UCLA Getting Dominant Starting Pitching And Wasting It
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 8, 2011 11:47 AM PST
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Another weekend gone and another three games of sub-par hitting for UCLA. First, UCLA dropped two of three to San Jose St. because they couldn't get the job done at the plate and last weekend they dropped two of three again, this time to Nebraska, but that time it got really ugly. Not only were the Bruins losing games because of a non-existent offense, but they were tossing shoddy defense into the mix too to ruin the fantastic starts of Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Adam Plutko.
In all three games UCLA got truly dominant starting pitching performances and not a single one of those starting pitchers got a win. All three were masterful and had the Nebraska hitters swimming at the plate and none were properly rewarded. This isn't completely new for the Bruins this season. They have allowed more than three runs three times this season and lost all three games. For the most part the bullpen has done their job at the back end of games too, maybe not as good as last year's bullpen, but certainly good enough to hang on to games, but even they were betrayed this weekend by poor defense.
Teams that have a 1.55 ERA should not be 7-4, but UCLA is. Weekend starters who have a combined 1.21 ERA should win more than 66% of their games, but UCLA's are just 4-2. Teams who are striking out almost 11 batters per nine innings should not have more errors than games played, but UCLA does. Of course, no team should be hitting .241, but UCLA is and it's a shame because the pitchers are doing their jobs.
On Friday afternoon in freezing temperatures Cole was throwing heat. The Nebraska radar gun clocked the right-hander at 100 mph during the game and you can bet that the Cornhuskers' batters would agree with the radar gun. It took Nebraska until there were two outs in the seventh inning to get their first base runner and by the time Cole's day came to an end he had pitched nine innings and allowed just two hits. Nebraska hadn't scored all game, but unfortunately for Cole, neither had UCLA so he had to take the no decision. The Bruins went on to win the game in the 11th inning so at least the Bruins got the win on the day they got incredible starting pitching, which wouldn't be true the next two days.
Saturday's game was the Trevor Bauer Show. One strike out, two strike outs, three strike outs. The punch outs kept coming and coming. Bauer kept pitching and pitching. The Pitcher of the Week awards came rolling in. UCLA took the loss. With a chance to wrap up a key road series win Bauer threw 129 pitches and lasted 10 innings. He totaled and astonishing 17 strike outs, but he failed to maintain the shutout and allowed all of one run. That run sent the Bruins into extra innings where Nebraska came away victorious. A pitching performance that netted Bauer National Pitcher of the Week and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week wasn't even good enough to net Bauer a win though or even net the Bruins a win.
Last season, UCLA turned to an experienced junior on Sundays. If the first two games of the series were split they could always go with experience in the rubber match and it paid off as the Bruins went undefeated in deciding Sunday games last season. This season, UCLA had to turn to a true freshman so things were a little bit dicey. On Sunday, with the series on the line, Plutko was anything but dicey. Six innings, not a single run across and a career-high seven strike outs despite dealing with an error. Plutko handed over a 4-0 lead which was quickly cut to 4-1, but still safe. In the ninth inning though, an error accounted for two unearned runs in a three-run inning and the game went to extra innings where Nebraska won.
Three dominant starts by three tremendous right-handed starters on the road in very cold conditions and not a single one could get a win. The offense couldn't do enough to help them out and they were even worse to the bullpen, adding error to the lack of hitting.
Now, UCLA is 7-4 and while still not in the realm in crisis mode or in danger of being out of the race to host a Regional, the Bruins are starting to cut into their margin for error. The offensive talent is still there and the Bruins are a team that should be good defensively, but right now they aren't, which is only sad because the starting pitching has been just about as good as it can be.
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What a darn shame...
Should’ve seen this coming, especially with the new bats. Everyone knows our team isn’t an offensive powerhouse, but at least last year we could manage just enough runs to help us win games. This year, our already inept offensive has been reduced to something along the lines of a handicapped, disabled offense thanks to the new bats.
Kinda reminds you of that 1998 year for football no? Great offense, but inept defense. Though not the best analogy since that 98 team started 10-0…
Offensive woes
As a former baseball player and lifetime fan (of course I was a pitcher) hitting seems still to be a mystery. One game the hitters can’t get out of their own way and the next time you look around, they explode for 10 runs. All I believe is possible is for the coaching staff to teach and insist that the hitters use proper technique, have compact swings, manage themselves through the count by forcing the pitcher to throw strikes, etc. Let’s hope Vanderpool knows what he is doing and teaching effectively. After that, I believe it is with the gods…
:)
Mensgym
Don't think it's the bats
It wasn’t the bats in the 3rd game against San Jose, and I don’t think the Bruins were a HR team last year. Singles and doubles don’t seem to be about the bats.
So, what is the cause and what to do? Do you need to reset or shake up the line up? Does Savage have that luxury?
Maybe it was nothing other than encouraging words, but after finishing an inning against Pepperdine, Cole came into the dugout and shouted “Now, let’s get some hits!” At some point, Cole, Bauer & co. might get a bit resentful.
They'll turn it around
11 games. Still way too small a sample to judge or freak out. When UCLA, Texas and Fullerton have a combined 1 home run, the bats are definitely playing a part. Even with the bats last year, the offense went through some rough patches, it happens in baseball. I don’t believe the team, who is returning most of the offense, went from 304/397/456 last year to their current 241/346/305. I’ll guess they won’t hit as well as last year but they are definitely going to improve on their current slash line.
According to an article in Collegiate baseball
A coach did a study an determined that a well hit ball will travel 25 feet less than last year. That means that not only do you have less home runs, but outfielders play shallower and you have less bloop singles. Furthermore, a hard hit ground ball will not go through the infield nearly as fast and is more likely to be gloved by the infielder.
Unfortunately, this works a little bit to UCLA’s disadvantage. One of UCLA’s advantages last year was that the Bruins had two pitchers that were near the top in strikeouts. If you strike a hitter out it does not matter what type of bat the hitter has. Once the bats are downgraded it operates to dilute the Bruins advantage over their opponents in having two strikeout pitchers.
One other issue is that hitters are going to have to be retrained. Now that the sweet spot has been reduced, hitters are going to have to alter their technique to do a better job of squaring up the pitch. They can’t just rely on the bat’s technology for their power. That may take a little while but I have the ultimate faith in Coach Vanderhook.
I think we all need to be patient. There is a lot of young offensive talent on this team, and I think the coaching staff just needs to sort out what everyone’s roles are. Several times in recent years our neighbors in Fullerton (where Vanderhook used to coach) started off the year slow, but it is how they finished the year that mattered. As long as you don’t dig yourself too big a hole (like the Bruins did in 2009) a few early losses won’t kill you. What matters is how this team progresses from here.
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