Bumpity Bump. -Ty

As I began writing this season's Bruin baseball preview, I found myself more excited than I've been since I began following Bruin baseball in 1999. This led me to writing a far longer than expected preview that I'm going to split into 5 parts and post over the next two weeks leading to the season opener on Friday the 22nd. Part 1 is a look back at last season and a peak into this season. Part 2 will look into the pitchers. Part 3 will feature the Bruins' position players and Part 4 will be a look at the Pac 10. Part 5 will complete the preview as we take a look around the nation and where the Bruins stand in the national sense.

While the Bruins are ranked #1 by Baseball America and have one of the nation's best teams, they are not perfect. While they will enter the season with one of the nation's best offenses, if not the best, they have a lot of question marks on the mound. The question marks are not talent related as the Bruins have quality arms up and down the rotation and bullpen. However, the pitchers the Bruins are expected to lean on haven't had to carry a team before and are unproven in the roles they will fill this season. Considering coach Savage is regarded as one of the nation's best pitching coaches there is no reason to believe the young and talented Bruin pitchers won't become talented and productive pitchers in 2008.

Last season, the Bruins' Friday night pitcher was Tyson Brummett, but he has graduated and leaves a whole at the top of the rotation. This season, sophomore LHP Gavin Brooks is expected to take over the Friday night starter role after a freshman season in which he went 6-7 with a 4.47 ERA, while opponents hit him at a .266 clip. He also struck out 98 in 110 2/3 innings of work, both of which set school freshman records. Despite pedestrian numbers, Brooks improved throughout the year, giving the team a good reason to believe he's ready to lead the rotation. In his final four starts, Brooks logged a 3-1 record and a 1.34 ERA; limited hitters to a .167 average in that span, totaling 28 strikeouts and issuing just six walks. He also showed the ability to handle the big stage as two of his best starts came in the postseason when he threw complete games in both starts and gave up only one run in the regional and two in the super regional. With a low 90's fastball, excellent changeup and slider, the southpaw looks primed for a break out season as he heads the Bruin rotation.

Junior LHP Tim Murphy will be the team's Saturday starter, a role he is familiar with after filling it capably last season. Despite being only a center fielder his freshman season, Murphy was able to fill in on the mound last season when an injury and illness bug hit the rotation. Murphy went 5-4 with a 5.68 ERA in 76 innings of work last year, striking out 96 and walking 33. His best game of the season came against the nation's best offense, Arizona St., when he struck out 14. He also performed well in his only postseason start, getting a complete game win versus Illinois-Chicago in the regionals. Murphy went on to win Pac 10 honorable mention, showing improvement throughout the season as he readjusted to pitching following a year's absence from the bump. With a mid-90's fastball, developing changeup and one of the conference's best curveballs, Murphy has all the tools to be a dominant pitcher and has the confidence of coach Savage who expressed him confidence in Murphy's ability all offseason.

Getting the Sunday starts for the Bruins will be sophomore RHP Charles Brewer. Slated to be the Saturday starter last season, Brewer contracted mononucleosis and it kept him out most of the season, forcing Murphy back on the mound. Although Brewer did make four relief appearances late in the season, his lack of innings was apparent. Despite not pitching much, Brewer's physical talent alone earned him an invitation to pitch in the country's best summer league...the Cape Cod League. Pitching against the best collegiate players in the nation, Brewer was phenomenal, finishing the summer with a 1.94 ERA in seven starts. The 6'5'' right-hander has a fastball that tops out at 96 and if he can learn to command his offspeed pitches, can essentially give the Bruins two #1 starters, along with Brooks.

The Bruins have an array of talented arms who will all likely get a chance to be the Bruins midweek starter. The leader for the job is last season's midweek starter and Rivals.com freshman All-American, sophomore RHP Garrett Claypool. Claypool started seven games for the Bruins last season and made 17 relief appearances as he finished a 3.54 ERA and .230 opponents batting average. The only thing that could keep Claypool from being the Bruins' midweek starter would be if he were named the club's closer. Should Claypool become the closer, a couple freshmen would likely battle it out with a sophomore for the midweek spot. Sophomore LHP Matt Drummond has experience on his side, but his performance from last season was far from inspiring as his ERA was well above 8. Freshman RHP Dan Klein had a 2.59 ERA his senior year of high school and has a dynamite arm, giving him a chance at the job. He is an extraordinary athlete who was also a three year started at quarterback in high school. The other freshman with a chance to be the midweek starter is LHP Rob Rasmussen, a 27th round pick by the Dodgers who bypassed the pro's for Westwood. Rasmussen doesn't have overpowering stuff, but is extremely polished and has a curveball that is considered one of the nation's best despite being a freshman.

In the bullpen, the Bruins have at least one dependable reliever in junior RHP Jason Novak. Novak made 24 relief appearances last season to lead the team and struck out almost a batter per inning. He will likely be the one competing with Claypool for the closer's role. Junior LHP Brendan Lafferty figures to be the team's best south paw out of the pen as he tries to find some consistency after a season in which it seemed like every great appearance was followed by a poor one. Drummond will also see time out of the bullpen, along with sophomore lefty Justin Uribe who is one the team's best outfielders I addition to his work on the mound. Freshman LHP Matt Grace (no relation to Mark) will also get some innings of work in relief after he had a 1.71 ERA in 65 1/3 innings of work as a high school senior.

The Bruins' season likely depends on the performance of their pitchers. With an explosive offense and solid defense, the Bruins will have as good a chance as any to win national title if their pitchers come through. With so much talent in the bullpen, the Bruins are sure to get solid performances from at least three or four pitchers. The weekend rotation features as much talent as any in the country and along with coach Savage, give the Bruins a chance to have a pitching staff that matches its offense.

SoCal Baseball Media Day: Long Beach St. hosted the annual SoCal Baseball Media Day yesterday where 13 local teams were represented, including UCLA. Video of the event will be posted shortly here.

In addition, coach Savage will appear live on ESPN Radio AM 710 tonight at 7:30 with Brian Long. I'll post a link to the archived interview when it becomes available.

2008 Alumni Game: The 2008 Alumni game will be played this Saturday at 11:30 am PST. The game was originally scheduled for February 2, but the rains in the preceding week made the field unplayable. There will also be a tweak to this year's game. While the current team used to play the alumni team, NCAA rules have made it so that would count as a game towards their 56 game max. This season the alumni will split up and play each other first then the current team will play an intersquad scrimmage. It is free for all to attend and a great way to get to know this year's team.