HeyBatter,
Great to hear from a Gary Adams backer! Coach Adams recruited me to play at UCLA and was a large part of the reason I went there. I had the privelege of playing for him his last two years at UCLA, and IMO he was a part of a rare, rare breed. His catchers always called their own games. His third base coach gave signs. We didn't sacrifice bunt until the last half of the game. This is all stuff that I was familiar with when I got into pro ball because of him. True, he only went to Omaha once and probably didn't get as many wins as he should have, but you could never ask for a more well-liked coach. He ran a clean program, let the kids play, and has produced tons of pro players and big leaguers. For me, it was like playing for my grandpa, and I loved every second of it.
As for the recent posts here, I played for Coach Savage and Shine my last two years at UCLA while also playing against Coach Gillespie and Serrano. Personally, I hated playing against USC because of Gillespie's slow-down, control the tempo of the game approach. It drove me nuts. IMO it wasn't real baseball and led to his demise at USC. I cannot vouch for him as a person, but I know him and Coach Adams are close and if you are a friend to Coach Adams, you are a friend to me. Coach Savage is a disciple of Gillespie, having coached with him when they won the national title in 1998. He carries a lot of his philosophies on the diamond, as far as calling every pitch and controlling as much as he can during the game. Having played for Coach Adams, I was not a big fan of this. However, Savage is one of the best recruiters in the college game, and for that reason he will always have good teams. Gillespie, at 67, IMO won't bring in the talent to UCI that Savage or Serrano did, but having Coach Shine in his corner will help. Coach Shine is young, energetic and a very good recruiter who deserves a shot to head up a DI program, so I hope his chance comes soon, as they are saying it will.
Gillespie probably learned a lot from his year at SI. I'm sure he knew what his college critics had to say and that a year of pro ball probably taught him how "todays" 18-19-20 year old would like to be treated. This is not a long term fix, but, if you had to find a short term band-aid you probably could not do much better. This move lets UCI look in a lot of directions in the next couple years that will probably have no adverse program affects and if they do find a "good fit", there is probably a nice "buy-out" for Gillespie to ride into the sunset with.
This was my immediate reaction. They want to keep a successful ship upright until the guy they really want is ready to run the ship.quote:Originally posted by HeyBatter:
This is just an odd, odd hire unless it is just, as is being said, an interim move to groom Pat Shine who will supposedly take over in the next few years. UCI would be wise to just go with Shine right now.
UCI was put in a tough situation with little time to come up with a coach. This hire also allows them to spend the next year or two looking at other outside candidates.
quote:Originally posted by beemax:
HeyBatter,
Great to hear from a Gary Adams backer! Coach Adams recruited me to play at UCLA and was a large part of the reason I went there. I had the privelege of playing for him his last two years at UCLA, and IMO he was a part of a rare, rare breed. His catchers always called their own games. His third base coach gave signs. We didn't sacrifice bunt until the last half of the game. This is all stuff that I was familiar with when I got into pro ball because of him. True, he only went to Omaha once and probably didn't get as many wins as he should have, but you could never ask for a more well-liked coach. He ran a clean program, let the kids play, and has produced tons of pro players and big leaguers. For me, it was like playing for my grandpa, and I loved every second of it.
As for the recent posts here, I played for Coach Savage and Shine my last two years at UCLA while also playing against Coach Gillespie and Serrano. Personally, I hated playing against USC because of Gillespie's slow-down, control the tempo of the game approach. It drove me nuts. IMO it wasn't real baseball and led to his demise at USC. I cannot vouch for him as a person, but I know him and Coach Adams are close and if you are a friend to Coach Adams, you are a friend to me. Coach Savage is a disciple of Gillespie, having coached with him when they won the national title in 1998. He carries a lot of his philosophies on the diamond, as far as calling every pitch and controlling as much as he can during the game. Having played for Coach Adams, I was not a big fan of this. However, Savage is one of the best recruiters in the college game, and for that reason he will always have good teams. Gillespie, at 67, IMO won't bring in the talent to UCI that Savage or Serrano did, but having Coach Shine in his corner will help. Coach Shine is young, energetic and a very good recruiter who deserves a shot to head up a DI program, so I hope his chance comes soon, as they are saying it will.
The apple does not fall far from the tree
Nice post beemax! Your post made me remember one from bbscout:quote:It starts in Little League with Dads calling the pitches and goes to Pony, Babe Ruth, Legion and High School. In College it gets even worse. Coaches call every pitch and then give 50 signs in the 3rd base coaching box that takes up more time.
I never had a coach call a pitch for me in my life and I see about 200 games a year every year now and have yet to see a game where I thought the coach won the game with his pitch calling, but see many games where the coach has lost games with his pitch calling.
17 year old kids are capable of going to war and fighting for their country, and they are also capable of calling pitches in a high school ballgame.
I have seen well known Pac 10 coaches giving signs from the 3rd base coaching box to a hitter when there are two out, nobody on and the count is 0-2 on the hitter.What I see in high school is much of the same.
The moment a kid goes into pro ball at 17, he starts calling his own game and it takes about a year or two to become good at it because they have had coaches calling everything since they were in tee ball and most of them have not learned very much because of it.
Good to see my father's posts still hold weight around here
HeyBatter,
Just curious as to whom you would have picked from the short list and why.
Just curious as to whom you would have picked from the short list and why.
Well, being a Trojan, not sure I'm qualified to suggest who should coach @ any UC 
But, I think Pat Shine would have been a great choice at this point, without any further mentoring. I'm also a big fan of Gary Adcock who is a former assistant @ ucla and is, I believe, now the head coach @ Cal Baptist.
Heck, Gary Adams previously coached @ UCI, I certainly would have approached him. Frankly I don't think he was really looking to retire @ ucla. Certainly I don't have the perspective of beemax but Coach Adams is just one of the greatest in my book.
I don't really know who else is available, who was a realistic possibility but having watched my son go through the recruiting process not that many years ago, others that impressed me (who would have made great choices IMO) are the coaches at Pepperdine, Cal Poly SLO, UNLV and USF.
But, I think Pat Shine would have been a great choice at this point, without any further mentoring. I'm also a big fan of Gary Adcock who is a former assistant @ ucla and is, I believe, now the head coach @ Cal Baptist.
Heck, Gary Adams previously coached @ UCI, I certainly would have approached him. Frankly I don't think he was really looking to retire @ ucla. Certainly I don't have the perspective of beemax but Coach Adams is just one of the greatest in my book.
I don't really know who else is available, who was a realistic possibility but having watched my son go through the recruiting process not that many years ago, others that impressed me (who would have made great choices IMO) are the coaches at Pepperdine, Cal Poly SLO, UNLV and USF.
What's the lastest?
Why no official announcement yet?
Why no official announcement yet?
Baseball America Blog
The Waiting Is The Hardest Part
Posted Sep. 27, 2007 4:25 pm by Aaron Fitt
Filed under: Around The Nation
If you’re wondering why UC Irvine hasn’t announced its hiring of Mike Gillespie as its new head coach and Pat Shine as its associate head coach, look no further than the red tape that is ubiquitous in the UC system. Gillespie today confirmed that Irvine has offered him the post and he has accepted, pending approval by the UC system Board of Regents.
Gillespie was hired on Sept. 24, shortly after the Regents met on Sept. 18-20. According to the Regents website, there isn’t another meeting scheduled until Nov. 13-15. It’s hard to imagine Gillespie having to wait another month and a half to start his new job, particularly since UCI’s fall practice schedule starts next week, but Gillespie said right now he doesn’t know when he’ll get to start working.Shine is in the same situation, but Gillespie said the other assistant post is still wide open. He did say that California’s Dan Hubbs is very happy in Berkeley and would not be a candidate for the job. Gillespie seems to be waiting for a candidate to call him and express interest at this point.
Understandably, Gillespie sounded eager to get the entire process completed so he can begin working with his new players.
"I am really excited," he said. "I had a rare opportunity with the Yankees, and it was a great one, and I really met some of the best human beings and baseball people I’ve ever known. And I would have kept doing that if it was here (in Southern California). To say I was sitting there hating life, missing college baseball would not be accurate–I liked it. But to get one more opportunity in college baseball is great, and I’m fired up about it. There are some issues–we’re light years behind in the recruiting. The guys UCI had lined up are scattered to the four winds now."
One of Irvine’s top 2008 commitments, infielder/righthander Chris Amezquita, has already de-committed in favor of UCLA, according to multiple sources. But Gillespie is excited about many of Irvine’s returning players, particularly on the mound, where All-American righthander Scott Gorgen leads a deep group. Replacing the offensive void created by the departures of stalwarts Cody Cipriano, Matt Morris, Bryan Petersen and Taylor Holiday will be a challenge, but the Anteaters remain strong up the middle thanks to the return of center fielder Ollie Linton, shortstop Ben Orloff and catcher Aaron Lowenstein.
The biggest challenge for Gillespie might be going up against his former employer, Southern California, on the field and on the recruiting trail. The Trojans are now coached by his son-in-law, Chad Kreuter.
"I’m going to be wondering about the wisdom of continuing to play those guys," Gillespie said. "Let’s face it, this can’t be a long-term deal for me. I’m sure we’ll continue to play them, but I have very mixed feelings about that–it’s almost a no-win situation for me. I don’t mind playing (Kreuter), I just don’t want to play against my daughter and my grandson. That’s going to be something to talk about, seriously."
Another problem facing Gillespie is how to deal with the warm and fuzzy Bullwinkle. This famous moose from the High School Baseball web is sure to cause problems in the stands.
"At USC, we have learned to shoot first and then have a bar-b-que." Gillispie said, "Moose burgers will be a fine pre-game meal for my Eaters."
There’s plenty of uncertainty still surrounding this situation, but one certainty is that Mike Gillespie’s return will be a great thing for college baseball, and his peers in California are thrilled to see him back. That is, of course, if the Board of Regents ever gets around to approving it.
Anything italicized may be false, misleading and out of context
The Waiting Is The Hardest Part
Posted Sep. 27, 2007 4:25 pm by Aaron Fitt
Filed under: Around The Nation
If you’re wondering why UC Irvine hasn’t announced its hiring of Mike Gillespie as its new head coach and Pat Shine as its associate head coach, look no further than the red tape that is ubiquitous in the UC system. Gillespie today confirmed that Irvine has offered him the post and he has accepted, pending approval by the UC system Board of Regents.
Gillespie was hired on Sept. 24, shortly after the Regents met on Sept. 18-20. According to the Regents website, there isn’t another meeting scheduled until Nov. 13-15. It’s hard to imagine Gillespie having to wait another month and a half to start his new job, particularly since UCI’s fall practice schedule starts next week, but Gillespie said right now he doesn’t know when he’ll get to start working.Shine is in the same situation, but Gillespie said the other assistant post is still wide open. He did say that California’s Dan Hubbs is very happy in Berkeley and would not be a candidate for the job. Gillespie seems to be waiting for a candidate to call him and express interest at this point.
Understandably, Gillespie sounded eager to get the entire process completed so he can begin working with his new players.
"I am really excited," he said. "I had a rare opportunity with the Yankees, and it was a great one, and I really met some of the best human beings and baseball people I’ve ever known. And I would have kept doing that if it was here (in Southern California). To say I was sitting there hating life, missing college baseball would not be accurate–I liked it. But to get one more opportunity in college baseball is great, and I’m fired up about it. There are some issues–we’re light years behind in the recruiting. The guys UCI had lined up are scattered to the four winds now."
One of Irvine’s top 2008 commitments, infielder/righthander Chris Amezquita, has already de-committed in favor of UCLA, according to multiple sources. But Gillespie is excited about many of Irvine’s returning players, particularly on the mound, where All-American righthander Scott Gorgen leads a deep group. Replacing the offensive void created by the departures of stalwarts Cody Cipriano, Matt Morris, Bryan Petersen and Taylor Holiday will be a challenge, but the Anteaters remain strong up the middle thanks to the return of center fielder Ollie Linton, shortstop Ben Orloff and catcher Aaron Lowenstein.
The biggest challenge for Gillespie might be going up against his former employer, Southern California, on the field and on the recruiting trail. The Trojans are now coached by his son-in-law, Chad Kreuter.
"I’m going to be wondering about the wisdom of continuing to play those guys," Gillespie said. "Let’s face it, this can’t be a long-term deal for me. I’m sure we’ll continue to play them, but I have very mixed feelings about that–it’s almost a no-win situation for me. I don’t mind playing (Kreuter), I just don’t want to play against my daughter and my grandson. That’s going to be something to talk about, seriously."
Another problem facing Gillespie is how to deal with the warm and fuzzy Bullwinkle. This famous moose from the High School Baseball web is sure to cause problems in the stands.
"At USC, we have learned to shoot first and then have a bar-b-que." Gillispie said, "Moose burgers will be a fine pre-game meal for my Eaters."
There’s plenty of uncertainty still surrounding this situation, but one certainty is that Mike Gillespie’s return will be a great thing for college baseball, and his peers in California are thrilled to see him back. That is, of course, if the Board of Regents ever gets around to approving it.
Anything italicized may be false, misleading and out of context
Thanks Bullwinkle, Your my (brown and fuzzy) HERO!
I am prepared to wager that this is the first time in recorded history that "baseball coach" and "ubiquitous" have been used in the same sentence.
Being a product of the state system (CSULB), I had to look this up..... Ubiquitous...
Pronunciation: yü-bi-kw-t-s
Function: adjective
: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered :
Ahhhhh...If Arron Fit had just said "Mn-Mom" rather than "ubiquitous" I would have understood....
Being a product of the state system (CSULB), I had to look this up..... Ubiquitous...
Pronunciation: yü-bi-kw-t-s
Function: adjective
: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered :
Ahhhhh...If Arron Fit had just said "Mn-Mom" rather than "ubiquitous" I would have understood....
quote:Originally posted by Bullwinkle:
Baseball America Blog
Another problem facing Gillespie is how to deal with the warm and fuzzy Bullwinkle. This famous moose from the High School Baseball web is sure to cause problems in the stands.
"At USC, we have learned to shoot first and then have a bar-b-que." Gillispie said, "Moose burgers will be a fine pre-game meal for my Eaters."
You go Gillespie - You Go!
BROD, what do you think?
Moose-
What became of Vanderhook?
What became of Vanderhook?