Savage On:

Jon Gold: Gotta ask coach, 17-0? Really?
UCLA baseball coach John Savage: “You know, we haven’t talked about it, we haven’t dwelled on it at all. We’re kinda doing what we do each day. Guys are working extremely hard in the weight room and conditioning, practice. We have good chemistry, work ethic, and it seems to be carrying over to the games.”

JG: It’s easy to dwell on your two aces, but has there been a trickle-down affect
JS: “We do like our depth. We really like our young position players. We’re left-handed, we run well, we’re playing much better defense. We have options. We feel we have several go-to guys on the offensive side. It’s been really equally distributed. Pitching-wise, we feel very similar. We like our bullpen as well as our starting pitching. (Garrett) Claypool has really stepped up on Tuesdays. (Rob) Rasmussen seems to be getting better on Sundays. It’s a lot more than just Bauer and Cole. It’s a culmination of a lot of guys accepting their roles and going out.”


JG: When I think of baseball, I think of “gamers,” guys who step up on a certain day and won’t lose. Do you get that feeling with your guys, particularly Rasmussen and Claypool, and the idea that they don’t want to be the first to lose or the first to get shelled?
JS: “I do. I see a lot of competitiveness within the team. A lot of guys being accountable. Guys stepping up in big situations, wanting the ball, wanting the bat. A lot of guys, really – this team seems to be on a mission. They have the right vision in terms of ‘We haven’t done anything yet.’ We still have tremendous challenges ahead of us. Certianly in the Pac-10, which is as good as it has been in a while. We’re not resting in anything. Not saying we’re where we want to be. We know there are challenges ahead. Although they do seem to have in the back of their mind that they don’t want to be the first.”

JG: How have those guys stepped up?
JS: “It’s a ton of credit to Garret for accepting his role. He’s a weekend starter on most staffs across the country. He was drafted last year, and these days, juniors, 95 percent sign. We’ve never been to Omaha, we’ve been projected in the past. He felt, ‘I wanna be a team guy, I want to come back, I want to battle for a weekend spot, but accept the Tuesday role.’ It’s been trickle down really.”