The one with the shaved head is the son of a nuclear physicist. The one with tattoos wallpapering nearly every inch of his body is part Cherokee Indian. The one who throws pellets is an Idaho Mormon. The one from Texas is Irish. The one who dresses the loudest but talks the least is from Venezuela. The closer wears funky, Clark Kent glasses. The long reliever's family is involved in a Christian ministry that counsels prisoners.
''We're a strange group, I'll agree with that,'' said Kevin Gregg, the bespectacled one.
They're the Marlins' seven relievers. And although no two are alike, they are a cohesive unit that might just be the backbone and strength of the Marlins, a septet of arms -- five right-handers and two lefties -- that make up the bullpen.
''I honestly believe that opposites attract and, in our bullpen, we've got all sorts of stuff going on,'' said bullpen catcher Pierre Arsenault, who is Canadian. ``Maybe that's why they get along so well, because they complement each other. We're all from everywhere -- different places and different backgrounds. And yet, when the game starts, everybody is on the same page.''
Actually, once the game starts, most of them are figuring out ways to kill time because their job typically doesn't begin until the fifth inning or later. One of their favorite pranks is hiding the golf cart that belongs to the team photographer in some cubbyhole in Dolphin Stadium (Hint: Look in the clubhouse kitchen).
Renyel Pinto, the left-hander from Venezuela, makes it his daily ritual of peeling the cover off one baseball and, using markers, coloring in the white panels of another.
Heckling fans in other ballparks don't rattle them. It is the other way around.
''The other day in Washington, they were just all over us, saying we were a Triple A team,'' said Logan Kensing, the Texan. ``[Lee Gardner] got on the guy so bad he got up and left. He couldn't take it anymore.''
But all bullpens tend to be bawdy, loose cannons and cut-ups who are a breed apart from the rest of their teammates. The Marlins' relievers are no different. They are cliquish. They watch game videos together, exploring for weaknesses. They gather as a group during the pregame stretches. Often, after a lackluster outing the night before, you will find them huddling in groups of two or three, counseling one another, the next day.
ERA TIED FOR SEVENTH
Where they separate themselves is on the mound. They are not the best bullpen in the majors. But they are among the best. Their 3.18 bullpen ERA ranks tied for seventh. If that figure holds up, it would represent the best season ever by a Marlins bullpen -- by a lot. The inaugural 1993 club heads the list with a 3.73 ERA.
''I think the reason they have a chance to be much better than people think is that they have the last three innings of a game covered pretty well,'' ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian said of the Marlins. ``I'm absolutely convinced that the team with a really, really good bullpen has a chance.''
Kurkjian points to the Tampa Bay Rays as a prime example of what a good bullpen means. Last season, the Rays finished with a bullpen ERA of 6.16. It was not only the worst figure in the majors last year, it also was the worst figure in more than 50 years.
This year: The Rays are fourth in the majors in bullpen ERA at 2.80, and they are hanging in at the top of the American League East standings with the Boston Red Sox, the defending World Series champs. It also is no coincidence that the Arizona Diamondbacks, owners of the best record in the majors, have the best bullpen ERA (2.41).
But building a good bullpen isn't easy. Just ask Larry Beinfest.
Beinfest, the Marlins' president of baseball operations, has worked wonders with the lowest payroll in the majors. But putting together a reliable bullpen has been, in Beinfest's words, one of ``our biggest challenges.''
''I can only speak from my experience,'' he said. ``I think it's very difficult.''
The Marlins have developed a habit of sorting through the woodpile and turning up closers. But surrounding them with a quality, supporting cast hasn't been as easy -- not until last year when it was the other way around.
Jorge Julio started out as the closer and was an instant flop. After Henry Owens held the role briefly, Kevin Gregg took over and the bullpen pieces fell neatly into place. Although taxed by an ineffective starting rotation that did not have a complete game, the bullpen was one of the most successful ever for the Marlins.
''We thought it was the strength of the team,'' Beinfest said.
Content with the performance, Beinfest didn't tinker with it during the winter offseason.
''This 'pen is a little bit of everything,'' Beinfest said. ``It's trades, home-growns and free agent signings.''
It features lefties in Pinto and Taylor Tankersley, whose father is the nuclear scientist. They have the prototypical flamethrower in Matt Lindstrom, who hails from Idaho and is the bullpen's ''straight arrow.'' They have another right-hander in Justin Miller, who is covered neck to toes in tattoos and who traces his lineage to the American Indian. They have Gregg. And they have Doug Waechter handling long- and middle-relief duties.
DIFFERENT STYLES
''It's nice to have a bullpen with a little diversity,'' Lindstrom said. ``And each of us brings a different pitching style, which gives our team so many options. We've got right-handers that come from three-quarter angles and over the top. It's the same with the two lefties. It's got to be pretty tough on opposing hitters I would think.''
The other members of the bullpen are constantly giving Lindstrom a hard time. Because he has the least amount of service time in the majors, he is being forced to bring the candy bag to the bullpen for the second season in a row.
''And, honestly, I think he did a poor job [being in charge of the candy bag] last year,'' Miller said. ``I just think he lacked. He did a bad job. We're giving him a chance to redeem himself.''
Miller is joking, of course.
Lindstrom knows the others are only kidding.
'Sometimes I don't take it, and Pinto calls me `sensitive' because I'm the sensitive one,'' Lindstrom said. ``That's fine. But everything is done out of love and fun.''
And right now, the bullpen is a ball of laughs.
''I think what makes these guys special is that it's literally like a family,'' Arsenault said. 'They all pull for each other. If one guy gets in trouble, the other guy tries to get him out of it. I've seen bullpens -- not that they're divided -- but there's just not that cohesiveness. I've seen bullpens in the past where guys [complain] constantly -- `they're using me too much' or 'they're not using me enough.' Not these guys. They don't [complain] about anything. They all want the ball. They all want to pitch.''
Said Kensing: ``We're not going to win all the time, and we know that. But we'll put our bullpen up against any bullpen in the league. There's a good chemistry and a good aura about us. Everybody pulls their weight, and I think that's what makes us special.''
