NCAA Baseball: Talking Arizona Wildcats with Derrick Fazendin

The Arizona Wildcats are coming off a season that could be described as successful, but it left some feeling unfulfilled.

The Wildcats got to a regional final, losing to a Texas A&M team that ended up in Omaha. That's certainly not anything to hang their heads about, but there are some that are starting to lose patience with a program that hasn't been to the College World Series since 2004.

Those that were disappointed with the way 2011ended for Arizona should look ahead to 2012. The Wildcats have a ton of talent returning to campus and could make the run to Omaha that their fanbase is longing for.

I discussed these topics, among others, with Derrick Fazendin. Fazendin has been covering the Wildcats baseball team since 2009 and currently covers the team for WildcatAuthority.com.

Looking Back at Last Season

Joseph Healy: What were the overall thoughts on last season? The Wildcats made it to a regional final against a good Texas A&M team, but ultimately, they lost in a regional again. They haven't been to a super regional in a few seasons, and 2004, the last time they made it to Omaha, is getting further and further in the rear view mirror.

Derrick Fazendin: "It was nice to see the way they finished the regional. After losing their opener, they were able to come back and get to the championship game. Talking to the guys (the team) throughout the season, and even after the season, the goal for this year was to get to a super regional so it was a bit of a letdown. You can talk to Coach Andy Lopez, or you can talk to any one of these players on the team, and really overall, it was a little disappointing because this was really one of the more talented offensive teams this club has had in a long time. "

Personality of the Team

JH: What was the personality of this team? Were they a loose bunch? A business-like bunch? What were they like to be around?

DF: "(They were a) great, great group of guys. I've covered the team for about three years now. Two years ago, and Coach Lopez will tell you this himself, they just had a lot of troublemakers on the team. They didn't want to go to class. They had off-the-field problems, and they missed the postseason because of it. Coach Lopez stresses the philosophy that you are always a student first. He made sure to stress that with these guys."

"This was a really hard-working bunch. They did a really good job of always showing up for practice. You can't question the effort on this team at all. They really were loose. They were just a confident and loose bunch."

Coach Lopez on the Hot Seat?

JH: Speaking of Coach Lopez, he has obviously had a great deal of success there, but the expectations are high thanks to the great things that Jerry Kindall did at Arizona. Specifically speaking for the fanbase, is his seat getting a little hot?

DF: "Absolutely. The fans have definitely gotten a little restless over the last few years, because as you said to open this up, 2004 is a little ways away. I've got plenty of fans emailing me saying that they don't want him anymore. Personally, right now, he stays for at least another two or three years. We have a new athletic director in Greg Byrne. Greg was a big baseball guy at Mississippi State when he was the AD there. He wants to have a great baseball program. Baseball is one of his top priorities, and he just isn't going to accept losing. That's just the bottom line.

Lopez will have a tight leash. I think Lopez has one or two more years left. You said it, he has to start winning because the expectations are pretty high. He does do a good job with recruiting, but sometimes that talent doesn't come through in the end. This year was a pretty good example of that."

Lopez and the Cal State Fullerton Head Coaching Position

JH: Why didn't Andy Lopez get more consideration for the Cal State Fullerton job?

DF: "There's no real right answer. College baseball isn't like college basketball or football where you see games on TV everyday so when you look at the Fullerton job, they are looking for their candidates locally. The bottom line is they went local. They were looking for guys that had connections with the program before.

I feel like, if they had given him more consideration for the job, he would have at least given it a long, hard look. He's a southern California native. He did coach at Pepperdine, and he grew up in the area."

"Lopez, the athletic department and the board at Arizona haven't always been on the same page. The facilities are getting a little old for a typical Pac-10 school. Hopefully those changes are coming."

Biggest Holes To Fill for Next Season

JH: Looking ahead to next season, what are the biggest holes to fill?

DF: "One is catcher. Jett Bandy has signed with the Angels. That's going to be a tough position to fill. Just really a lot of the guys that just got drafted. They will have to revamp the bullpen, but if some of these guys don't sign with the team that drafted them, I think the bullpen will be vastly improved.

"And then obviously finding a No. 3 starter. Konner Wade was a pretty nice third starter last year and he's going to be a sophomore this year. Really, the No. 3 spot is going to be wide open. As you know, with college baseball, starting pitching really is everything, especially with the new bats."

Players' Thoughts on the New Bats

JH: What were the thoughts within the team about the news bats? Did you hear grumbling about them? You look at a guy like Jett Bandy who had a subpar season and wonder how much of that was the bats.

DF: "You don't want to make excuses in baseball, but there's no doubt about it, these new bats had an effect on some of these players. I think it definitely hurt Jett Bandy's draft stock. I think he is the perfect example. He was facing a lot of pressure this year. It was his draft year, and he was the leader of the club.

Being open with you, Coach Lopez would definitely say that the bats were an issue, but the bottom line is that they always went back and said that it doesn't matter. We still have to go out and win games; we have the pitching to do so and for the most part last season, they did."

Expectation for Next Season

JH: Again looking to next season, what is a reasonable expectation for the team? I'm looking at this roster and they've got a really good chance to have a great pitching staff and the offense is returning a lot of guys as well.

DF: "We still don't know about all of the draft picks. Some haven't decided to sign yet, so it depends on which guys decide to come back. I think we know where most people are going to be, so I think you can expect a pretty similar year to this year. (I expect) a 35-36 win team. I don't think it's a 40-win regular season club. I think they'll have to win some games in the postseason to get there, but I think it's a solid team.

They'll have a chance to get to a super regional again next year. In a preseason article about this past season, I said about the same thing. This team has the talent, but you don't see any Daniel Schlereths or Ryan Perrys in that bullpen and in college baseball. That's where games are won or lost. I say the team wins 35-38 games and is pretty similar to this year's team."