Watching baseball can, at times, be slow goings. That’s why some of us choose to leave a game on as background noise while we do other stuff around the house. Unfortunately for pitchers in the bullpen, though, they have to sit through an entire game with little to keep them entertained. As the Cleveland Indians recently proved, something as random as a squirrel running around the bullpen, can be enough to solve this inconvenience.

The Florida Marlins‘ bullpen didn’t have the luxury of a furry animal hanging around their quarters during Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Philadelphia, so they took matters into their own hands.

Think there’s not much to do when you’re sitting and watching a baseball game in the dugout? Well, imagine the bullpen. At least a bunch of the guys in the dugout are playing in the game and therefore don’t have to sit there for the entire three-or-so hours. Plus, the dugout has a bunch of people in it. If you’re in the bullpen, not only is it just you and your relatively small, specialized group, but there’s a decent chance you’ll never even do so much as warm up…and if you do that, it probably won’t be until well into the game. What happens in the meantime? Well, for one thing, rodents get a lot more interesting.

Look, we know baseball not having the fast-paced action of other sports is by design, having no clock is part of the game’s charm, etc. But sometimes the games get a little too slow, and you might tune out the game entirely in favor of something where something, anything, is happening. Don’t feel bad – players do it, too.

The Red Sox-Royals broadcast last night on NESN was completely derailed by a member of team Mantodea.

At several points in the broadcast, both booth announcers and field reporter Heidi Watney reported on mantis facts and — yes — criticism.