On his day off in Boston (Monday) Steve Foster went to the Jeff Allison's hometown.

Florida Marlins bullpen coach Steve Foster had an off day on Monday when the team flew in to Boston on Sunday night.

So what did he do with his precious time?

Check out the Freedom Trail? Ride the Duck Boats? Walk the Boston Commons? Eat dinner at Davios? Play golf down the Cape?

Foster did none of the above. Instead he went to Peabody.

"I didn't say it right at first. I said it like, 'Pee-baudy,' " said Foster. "I learned pretty quickly from a few people that it's really pronounced 'Peeb-a-dee.'"

Foster went to Peabody on Monday for one reason. He wanted to see Jeff Allison's home town. He wanted to see his high school. He wanted to see the baseball field he played on.

Foster was Allison's pitching coach in Greensboro in 2005. Better yet, he was Allison's roommate for most of that season.

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"What I know about Jeff is that he is a good person," said Foster. "I realize not everyone thought that about him, but I knew him. I knew, deep down, he had a lot to offer. He's a fun-loving, competitive, energetic and committed kid. Once he stepped into my life I felt like he was my friend for life."

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At 23, he still appears to be a long-shot to make "The Show."

"If you still are wearing a uniform you still have a shot," said Foster. "He's doing pretty good. We don't talk on the phone much, but we text each other all of the time."

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Among the stops for Foster was the baseball field at Peabody High. He noticed the new bleachers behind home plate had a plaque that read, "Donated by Jeff Allison."

"I thought that was really cool," said Foster. "The funny thing was I took a picture of the bleachers with my cell phone and sent it to Jeff. He hasn't responded yet."

We're doing fluff today, for the most part.