Take a “Real World” Look at the Phils Bullpen

Puck, Flava Flav, Hulk Hogan, Brett Michaels, Sanjaya and Clay Condrey?

That's right you can add Condrey and the rest of the Phillies relievers to the ever-growing list of reality TV stars.

The Phillies bullpen will star in the first episodes of the show, "The Pen," which will air on the fledgling MLB Network, according to a report on the Phillies official Web site.

The shooting has already begun for the six-show weekly series set to debut on June 1. Cameras will follow the Phils relievers around for a few days a month both at spring training and once the regular season begins.

With the race for the long reliever and seventh reliever up in the air, "The Pen" could use some "Survivor"-esque elements like the well-known TV Show. But, it seems more realistic that "The Pen" will instead focus on the already established guys like Lidge, Condrey, Scott Eyre and Ryan "Mad Dog" Madson.

Todd Zolecki with MLB.com wrote:

MLB Productions chose the Phils bullpen for a couple of reasons: First, it had tremendous success in 2008. And second, it has diverse personalities.

The series is expected to show how a bullpen works, as well as how individual pitchers work together and rely upon each other throughout the course of the season. The show also will visit with the pitchers off the field to give viewers a sense of their personalities and interests.

Maybe we can finally get answers to burning questions like, "Who will be the first Phils reliever to make a ridiculous comment about Mr. Met or who will be the first bullpen hopeful thrown off Major League Island?"

And, Phils phans have to wonder how closer Brad Lidge spends his days away from the mound.

For a funny take on what viewers might see in "The Pen" check out the Walkoff Walk blog.

Phans will be sure to tune into "The Pen" to see what happens if the Phightin Phils pitchers "stop acting polite and start acting real."

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