At some point, UCLA is either going to get the message through its skulls or they're going to give up the charade. Until then, the baseball program is stuck with more small renovations to Jackie Robinson Stadium, trumped up by the Morgan Center as massive achievements, while programs around the conference and country that already had facilities superior to UCLA's take steps to improve that the Bruins can only dream of. This year is no different either as minor, overdue renovations have been made and then touted as major while everyone else just snickers and laughs at UCLA, simultaneously saying a little prayer of thanks as they know what can become of a Bruin program with proper support.

Over the winter, UCLA got a few renovations to their 31-year-old stadium. The most visible renovation saw the two grass berms above the dugouts ripped out and replaced by seats that adds a total of 580 chairback seats to the stadium and brings its total capacity to 1,820. Maybe an even more important renovation came in the clubhouse though, where a wall was knocked down and the old lockers were ripped out and replaced with new wood lockers, while turf was put in on the floor of the clubhouse with a big, blue UCLA baseball logo painted in the center.

The renovations were badly needed and there's no getting around that. Jackie Robinson Stadium's capacity was insufficient and the old clubhouse was an embarrassment so credit to UCLA for acknowledging where their facilities needed upgrading, but here's the real issue. UCLA recognized these problems with the stadium years ago.

Four years ago they started work to increase seating with seats over the dugout, but that plan stalled for a year, then another year, then another and another. Years ago they also recognized the need for a new clubhouse, with visions of building an entire new building with a new clubhouse, training room, lounge and all of the other amenities that have become the norm around the country. Obviously, that never happened.

More seating and clubhouse renovations were a priority and that UCLA got addressed is a plus, but they were a priority years ago. Getting them done years too late and not on a scale that makes them equally as good as the other top programs in just the Pac-12, let alone the country, is not a reason for celebration.

Continue reading this post »

Everything that could go wrong for UCLA on MLB signing deadline day did. Draftees and MLB teams had until midnight eastern Monday night to agree to a contract or the player would be play college ball in the spring of 2012. That went for all incoming freshmen or college players with eligibility remaining. Heading into Monday, UCLA had four players on the fence, all of whom had a somewhat reasonable chance of turning down the pros for college, but by the end of the day all had put pen to paper and were officially professional baseball players.

Many of the deals on deadline day aren't done until the final hour. The players that the Bruins had an interest in pushed it even further, agreeing to deals in the final 20 minutes to make it a horror of a half hour for the Bruins.

Mitchell Beacom was the first of the quartet to sign, agreeing to a deal with the Giants, who selected him in the 20th round. The next to sign was the biggest surprise as Austin Hedges agreed to terms with the Padres. They selected him 82nd overall after he dropped because of signability concerns, but the Pads shelled out $3 million, which is well over the recommended signing bonus. Tyler Goeddel was next to sign, getting $1.5 million from the Rays, who selected him 41st overall. The final player to sign was Joe Ross, with that announcement coming in minutes after the deadline passed when he got $2.75 million as the number 25 overall draft pick from the Padres.

Continue reading this post »

The last we heard from the UCLA Baseball program, Bruin assistant coach Rick Vanderhook had left Westwood to become the head coach at Cal State Fullerton. Rick did a great job in his 3 years with the Bruins in the role of hitting and outfield coach, as well as in his previous two-plus decades as an assistant coach, most of those seasons coming at Fullerton. While Morgan Center has yet to make an official announcement, Baseball America and the LA Times have reported that UC Davis Head coach Rex Peters will be making the move down The 5 to take Vanderhook's spot on John Savage's staff. Baseball America seems to like the hire:

UCLA took its time replacing Rick Vanderhook on its coaching staff after he left to take the head job at Cal State Fullerton, but the Bruins have finally found their man, and it was worth the wait.

Like Vanderhook, Rex Peters is a Cal State Fullerton alum, and he later went on to play in the Dodgers farm system before starting his coaching career at Chapman University. Peters served as an assistant his first year coaching the Panthers, then spent the next 9 seasons as their head coach, compiling a 248-131-2 record with 3 D-III College World Series appearances. In the summer of 2002, Peters was hired to become UC Davis's head coach, as they began the transition from D-II to D-I sports. His first season at Davis ended with the program's first postseason berth in nearly a decade, while the Aggies first full D-1 season in 2008 ended with a spot in the NCAA regionals

Notable from that 2008 season is that it ended with 7 of his players being drafted. Seven players... from UC Davis? That has to say something about either his eye for talent, ability to coach players up, or a bit for both. Seems like a solid hire by Savage. Welcome to Westwood, Rex.

It's become the norm for the top players in California to commit to UCLA. Ever since John Savage took over as head coach in 2005, Westwood has become a go-to destination for many of the top players in the state. Year after year, the Bruins' recruiting class is ranked among the best in the country and that annual talent haul has helped the Bruins accomplish more in the last seven years than they have ever done before. 

As any coach will tell you, they are only as good as their players and the old line that "recruiting is the lifeblood of a program" is complete true. That's a huge reason why the Bruins have been as successful as they have and it appears as if it will continue with the class of 2012. A handful of high schoolers committed to UCLA in the last year, making up the bulk of the Bruins' 2012 class and now that they are in the final summer of their high school career, the accolades are raining down on them.

Four of the most highly touted of the Bruin commits were recently named to what is arguably the most prestigious of high school All-American teams, being named a Perfect Game All-American. Unsurprisingly, all four are pitchers continuing a trend of the top pitchers choosing UCLA and to be coached by Savage, one of the nation's top pitching coaches.

Continue reading this post »

A couple weeks ago we took a look at the four Bruins currently playing in MLB, but that's not nearly the exhaustive list of former UCLA players in pro ball. In fact, there are another 32 Bruins in the minors now looking to make their way up to the big show. Of those 32 in the minors, 25 players for John Savage at UCLA, two played for Gary Adams and five played for both of the last two Bruin head coaches.

It won't be long before the four Bruins in the majors have company. Five of the 32 Bruins in the minors are at AAA so they aren't far off and three of those six have already been in the bigs before. There are also a handful of Bruins at the lower levels who are considered top prospects within their organizations and this doesn't even include Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, who remain unsigned, but are expected to sign by the August 15 deadline and will immediately be fast tracked to the majors.

These isn't close to all of the Bruins in the minors, but here are a few of the ones closest to the majors or are performing exceptionally well of late. We'll do one of these every once in a while this summer to keep track of how our Bruins are doing.

David Huff- LHP, Columbus Clippers (Indians) 

Huff transferred to UCLA and spent just one year in Westwood, but he helped the Bruins make it to their first postseason under Savage and remains one of the coach's favorite players. He made his MLB debut back in 2009 and unfortunately, is best known for when he was hit in the head by a line drive by Alex Rodriguez last season.

He's been up and down between the majors and AAA since his debut and is currently at AAA, where he is 8-3 with a 3.86 ERA. Prior to his last start he had gone seven straight starts with at least six innings thrown and with his big league experience he could be a candidate to be called up if injuries bring up a need with the first-place Indians (yes, that's weird to say).

Josh Roenicke- RHP, Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies)

One of the coolest things about college baseball is the two-way players and one of the better ones in recent years for the Bruins was Josh Roenicke. A starting centerfielder who would come trotting in to the mound as the closer, Roenicke has found a home on the mound in the pros. He's played with both the Reds and the Blue Jays, but was just picked up by the Rockies and is with their AAA affiliate. He has a 4.12 ERA with the Sky Sox, .236 opponent batting average and almost a strikeout per inning there, making him a candidate for a call-up before long.

Dean Espy- 1B, Idaho Falls Chukars (Royals)

He just left Westwood and began his professional career, but Dean Espy isn't having much issues hitting the ball. He's hitting .313 with a .394 on-base percentage and four homers in just 22 games since signing with the Royals. Sure, he's just in the Rookie Pioneer League, which is too low for him, but hitting is hitting and he should be promoted before long.

Continue reading this post »

For three years we have watched Trevor Bauer make minced meat of opponents and the UCLA record book. Now he has another school record, becoming the first Bruin to ever win the Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country or "baseball's Heisman" if you will. Bauer was announced as the winner on Friday at the MLB Network studios, where he was along with the two other finalists, Virginia's Danny Hultzen and Texas' Taylor Jungmann.

The award was absolutely deserved for Bauer, who went 13-2 with a 1.25 ERA in 136.2 innings this season. He led the nation with 10 complete games and his 203 strikeouts didn't just lead the nation, they set a new Pac-10 single-season record. This came after leading the nation in strikeouts in 2010 as well as part of a UCLA career that saw him set school record for all-time strikeouts, wins and innings pitched.

Bauer was interviewed on MLB Network after being named the winner. Besides being somewhat at a loss for words, he was able to speak about what the award means to him.

"It's definitely validation for that, for all the work hard I've put in, but also for the hard work my coaches put in with me, my teammates," Bauer said, before going on to thank his parents and his coaches down in Texas, where he does his summer work.

So now Bauer has the Golden Spikes Award to add to a trophy case that already had Baseball America and Louisville Slugger's National Player of the Year, College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. Not a bad way to leave the college game. Congratulations again to Trevor. I feel like we've been saying that a lot and it's been deserved every single time.

Now that we're at roughly the halfway point in the MLB season so let's take a look at the Bruins in the majors. There are only four of them in the bigs right now, but there are another 31 in the minors so that number of Bruins at the top level should just up a little before long. We'll get to how some of the top Bruins in the minors are doing in a little bit, but for now, here are the four MLB Bruins.

Chase Utley- 2B, Phillies

The guy who has been carrying the torch for Bruins in the pros for a while now is starting to get it going again. He started the season on the DL, but finally made his debut in May and after a slow start is back on track. For the month of June he hit .297 with a couple homers in a return to form. It's pushed his average to .286 for the year with a .389 on-base percentage and four homers. The 32-year-old who played for the Bruins from 1998-2000 is in the fifth year of a seven year deal with the Phillies.

Brandon Crawford- SS, Giants

The only Bruin that played for John Savage currently in the bigs, Crawford got called up on May 26 and in his first game hit a grand slam. He's had trouble hitting in the majors, carrying just a .198 average and his debut grand slam remains his only home run. It looks like the Giants will either get healthy or bring in another shortstop so Crawford may not be up in the majors for a lot longer, but they still expect him to be able to hit at the top level with some more time. Add that to a fantastic glove, which has drawn some rave reviews already up in the Bay Area, and his future is still plenty bright.

Continue reading this post »

This bit of news came out last week and rich87 got to it quickly, but we've got a little more on Richard Brehaut's decision to play baseball this summer. For those who missed it, Brehaut joined the baseball team before the 2011 season, although only on a part-time basis. He was a very good baseball player in high school, but hadn't played since his junior season and decided to give the sport a try again. He was out at practice and games, although he did not play, but when spring practice rolled around, he wasn't around the diamond so much and was with the football team.

When he initially decided to play baseball in addition to football he got Rick Neuheisel's blessing and made it clear that football came first. When football and baseball conflicted, he would pick football and he would make sure to get all his throwing work in with his receivers even with his baseball work. It seemed like baseball was just this thing he wanted to get a feel for again.

That all changed when Brehaut decided that he would play baseball this summer too. It's one thing to play baseball for UCLA during the season, but to go as far as putting in the summer work? Well at that point it becomes serious. He's putting in the work of every other baseball player.

The question was raised, is Brehaut committed to football? He's at UCLA on a football scholarship and he's not some guy way down on the depth chart. He's competing for the starting quarterback job. He had an uneven season last year and needs to get all his work in. A guy who is going to compete for a starting quarterback job in the Pac-10 can't have his focus split, can he? Brehaut is making a big mistake and neglecting his football responsibilities, right?

It's not that cut and dry. There is more to it than one or the other so let's take a deeper look at this.

Continue reading this post »