Even if expected, hard times stink

Losing is rough.

But losing 18 games in a row is demoralizing, especially from a
team used to winning.

A year ago, the UCLA baseball team lost in the final game of its
NCAA regional.

After Tuesday’s loss to Loyola Marymount, this
year’s baseball team fell to 7-22, losing its 18th-straight
game.

“It’s frustrating,” UCLA coach John Savage
said on Monday.

“I don’t think any of the coaches or players have
ever been around this much losing. It’s a first for
everyone.”

A first indeed ““ the losing streak is the longest in UCLA
history, and the Bruins have not won a game since Feb. 25.

This should not have been unexpected, though.

Seven hitters from last year’s NCAA Tournament starting
lineup and three of the four starting pitchers are gone, due to
either graduation or the MLB Draft.

That means relying on a lot of players to fill some big
shoes.

On top of that, this year’s team has a new coach, which
usually sets a program back for a year because of the
transition.

A year ago, most of the players on the field were watching from
the bench or the bullpen, and Savage was coaching a tournament team
at UC Irvine.

It’s amazing how things have changed.

Losing is tough.

Especially when it happens over and over and over again.

“This is just something we have to go through,”
Savage said. “We’ll get through this.”

Those of you who have read my columns for years know that
I’m not afraid to rip people when they do something bad.

But I won’t here ““ I just feel sorry for this
team.

No one expected them to compete with the top teams in the
country.

But to lose 18 in a row is hard, even when you’re not
playing well. And it’s baseball. There’s supposed to be
more parity in baseball than in other sports.

The Bruins have lost leads late in games. They’ve lost
games where they couldn’t score. They’ve lost games
where they couldn’t get the other team out. They’ve
lost games that were virtually over after an inning or two.

“It’s certainly a challenge for everyone,”
Savage said.

To his credit, Savage remains optimistic about his team and will
not let his team quit.

When I talked to him, he was always very quick to point out all
of the positives about his inexperienced team.

“(Will) Penniall has been playing great,” Savage
started.

“(Tommy) Lansdon has been playing great defense, we
haven’t made any errors in the last four games, and Bryan
Beck’s been pitching well enough to keep us in
games.”

Savage is a realist, though.

“Our goal for the rest of the year is to play better for
all nine innings,” he said. “It’s not like we
want to win 20 of our last 28. We don’t set goals in terms of
wins and losses.”

Like you should do in a losing season, Savage is just stressing
overall improvement and a work ethic.

“We have to keep everyone accountable in the weight room,
in practice and on the field,” he said.

With half of the season left, it may be a bit too premature to
talk about next season, but it looks like this bad season will be a
unique one.

Savage has been hitting the recruiting trail hard and picked up
what many publications have tabbed as one of the top recruiting
classes in the country.

“With the players we have coming back next year and the
group we have coming in, the future is bright,” Savage
said.

“This program needs to be at a postseason level. We need
to have a chance to go to Omaha every year. But it’s going to
take time to get there.”

In the meantime, for the sake and sanity of every UCLA player
and coach, let’s hope this losing streak doesn’t last
too much longer.

Quiñonez misses the Montreal Expos. E-mail him at
gquinonez@media.ucla.edu

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