Arrr!

Sox love courtesy of Yahoo! Sports 

I’m  not rehashing last night (did enough of that last night).  So I’m here to talk about the bullpen (aka "the best bullpen in the league").

Now, for whatever reasons, Rob Bradford seems to be the only writer (aside from bloggers) embracing the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme that the bullpen has going on.  Truly, if not for him, we probably wouldn’t know a thing about it.

 The short version, for those who haven’t read about it, is that the bullpen guys call the Fenway bullpen "The Black Pearl", refer to themselves as "The Pirates of the Caribbean", and have secret handshakes and secret names for each other (And, now, they even have a stuffed parrot in the bullpen!  This I have to see!).  Sounds a little sappy?  Maybe.  But bullpen coach Gary Tuck thinks it is wonderful, so does new addition to the bullpen Eric Gagne.  The guys playing pirate in the bullpen is just another indication of how close this team is.  Something we, as fans, have been looking for since 2004. 

"I’ve never seen a group of guys this tight," said bullpen coach Gary Tuck. “They basically live together. They go to lunch together, they go to dinner after the games together, they travel together, they lift weights together, they throw together.

They’re from different countries, different parts of the world, and at different stages of the game, from (41-year-old Mike) Timlin to (25-year-old Manny) Delcarmen. I’ve never seen anything like it.

This team has something special, and just because they lost a game to the Devil Rays that doesn’t change.  So as frustrated as I will, undeniably, get throughout the rest of this season, I still have every faith that these guys are going to come through.  Not just for us, but for each other.

Ooh, one note on the ball I dropped yesterday (speaking of the bullpen!):  Jonathan Papelbon is now the first Red Sox reliever to  have two 30-save seasons.  Guess that decision to keep him as closer has worked out for all involved, eh? 

Today the Sox start a four-game series with the White Sox, who are getting killed these days.  So I expect every one of these friggin’ games to be a nail-biter.  It’s the only way, right?  Although with Beckett, Schilling, Wakefield and Lester on the mound, I’m hoping for good things. 

(Say it with me, again, folks, "RUN SUPPORT!")