Finally, we were serious when we said Garcia has done some traveling: Since 1999, he has played for the Mariners (twice), Blue Jays, White Sox (twice), Tigers, and Phillies, for whom he went 1-5 in 11 starts in 2007.
Slacker Nation
It's been a while since the Red Sox have not sold out Fenway Park, so we were surprised when Sunday's attendance was given as 37,019. Capacity is 37,067. So, where the heck were those other 48 people? On vacation? By the way, before Sunday, the Bosox had averaged 37,616 at home. We again ask: What happened?
Reyes extends streak
Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes has talked about having a consistent approach at the plate. Whatever he's doing, it's working. He singled to center in the fourth inning Sunday against the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg to extend his hitting streak to 24 games.
The streak, the longest active one in the majors, has enabled Reyes to raise his batting average to .288 from where it stood at the all-star break, .264. "Probably in the beginning, I was trying to do too much," he said of his first-half struggles. "Right now, it seems I'm settling down."
Charlie being Charlie
Lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan Charlie Sheen has pledged to donate $50,000 to the team's Community Fund, matching the amount broadcaster Marty Brennaman raised for charity in return for having his head shaved on the field.
Sheen and his father, Martin Sheen, a Dayton, Ohio, native, were at the Reds game against Pittsburgh on Friday and saw Brennaman get his head shaved. Brennaman had promised to shave his hair if the Reds won 10 consecutive games and said he would do it publicly if fans donated at least $20,000 to the Reds' fund.
That drive generated $50,000, and Sheen announced Sunday he planned to match that amount.
"If this contribution points one kid in the right direction, then we've done our job," Sheen said in a statement released by the Reds. We assume the bad boy's statement was written with a straight face.
Sheen portrayed Cleveland relief pitcher Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn (another bad boy who had played for the California Penal League before joining the Indians) in the 1989 movie Major League and threw on the field before Saturday's game.
This article contains information from Inquirer wire services.
