Bats and Gloves Fail Bruins in Houston

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 2, 2009 12:00 PM PST in Baseball

The #9 Bruins went to Houston looking to prove they were indeed a top 10 team ready to step onto the national stage, but instead they proved to themseles and everyone in attendance that they still have a ways to go. While they played some of the best teams in the nation, the #5, #6 and #10 ranked teams respectively, you could could see the difference in a well oiled machine and a work in progress. The UCLA oppoents registered as the machines, while the Bruins are still trying to put things together. In their three games this weekend the Bruins scored a total of nine runs despite plenty of opportunities. Not only did the Bruins fail to move runners over and plate them despite their opportunities, but they gave away runs at a prodigous rate. UCLA gave up 17 runs this weekend, nine of which were unearned and a couple more would have been unearned had a different scorekeeper been at the book. The amazing thing about the weekend is that the Bruins had their chances depite all their miscues. They got fantastic pitching all weekend long and showed their ability to put runners on base. Despite three losses this weekend, the Bruins can take some positives away. They can pitch with their best of them and have plenty of talent with the bats. They just need to tighten up on the little things to make that jump from good to elite and the talent is certainly there for that jump.

UCLA opened up their weekend at Minute Maid Park versus #10 Rice, a College World Series participant the past three years. Led by the legendary Wayne Graham, Rice is a college baseball powerhouse that not only wins with outstanding players, but with fundamentally sound players that do not make mistakes and put runners across the plate with situational hitting. The Bruins scored a run in the first inning, but the Owls struck back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Rob Rasmussen, clearly overhyped to be playing in a major league park in front of a large crowd, struggled with his control in the first inning and fell behind in counts. When that happened, Rice hitters capitalized and UCLA was behind 3-1 early. Following that first inning though, Rasmussen settled down and looked fantastic. The southpaw allowed only two hits and didn't surrender a run for the remainder of his outing and exited the game after six innings. When Rasmussen exited, the Bruins were deadlocked in a 3-3 tie thanks to an Eddie Murray who had a RBI single in the second and scored on a wild pitch in the fourth. The Bruins broke that deadlock in the eight inning when Murray came through with yet another RBI single, but the lead would not last long as Trevor Bauer blew his second save of the year when he gave up a RBI double in the bottom of the eigth. The 4-4 score remained until the bottom of the 10th inning when Murray made an error with two outs that allowed the winning run to score from second. Rice came away with a 5-4 victory in a fasntastic, well played game, until the Bruins were victimized by their inability to catch the ball.

Saturday's game between UCLA and #6 Baylor was all the scouts at Minute Maid Park could talk about all week leading up to the game. Two highly touted pitchers took to the hill and neither disappointed. What did disappoint was the UCLA defense. Toeing the rubber for Baylor was their ace, who they held back to face the Bruins, Kendall Volz. A junior with a devastating array of breaking pitches was sensational in seven innings of work, allowing no runs and only four hits. That's not to say the Bruins didn't have their chances. They had runners on first and second with only one out in the fourth and again in the fifth. They also wasted a leadoff double in the seventh, but Volz was too good and got strikeouts at key times. For UCLA, Gerrit Cole was not nearly as efficient as Volz, but just as effective. Cole threw 33 pitches in the first inning, struck out the side and touched 99 mph multiple times, but a batter who reached on a walk scored an unearned run following an error by Blair Dunlap in centerfield. After that run in the first, Cole did not allow another run to score and he left the game down 1-0 after the six inning having allowed one unearned run and only two hits with eight strikeouts. Once Cole exited the game, the UCLA defense got worse. In 1.1 innings, Matt Grace allowed two runs, only one earned. Jason Novak gave up one earned eun in an inning of work and Mitchell Beacom allowed one run, unearned. The Bruins did have a chance to get back in the game in the eighth inning though. After tallying a run on a Casey Haerther RBI single to make the score 3-1, the Bruins had runners at first and second with no out, but Cody Decker hit into a triple play thanks to some overagressive base running and an umpire who was less than clear about his call. Baylor added two runs in the ninth inning and beat the Bruins 5-1.

The Bruins looked to rebound and leave Houston with at least one win on Sunday when they took on #5 UC Irvine, but the defense was at an all-time low and UCLA dropped the contest 7-4. The Bruins made a mind boggling five errors versus the Anteaters, which led to five unearned runs. Charles Brewer got the start for the Bruins and exited the game in the fifth without getting an out in the inning. The junior allowed five hits and four runs in his 4+ innings of work, but only two of those runs were earned. Down 4-0, the Bruins showed some fight, picking up two runs in the top half of the sixth when Decker singled home a pair. With the lead cut to 4-2, the UCLA defense failed them again in the bottom of the sixth when three unearned runs crossed the plate, giving Irvine a 7-2. Lead. Justin Uribe hit a two run homer in the ninth and Bauer threw 2.1 innings of one hit, scoreless ball, but the Bruins still dropped the game 7-4. The major bright spot for the Bruins on Sunday and all weekend long was the always reliable Haerther who went 4-5 and extended his hit streak to 19 games dating back to last year.

The Bruins have now lost six in a row to drop their record to 2-6 and they have a challenging set of games still on the docket. A Tuesday game versus a top 20 team in Pepperdine is followed by a trip to Norman, Oklahoma for a three game series versus nationally ranked Oklahoma. The road for UCLA isn't going to get any easier and if they want to take that step up to the nation's elite they're going to have to start executing on the most basic levels, whether it's fielding the routine ground, getting the sacrifice bunt down or putting the ball in play with a runner on third and less than two out. The pitching proved their worth versus some heady competition and now it's time for the rest of the club to step it up. The good news for the Bruins is that it is still early in the year and they're not far off. Reaching their goals of a Pac 10 title, hosting a Regional or Super Regional and making the College World Series is still within reach, so long as they start executing.

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Savage

No question Savage has done a great job recruiting, and our teams (historically speaking) have fared well the last few years—making NCAA Tournament appearances in each year. However, that said, I’m wondering if Savage might be a recruiting coach, but not an on the field guy?

Rye, you cover baseball here, what do you think? I don’t follow baseball closely anymore, and I’m actually happy with our national perception right now. But I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on Savage as a game coach. “Players not stepping” works only so long; at some point maybe the staff needs to do more?

And of course, we might have a championship kind of season this year. So I don’t mean to say we won’t be good. I just remember last years inconsistent team (but highly ranked), and this start has me thinking the same thing. But, once again, I don’t know—so this post is more like a question for those who closely follow the baseball team.

by rfirpo on Mar 2, 2009 12:45 PM PST reply actions

I think it's a fair question

and it is one I’ve asked myself before. Let me preface all of this by saying that as a person, Savage is great and is a great leader for the players on the team. He holds the players to high standards off the field and in the classroom. He also has done a fantastic job raising the profile of the program to one that is in the national discussion week after week. That said, whether or not Savage can get the program to a higher level is certainly a valid question.

Savage is recruiting great players and has developed them well enough that as a team, the Bruins can hit and pitch with the rest of them. The number of players drafted in recent years far surpasses the numbers drafted from UCLA in any other four year time period. The talent is there, but at some point the program will have to turn a corner. The Bruins allowed more unearned runs than earned runs this weekend. That’s not going to cut it. The Bruins failed miserably with runners in scoring position too. That’s going to have to improve. These issues could be attributed to a coaching staff that doesn’t adequately prepare its players, one that is still implementing a new approach with new coaches or one that is dealing with inexperience all over the field. It could also be a combination of these things.

Personally, I’m going to withhold judgment for a little while. Rick Vanderhook and Steve Pearse were brought in to change the players’ mental and physical approach all over the field. They haven’t been around long enough to implement these new approaches. They may work or they may not, but not enough time has passed to judge the different approaches brought in. Based on the track records of Vanderhook and Pearse, you’d have to think it’ll click and I was told all offseason that we won’t see the real 2009 Bruins until April so I’m going to wait.

Another reason we have to wait to make a judgment is that the team is so young. Tyler Rahmatulla and Chris Amezquita have been getting the starts at third and both are freshmen. Niko Gallego, a sophomore and Eddie Murray, a senior, are getting their first consistent starts this year at shortstop and second base. Behind the plate, freshman Steve Rodriguez is getting the majority of the starts and our closer is a freshman. These guys need to get experience and adapt to the college game. The talent is there, but will the mental approach and fundamentals follow? I don’t know, but I’m going to wait before I come to any conclusion.

The reason we’re working in so many new guys is because an abnormal number of upper classmen were the backbone of last year’s team. Had that team made it to Omaha, we wouldn’t have an issue with a slow start this year, but last year’s team underachieved. Mentally, last year’s team didn’t have a sound approach and fell victim to the pressure surrounding them. Had the program continued in the same direction as it was prior to this year, I think I’d be very concerned, but Savage clearly understood the issues within the program and made changes he thinks will correct those issues. Whether or not those changes will get the job done is a question yet to be answered.

For this season, I’d be happy with a top two conference finish (none of Savage’s teams have done that) and a strong Regional showing. A Super Regional would be gravy, but we must keep in mind the youth on this team. What’s important to me is that this program show progress. Currently, we can’t catch the ball or move runners along and in. Our pitching is fine and IMO, will continue to be so. if we shore up our defense and do the little things with the bat, we’ll start winning close games, which we haven’t done in recent years. If we can do those things and start excelling in the little areas that make the difference between a good team and elite team, I think we’ll have a strong year and be primed for a great next few years when our talent matures. Really, though I’m hoping for something they’re working towards, but haven’t shown any indication they can do yet. Because of that, I think you bring up a very valid question and one I’ve considered, but it’s also one that will take until the end of this year and into next year to find an answer to.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 2, 2009 3:05 PM PST up reply actions

Ok. I'm with you. Thanks.

by rfirpo on Mar 2, 2009 3:20 PM PST up reply actions

I know Im on a UCLA site and am a huge fan of UCLA all around,

BUT their baseball team comes second to Pepperdine’s. Go Waves.

by harveyismyboy on Mar 2, 2009 3:24 PM PST reply actions

Actually in recent years, UCLA has been better

Last year both won their first two Regional games only to lose their next two. Two years ago UCLA beat Pepperdine in the first Regional game and advanced from the Long Beach Regional, while Pepperdine was 2 and BBQ. Three years ago the Waves beat the Bruins in the Malibu Regional, but neither advanced from the Regional. So in the past three years: UCLA- Three Regionals, 1-1 versus Pepperdine and a Super Regional appearance. Pepperdine- Three Regionals, 1-1 versus UCLA and no Super Regional appearances. That said, I love Pepperdine head coach Steve Rodriguez and the whole program. I even have a couple friends playing for Pepperdine right now so if they’re not playing the Bruins, I’m usually rooting for the Waves.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 2, 2009 3:36 PM PST up reply actions

It's a disappointing start, no question

I think it’s way too early to press the panic button on Savage. I am looking forward to watching this team improve as the season progresses. The fielding miscues can be corrected with practice and more experience. Hitting with RISPs tends to vary widely from game to game and week to week and depending on who is on the mound for the other team. I don’t think we can judge this team’s hitting ability after 8 games, or even after 25 or 30 games. So, let’s give them time to play their brutal schedule and then see where things wind up.

by BruinsRule on Mar 2, 2009 5:44 PM PST reply actions