Red Sox tomatoes: some kind of feng shui?

Alerted by an eleven year old friend to the tomatoes growing in the Red Sox bullpen, I did some internet research to find out why they are there. Is it some kind of feng shui or good luck token? Here is what I found on a blog post dating from the summer of 2001:

Red Sox bullpen coach John Cumberland, who grew up on a farm in Westbrook, Maine, has started a tomato garden in the home bullpen at Fenway Park. He has dug 18 plants, and put sweet basil between each one.

"We haven't won since 1918," says Cumberland, "so there's the magic number. I'm trying to change the karma around here, get some sweet tomatoes and basil in the soil and change it. Hopefully, we'll have a nice, bountiful crop by October."

My young friend noted that the tomatoes aren't yet ripe; they should try Early Cascades--I have a steady supply of delicious red tomatoes now.