With less than a month until baseball season begins, some signs of the sport's arrival are showing at McKethan Stadium.
Workers were laying down bricks on the concourse and mowing the infield grass Monday morning, but the surest indication of baseball's commencement comes Friday.
That's when full team practices start.
First year UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan, a former pitching coach at Clemson and Virginia, stressed the importance of the Gators' pitching staff in practice and at the season's onset.
"The first couple weeks we've got five games a week, so we're going to really put our pitching to the test early on," he said at a press conference Monday. "Our biggest concern right now is making sure we solidify our roles on the pitching staff."
Instead of the usual three- or four-game weeks that they are used to, schools will play a more compressed schedule this season after the NCAA instituted universal start dates for practice and games.
Full team practice begins nationwide Friday, and games cannot start until Feb. 22, when UF hosts Siena College.
For the last seven years, UF baseball has had an average start date of Feb. 7 and even began play on Jan. 20 in 2000.
Teams are still playing the same 56-game schedule, however, which packs games into weeks more tightly.
"There's no more of those three games a week … where you've got the whole week off," O'Sullivan said.
The schedule squeeze puts the most strain on the pitchers' arms, he added.
"It's certainly a whole staff contribution," he said. "Your time is limited as far as getting their arms in shape."
It also increases the importance of pitchers lower on the depth charts.
"You're using more pitchers with the schedule the way it is," O'Sullivan said. "That eighth, ninth, 10th pitcher is important. It certainly gives you a lot more ideas before you enter conference play."
O'Sullivan has not discussed the late start with his athletes but said they must play the hand they have been dealt.
"It's something that's there," O'Sullivan said. "There's nothing we can do about it. Everybody in the country is facing the same thing."
The dense schedule does allow the team to feel itself out faster than usual.
"You've got to find out about your club early," O'Sullivan said. "We'll throw the guys right into the fire."
As for the top pitchers on the team, O'Sullivan discussed who he felt would step into big roles.
Kyle Mullaney, a right-handed sophomore who can throw three pitches for strikes, could see starts on Friday nights. O'Sullivan described Mullaney as consistent and a fast worker. He finished last year with a 4-2 record, and his 4.25 ERA is third-lowest among returning pitchers.
Junior lefty Stephen Locke looks to return to form after a disappointing 2007. O'Sullivan hopes he gets back to his 2005 self, when he went 5-2 with a 4.04 ERA.
Sophomore Billy Bullock and freshman Tommy Toledo could also see consistent time on the mound.
The team is relatively healthy and in good shape, O'Sullivan said, but there's still plenty of work to do in the three weeks between the start of practice and the meeting with Siena.
He actually prefers beginning late because it gives the team more time to exercise after winter break.
"There's no way to get your pitchers in shape before that date," O'Sullivan said.
NO ADAM ALLEN JUST YET: UF basketball forward Adam Allen, who averages 11.9 minutes and 5 points per game, may join the baseball team after the basketball season is over.
O'Sullivan, who made it clear that Allen would not talk to the baseball team until his basketball obligations are over, seemed interested in the idea.
"We really haven't had a whole lot of contact with Adam," O'Sullivan said. "His first responsibility right now is basketball, and when they're done with their season we'll certainly address it at that point."
Allen played first base and pitcher in high school, sometimes reaching 90 mph on the radar gun. His cousin Ryne Jernigan plays second base and shortstop for the University of South Alabama.
