Leading Off this Week: The Pen is Mightiest

The bullpen has become the focus of modern baseball. It's essentially a greenroom as they prepare to take center stage. Hours are spent analyzing the opposition, comparing notes and getting loose - which often extends beyond pitchers' muscles to their interactions with spectators. The bullpen is home not only to relievers, of course, but also to starters before game time, to backup catchers and to coaches who are a phone call away (not cell, not even cordless) from the brain trust in the dugout.