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Let's start out with a quick quiz...what do Joe Arnold, Andy Lopez, and Pat McMahon all have in common?

Well, if you answered they were all coaches for the University of Florida baseball team, you would be right! And, if you answered that they were all fired within three years of bringing their Gator baseball teams to the College World Series, you would also be right.

Arnold leads his team to Omaha in 1991 but is then dismissed following the 1994 season. Lopez guides his team to Omaha in 1998 (getting there also in 1996) but he is let go after the 2001 season. McMahon gets his 2005 team to the College World Series championship game but is let go just two seasons later when his next two teams together don't finish with a .500 record.

Those numbers right there clearly illustrate the problem with Gator baseball over the years...too much inconsistency. It drives Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley crazy; he believes the baseball program should be among the elite in the country in most years and it is a bit puzzling why that has not happened.

After all, considering where the school is located, there are just some sports like swimming, tennis and baseball where Gator teams should be good just because of the weather and the fact that you are in FLORIDA. But as any fan of Gator baseball knows, the program has been like a roller coaster with tremendous highs followed by sudden and swift crashes back down to earth.

It is really difficult to explain why the Florida baseball program has had this pattern over the years. Injuries, guys leaving early for the pros, misses in recruiting, bad luck, all of that may have something to do with it. However, it is clear that the athletic administration is tired of the ups and downs within this program and they want to see the various excuses used for the uneven play to stop.

The job of new coach Kevin O'Sullivan is to bring the Gator baseball program back to prominence...and to keep it there. He is known as a good recruiter and he has done nice work with pitchers while he was the pitching coach at Clemson and he will need to be successful in those areas to get the program turned around.

But don't expect a quick fix. The 2008 Gators are projected by SEC coaches to finish fifth in the SEC East but O'Sullivan is hoping his team will make that a positive.

"We should use it as motivation," O'Sullivan said. "I don't believe the University of Florida should be any year ranked where they are preseason but you know whether you're ranked first or fifth in the East it really doesn't matter; what ends up really mattering is how you play and how you end up at the end of the year but we'll certainly use it as motivation and hopefully we'll use it to our advantage."

Offensively, the big bat of Matt LaPorta (.402, 20 home runs) is no longer around to make the rest of the hitters in the order better so it looks like this year's team may have to rely more on stealing bases and manufacturing more runs. There are not a lot of power bats in the lineup but with solid returners like Cole Figueroa, (.332, 11 homers) Brandon McArthur and Jon Townsend, (.280) the coaches like their batting order.

On the mound, Florida is devoid of power arms for the most part so O'Sullivan is preaching to his pitchers to get the ball and work quickly, throw strikes to quality spots, and to let the defense do the work. The problem is Florida's defense a year ago was not very good and we'll have to see if the move of McArthur to first base will work and if Townsend will contine to improve his defense at third base.

O'Sullivan has been impressed with the work of sophomore Kyle Mullaney (4-2, 4.25 ERA) who should be Florida's Friday night starter after taking on that role late last season. Junior Patrick Keating (3-2, 5.79) should start on Saturday and newcomer Tommy Toledo is penciled in as the Sunday starter.

With two games midweek many times this year, it looks now like lefty Stephen Locke and righthander Billy Bullock will get the first crack at starting those games. Roles in the bullpen are still being developed but a lot of arms are available including veterans Josh Edmonson, Tony Davis, and others.

A big help to the pitching staff will be an outfield that will be one of the fastest in school history with Avery Barnes, Matt Den Dekker and Jonathan Pigott chasing down balls with excellent foot speed and range. Freshman Josh Adams could fit into the mix too and he also is very fast and a good defender.

I always look forward to the start of the college baseball season but I especially want to see what the new coaching staff brings to the table and how they motivate this team. Several team members say there were pushed harder in off season workouts than ever before and there seems to be more accountability for what is done right and wrong. It may not translate to wins right away but it looks like the 2008 Gators will scrap and fight to get better.

Can Kevin O'Sullivan change the history of the Gator baseball program? We probably won't get an answer this year but you can bet he knows what he is being asked to do.

And it starts right now.