I told the guys, 'This is just another bump in the road. We should be able to get through it. MLB is staggering the suspensions so the teams won't have to be too short-handed during games, and thus compromise the integrity of the games. No names were announced, though Magglio Ordonez and Keith Foulke are expected to appeal. Nine members of the Tigers received suspensions, as opposed to seven from the Sox.
All players are eligible to appeal.
Garcia already has been demoted to the minors and won't serve his suspension until he gets back to the majors. I thought I'd get two or three at the most. I didn't hit anybody. Baseball spokesman Rich Levin said his research showed the suspensions to be the largest ever. In 1998, fights at Kansas City and Yankee Stadium resulted in multiple suspensions.