ONLINE EXTRA: Baseball

By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Staff

Forget about things in the faraway future like playoffs or
winning records.

When the UCLA baseball team travels to Corvallis for a
three-game weekend set against Oregon State, the Bruins have a more
short-term goal in mind.

“We need to start winning so we get back in the Daily
Bruin,” senior second baseman Ryan Rasmussen said.

Although Rasmussen made the quip mostly in jest, the fact that
the baseball team (16-22, 2-4 Pac-10) has recently been one of the
victims of space constraints in this newspaper indicates the Bruins
simply haven’t been winning all that often. For
publicity’s sake, if for nothing else, they need to take at
least two games from the Beavers (23-12, 3-3).

“You have to make changes, not necessarily drastic ones,
but you have to make some changes when you’re not winning two
out of three,” UCLA head coach Gary Adams said.

Indeed, the last time the Bruins won a series, the NCAA
basketball tournament had yet to start and the team actually got to
read about its 2-1 series win over Tulane in print.

Yep, it was that long ago.

Now, after losing 3 of 13 and four consecutive series, Adams and
his coaching staff are making a change they believe might shake
things up.

Instead of usual Friday night starter Chris Cordeiro, the Bruins
will throw freshman David Johnson (2-2, 5.47 ERA) today against
OSU’s Ben Rowe, an Australian righty with a 5-3 record.

Along with the occasional Tuesday start, Johnson had mostly come
out of the bullpen and pitched well, but the staff believes he is
more natural in a starter’s role.

Johnson seems to think so as well.

“I’m not nervous,” Johnson said.
“I’ve started a lot of big games in my life and feel
more comfortable as a starter. I just need to make sure I
don’t walk too many guys and that I keep my defense
active.”

As has been the case for most of the season, freshman Wes
Whisler starts Saturday and sophomore Casey Janssen takes the hill
Sunday. Cordeiro may see action in relief, Adams said.

Tuesday’s win over UC Riverside may signal a renaissance
of sorts for hard-luck UCLA. After losing seemingly every close
game on their schedule, the Bruins held a 4-2 lead when Mike
Castillo, the seventh pitcher of the evening, came in with two
runners on and two outs in the ninth.

Adams turned his body around and his head away from the field,
proclaiming to his bench that Castillo would get them out of the
game. Sixty seconds later, he turned around to take the field in
relieving victory.

Adams has been known to do strange things for motivation. With
his team’s confidence eternally prepared to blossom and a
winnable series on tap, has he said anything about making sure a
series win ends up in the paper Monday?

“I haven’t used that one yet,” Adams
laughed.