Braves' bullpen band of brothers is strong

Next time you're at Turner Field, look down in that high-walled space beyond right field, and you'll see one of the more motley brotherhoods you can imagine.

There's a 40-year-old father of three from Japan with an incongruous nickname, Sammy. An Aussie with almost as many jokes as tattoos. A potential Hall of Fame-bound closer who intends to retire to his Virginia farm after the season.

There's a left-hander waived in 2007 by his home-state Seattle Mariners. Two Southern Californians, one a wisecracking, baby-faced spot starter, the other a soft-spoken, skinny fireballer, Jesse Chavez, whose last name is tattooed across his back.

There's a rising rookie left-hander from Kentucky, Jonny Venters, whose name sounds like a Vegas lounge act, and a hard-throwing rookie from Alabama, Craig Kimbrel, who's being groomed as a future closer by the retiring farmer.

And there is the affable bullpen coach, former big-league catcher Eddie Perez.

Presenting one of the best -- and funniest -- bullpens in the National League.

"It's very laid-back," said closer Billy Wagner, who commends Perez. "Eddie's laid-back, fun-loving, knows the game, and watches the game. That helps a lot. A lot of times you get bullpen coaches that are just answer-the-phone-type guys.

"Eddie, being a good player and catcher, knows what to expect. We'll sit out there and call pitches -- I would do this, I would do that. Most of the time it's 50-50 [who's right]."

What other relievers like about Perez is how he cuts through tension and keeps his guys loose, cracking a joke to a reliever who's wound a bit tight warming up, or busting the chops of leather-lunged fans shouting at Braves relievers in Philadelphia.

"He loves it," said lefty Eric O'Flaherty, the former Mariner. "He always [one-ups] them, the whole time. I think [Philadelphia] is his favorite park to go to."

Wagner said, "That's unusual, because the bullpens that I've been in in the past, when we went to Philly, the bullpen coach was hiding as much as the players. Not Eddie. He really does [deflect heckling], and that means a lot."

When the bullpen coach isn't standing up for them, they stand up for each other.

"It jells perfectly, from Wags [Wagner] down," said Peter Moylan, the Aussie sidearmer who leads the team in relief appearances and good-natured insults. "Everyone really roots for the other guy when he's out there. Nothing [upsets] me off more than when I come in and give up someone else's runs. Everyone feels that way.

"We all genuinely care for each other. It's not just about what you do on the field. Everyone asks how things are going off the field. I think it comes from Wags. He has that kind of personality where everyone embraces it. It's like, OK, if he's going to be like that, then why shouldn't we be like that?"

Braves relievers ranked sixth in the National League with a 3.56 ERA through Friday, which included a debacle of an appearance by Jo-Jo Reyes in San Diego, when he pitched hurt and gave up nine runs, and a woeful May by Chavez.

Without Chavez's numbers and Reyes' one appearance, all other Braves relievers had a combined 2.28 ERA and only five homers allowed in 122 1/3 innings.

Craig Kimbrel is the rookie being groomed by Wagner, who made his debut when Kimbrel was 7. Though Kimbrel was recently sent to Triple-A Gwinnett to get more work, he will return.

"It's a lot of fun," Kimbrel said of the Braves' bullpen. "They're all great guys, all real funny. But at the same time, they all want to win and go to work. They keep it loose, but when it's time to go to work, they zone in."

Kris Medlen recently has moved between the bullpen and the starting rotation for injured starter Jair Jurrjens, depriving the bullpen of half of its comedic duo, Moylan and Medlen.

The former is unrelenting in zingers directed at teammates, reporters, anyone in earshot, while Medlen is a bundle of energy with confidence to wear a faux-hawk haircut -- a fake Mohawk -- and fire back at any teammate who gives him grief.

O'Flaherty, whose career blossomed after the Braves claimed him off waivers from Seattle, said bullpen humor isn't centered around practical jokes, not like the "hot-foot" and other stunts featured on baseball blooper reels from the past.

Instead it's ongoing jokes and discussions that take place nightly, during the early innings before things start to turn serious in the bullpen.

"There's not one incident I can point to, it's just constant," he said. "Losing Medlen hurt, personality-wise. But we still have a lot of fun. It's kind of a circus."

Wagner, 38, ranks sixth in career saves and signed a one-year contract with the Braves in December, the same week as Takashi "Sammy" Saito. They became friends last season in Boston's bullpen, and Wagner strongly recommended Saito to Braves officials.

During his 16 major league seasons with five organizations, Wagner said he rarely has experienced the level of camaraderie that exists in the Braves' bullpen.

"We all have that nervousness, that anxiety, that fear of failure," he said. "You don't want to do bad; you want to do well. You have a tough game, everyone's there and understands. There's not that look you get in other clubhouses -- that look of, great, you screwed that one up.

"Here you get the look of, hey, just keep going. We know you're working hard."

Wagner was 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA and five saves in seven opportunities through Wednesday, and his 29 strikeouts in 18 innings gave him the third-most strikeouts per nine innings (14.5) among NL relievers.

A few of his recent appearances were spotty, however, and Wagner hated getting a May 19 win after blowing a lead in what could have been Kenshin Kawakami's first win. Wagner was critical of himself, but others weren't.

"That's a good situation, because you don't feel like you're letting everybody down if you have that bad game," he said. "They know you're competing and doing everything you can, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out."

The veteran thinks that attitude filters down from manager Bobby Cox.

"You know what's good about Bobby, and it should be this way: If you pitch well, you get a little pat on the back," Wagner said. "‘Hey, good job.' If you go out there like in Cincinnati and I give up the home run, and I get the game tied, I'm not going to hear anything from Bobby. If I do my job, I get the pat on the back. If I don't do my job, you don't get the pat on the back. You know exactly where you stand. And that's the way it's supposed to be.