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Bullpen

Garin

Senior Member
Czech - Czechia
Hello, everyone!
In 100 Bullets comics, a guy is walking into a building meeting a janitor. He asks him:
  • Tyrone, catch The Tribe last night?
  • Did I... bullpen, blowin' another one... Don' even get me started.
  • It's that f***in' owner. He's one cheap so-an'-so. Won't go an' pay for who it takes to win.
Although I am no expert in sports generally, and especially not in baseball which in our country is just a minor sport for a couple of enthusiasts, I can understand that Cleveland Indians have lost the game. But what does bullpen mean here? "A part of a baseball field where pitchers practice throwing the ball before they go on the field" does not really make much sense in this context. Could you, please, help me out?
In your context the "bullpen" refers to those pitchers who warm up there, not the area itself. In baseball, there is the pticher who starts the game (the starting pitcher) but he does not (usually) pitch for the whole game. At some point another pitcher (or several in succession) come in to "relieve" the starter (they are the relief pitchers). Collectively those relief pitchers are referred to as "the bullpen". The last pitcher is often referred to as "the closer"👁 Big Grin :D

(Written by someone who grew up with cricket but proved it is possible to understand and enjoy both games👁 Big Grin :D
)
Thank you, Julian, for your explanation. Could I rephrase it, then, as: "...the pitchers blew another game..."?
No, not really. You could say "the relief pitchers blew the game" to convey the same meaning. Usually, when the bullpen "blows the game" it means that the team was leading when the starting pitcher left and the bullpen started. The "bullpen" then gave up a lot of runs so the team lost because of the poor performance of the bullpen.
OK, I get it now, thank you for having patience with me.
I already saw "bullpen" in relation to a baseball pitcher/zone. But since i read it in a totally different context yesterday, i also found following definitions:

1.) a business office that is not divided into individual compartments
2.) detention cell as in a police station or courthouse

source:
bullpen | Übersetzung Englisch-Deutsch

Is it really common to use bullpen referring to a (open space) office?
It's not common but it is used that way. It generally should refer to a group of people doing the same sort of work. In baseball, a bullpen is where the relief pitchers warm up and get ready to go into the game if necessary. Sometimes several are warning up at the same time and when the moment comes to send a replacement pitcher into the game, the coach will decide which one is the best choice. So as a figurative use, it only makes sense in a similar situation. You have a group of people doing the same sort of work collectively and if some new case (for detectives) or job (for business) comes in, whoever in the bullpen is available can take care of that situation because they are all trained for that.
It seems to me that it's used in journalism for the same reason. The pool of interchangeable, low-paid writers who can all update an obituary or write a simple filler article.
Thanks for the explanations! Makes perfect sense.
I also read this word in relation to a police precincts office (TV show "Brooklyn 99")

But it's origin is derived from a bull (animal) and pen (cage/enclosure)?
One theory about the origin of this term (in baseball) is that the area where the relief pitchers warmed up was located beneath a sign advertising "Bull Durham" tobacco. There was a baseball movie titled Bull Durham.
That's an interesting theory for sure! According to the Wikipedia entry, there are quite a few different approaches to it's etymology.

Another thing that came to my mind, while discussing the use of "bullpen" for open space offices in police stations:
Is "bull" some kind of slang for a cop/policeman? (like "pig")
Amusingly in German slang-language you call a policeman "Bulle". (german for "bull")
I thought "bull" was short for a cop, but apparently it's short for a detective. In the Depression, though, railroads employed enforcers who were not policemen and who were called "(railroad) bulls".
bullpen | Search Online Etymology Dictionary
also bull-pen, 1820, "pen or enclosure for bulls," from bull (n.1) + pen (n.2). Baseball sense "area where pitchers warm up before entering a game" is from 1915, perhaps from earlier slang meaning "temporary holding cell for prisoners" (common in American Civil War camps). Bullpen also was the name of a baseball-like game played in U.S. late 19c.
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