, because if you don't, he'll hit you again ... and again ... and again. That's the way those cowards are.

'Don't worry about where you'll go. There are shelters, or better yet, you can always come back home to Mom and Dad.

'Report the guy who hit you to the police. Don't be one of those women who get sweet-talked into dropping the charges or refusing to testify against him.

'It's actually better for him to go to jail, because what old Dad would do if Icould get my hands on him would make Dracula squeamish.'

My kids have been fortunate. None has been a victim of domestic violence.

What brings all this to mind is a shameful episode involving a baseball pitcher named Brett Myers, his wife, Kim, and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Kim is the apparent victim. It's Myers and the Phillies who should be ashamed of themselves.

While responding to a 911 call about a week ago, Boston police found Kim crying. Her face was swollen. It was hard to tell how many times she had been hit or whether it was with a fist or open hand. Myers was found nearby and arrested.

Courtney Knight, one of several people who saw the whole thing, told The Boston Globe: 'It was disgusting. He was dragging her by the hair and slapping her across the face.'

Probably wasn't the first time, either.

Knight said: 'She was yelling, 'I'm not going to let you do this to me anymore.''

I wonder if Kim's dad had given her the same advice I gave my daughters. Probably not, if she put up with being hit more than once by the 6-foot-4, 240-pound athlete.

'He had her on the ground,' the witness said. 'He was trying to get her to go, and she was resisting. She curled up and sat on the ground. He was pulling her, her shirt was up around her neck.'

Myers pleaded innocent and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4 on the assault charges. He's free on $200 bail.

Guess who put up the bail money.

Yep, his wife, Kim, who apparently just doesn't get it.

Myers certainly doesn't get it. On the day after the incident, he said he was sorry 'it had to get public.'

The Phillies don't get it, either. General Manager Pat Gillick said the team would have no comment on the incident or arrest until Myers had his day in court.

'Myers will pitch, as scheduled, (the next day) against Boston,' the team said in a statement.

And so he did.

His team lost the game, but the Phillies lost so much more.

They lost their bearings, their decency and any reason for fans to root for them.

Yes, Myers is presumed innocent in a court of law until proved guilty, but a major league baseball team is under no obligation to share that presumption.

Yes, the powerful players union would throw a hissy fit if the Phils were to suspend the pitcher.

So what?

What the Phillies should have done was ask Mr. Myers if he hit his wife. If he says 'no' — given the witnesses and the bruises on his wife's face — then the team knows he's a liar as well as a coward.

If he says 'yes,' then the team knows he has far greater problems than pitching the next day against the Boston Red Sox.

Either way, the team management should have come to the conclusion that Brett Myers isn't fit to wear a Phillies uniform. Pay him his salary, keep him on the roster if you must, but don't let him be seen on a ball field until he gets some serious help.

I'm well aware that if you took every thug, sexual deviant, drunk, racist and wife-beater out of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, there would be a lot of empty wall space where plaques now hang.

But these are supposed to be more-enlightened times. The Phillies have been roasted by women's groups, sports-talk radio call-in programs, newspaper columnists and fans who care about more than winning ball games.

That's what probably led to Myers announcing Tuesday — the fourth day after the incident — that he will take a leave of absence from the team for a while so he can 'concentrate on this matter and make plans for whatever assistance is appropriate.'

'First, while I dispute that the facts are as alleged,' he said in a statement read by his agent, 'I recognize that my behavior was inappropriate and for that I apologize.'

Inappropriate? Gee, would you go so far as that, Brett?

He still doesn't get it.

I'm just glad the sick jerk isn't married to any of my daughters.

Sam Pollak is editor of The Daily Star. He can be reached at spollak@thedailystar.com or at (607) 432-1000, ext. 208.