The Ghost of Karl Dorrell

by Class of 66 on May 31, 2008 8:23 AM PDT Comment 46 comments

Kelley Inouye Perez Brings Back Bad Memories

Last night, that sick feeling came back. The one I had hoped would never return. The one where my gut was telling me that a Bruin coach was making bad decisions and costing a Bruin team a chance at victory.

With the first pitch to the first batter of the UCLA v. ASU softball game, my stomach turned. It never got better.

Coach Inouye-Perez was pulling a Dorrell. By making Bruin pitcher Jelly Seldin walk ASU hitting star Kaitlin Cochran, Inouye-Perez sent a bad message. She showed absolutely no confidence in Jelly Seldin who, until that moment, had been strong in her tournament games. To make matters worse, she forced her to walk another ASU batter. Jelly faced a bases loaded, no outs situation -- and worked hard to get out of it.

Coach I-P wasn't done. Cochran, who had been moved up to lead off because she was getting intentional walks, was deliberately walked again, on I-P's orders. This time we weren't so lucky. Cochran scored.

In fact, there should be no surprise that Cochran would score. In the tournament, before our game, she had been walked, intentionally, 8 times and scored on four of those occasions.

By the end of the night, she had been walked 11 times and scored on 7.

That's right, I-P did it again. And, again.

Her comment? "I have a lot of confidence that Jelly can pitch out of a hole". But, not enough confidence to let her pitch to a lead off batter?

On each occasion, Cochran was the lead off batter. What's the worst thing that could have happened? A solo home run? Do you really think in her three at bats she would have hit 2 home runs -- scored twice?

And, forced to issue intentional walks, Seldin had trouble getting back into her groove on the following batters.

How does this tie to KD?

It was totally chickenshit -- like punting inside sc territory. It sent the wrong message to a team and pitcher that are far stronger than the coach.

It was stubborn -- like running up the middle and getting stuffed, over and over again, because the coach thinks it's the right play.

And, it was questioned and then ridiculed by the commentators.

She made more mistakes -- for example, allowing the ASU pitcher who had thrown a lot of pitches in her previous game have a 4 pitch first inning. Two batters swung at the first pitch. One on the second. This was not the worst thing she did -- I can see playing aggressively trying to get something going.

But, knowing that we had scored but one run in the prior game, and that the ASU pitcher was looking good, putting the first runner on in three innings is inexcusable.

Bad coaching put us in a hole we could not escape.

Yes, 2 ASU runs scored on a bases loaded error by our center fielder -- but I agree with the commentators who said that deliberately putting batters on base creates pressure on the D and the pitcher and sooner or later there would be cracks.

Like KD, I-P is a Bruin Alum -- she is one of us and that makes it harder to express my great disappointment in the way she coached last night.

With the replacement of KD I truly believed that the days of fearing coaching decisions were gone.

Now, I'm fearing that the ghost is back.

For the softball team, I have the same wish I had for the FB team -- that they win in spite of the coaching. I want these seniors to have a National Championship. I do not want them to be the only team in Bruin softball history to not do so.

Please, Coach I-P, get out of their way. Play to win.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

2 recs | Comment 46 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I watched, I agree, I dropped my head

To be honest, I came in around the 4th inning. The score was 2-0. The commentators caught me up about walking Cochran and the 2 run error. the first thing I thought was, “who is this? Babe Ruth? Barry Bonds? Why are we walking her?” It reeked of the kind of in game experimenting that Dorrell used to do. (Not that I made the same connection you did at the time) My two thoughts were, this isn’t the MLB. You don’t walk batters in softball. I’ve never seen i done or even heard of it done. (I coached a girls Softball team years ago) the other thought is you don’t experiment in a game. That is the sign of a rookie coach.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on May 31, 2008 8:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree, but

I think the comparison to Dorrell may be a bit too much. Dorrell had several years of coaching experience, including NFL time, prior to taking over the Bruins, and should had plenty of time to learn better. Kelly Inouye-Perez is relatively younger and more inexperienced in her field. So, hopefully, yesterday taught her a lesson and she won’t make that mistake next time (unlike KD).

In any case, as the announcers mentioned, Cochran isn’t batting 1.000, so pitch her tough and if she singles, it’s the same as a walk. And if you get her out, it’s a great boost for the pitcher and the team. A leadoff IW is demoralizing and almost an admission of weakness. And the results of the hitter behind Cochran showed that the IW’s may have gotten to Seldin a little bit.

That said, the girls really need to get their own bats going for any of that to matter. Hope they’ll turn things around today.

greg in denver

by gbruin on May 31, 2008 8:58 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I-P's Experience

Although it appears that I-P has been on the UCLA coaching staff for many years, and has more relevant experience than KD did—

you reinforce one of the things that bothers me most: UCLA should not hire head coaches that have to learn on the job.

The path to the World Series is not a training ground. It is unfair to make players carry a weak coach.

sjh

by Class of 66 on May 31, 2008 9:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just some clarifications

From what I remember, Kelly joined the staff sometime around 1997 or 1998. She was a catcher for UCLA in the early 90s. It seems that the tradition has been to keep the head coaching job “in the family” as it were. Before I got to UCLA, Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist were co-head coaches. Sue played in the late 70s and is considered to be one of the greatest players in UCLA history. Sharron retired in 1997, leaving Sue well-prepared. Perhaps this is what they were planning on doing with Kelly, but Sue retired earlier than expected.

We had a very young team this year, and I’m sure we will be back in contention next year.

by bruinbabe2000 on Jun 1, 2008 7:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with the IBB but

I have no problem with the 2nd IBB of the inning to load the bases. Arizona St. had pulled off a double steal to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out. That just set up a force at every base which is fine.

I didn’t like that we walked Cochran. She isn’t Bonds and she isn’t hitting 1.000, you’re right. However, you can’t blame Kelly Inouye Perez for the 4 pitch first inning. Yes, she could’ve reminded them to be patient, but once the batter is at the plate, there is nothing the coach can do anymore.

by lil eg not cs on May 31, 2008 12:08 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This first IBB was god-awful

Like lil who wrote above, I didn’t have a huge tactical issue with the 2nd IBB because of the setup force. But the first one—way to blow someone’s confidence. Jeez

by bruinhopeful on May 31, 2008 12:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Loading the Bases with the 2nd May be Justified --

but walking the lead off batter in 3 innings was not.

And, as for our quick swings in the first inning, I-P gives signals to the batters - you can tell when she’s put a “take sign” on. I’m not deeply concerned she let them swing away in the first inning - but I do disagree.

My big complaint is the intentional walks of Cochran—especially in light of the fact it had not worked for other teams and did not work the first time we did it.

sjh

by Class of 66 on May 31, 2008 12:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well

Technically, it did work the first time we did it, but just barely. We eventually got the outs behind Cochran and ASU did not score. However, I didn’t feel the walks were still necessary after that close call in the first.

When trying to understand Kelly’s reasoning, I remembered Cochran had more than a few multiple-base hits off of us this year (2 doubles and a triple, to be exact), and I guess Kelly took the chance of giving her a free single instead of the possible alternative. Cochran is certainly dangerous. She doesn’t need pitches down the middle to do damage, she takes anything close. So I’m guessing that fueled Kelly’s strategy, but it just didn’t work out. Our poor hitting performance certainly didn’t help. Ahh… I’m going to try not to think about it anymore, haha.

I’ll post a review of the weekend and a send-off to our wonderful seniors hopefully within the week. This softball team has truly insprired me. Save for a championship, I couldn’t be happier with their success.

A few pictures HERE

by Daynuh33 on May 31, 2008 11:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I look forward to your wrap -up

Daynuh33,

Your coverage is great and I love your photo’s.

Look forward to your wrap up.

In the end, our bats failed us - I think we had 1 unearned run in Ok. and that’s not near enough. I thought Jelly was masterful - even with the error. We didn’t give her the support she needed. Still a great year for a young team.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Jun 1, 2008 7:16 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks Daynuh

If you can it will be great if you could share your frank perspective on the team’s season with rest of us in a separate post. I just don’t feel too comfortable on commenting on the season after seeing just 3-5 games and with two seasons of statistics wrt to K.I.P.

Thanks again for your posts this season … it got all of us excited here. And I think in the coming years more and more us will want to be plugged into the program on a even more regular basis. Great job.

by Nestor on Jun 1, 2008 9:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thank You, Daynuh

I am going to wait in forming my final opinion on this until I read your analysis. It is truly disappointing, especially for these terrific ladies, but you are right—they had a great season other than the championship play.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Jun 1, 2008 10:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting

The first time we played ASU, Cochran went 1-2 with a walk. She scored once that game, after being walked. In the second game, she went 2-4 with a strikeout. In the third game, she went 2-4 with a run and 0-2 against Jelly. Solid stats yes, but it doesn’t sound like she killed us.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2008 1:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This is CTS strategy at its finest

I’ve read everything about the IBB to the leadoff hitter. I am aware that Babe Ruth was intentionally walked with the bases loaded more than once. But Ms. Cochran is not Babe Ruth or Mickey Cochrane or anything like that. The IBB gives her a 100% chance of getting on base, versus a .500 BA against us (per Raz.) Someone else noted that she scored something like 70% of the time after she was walked. On these numbers, I can’t see walking her intentionally to start the game. It was bad strategy when Jelly got out of the jam (oooh – “Jelly got out of the jam”) in the first inning, and it was bad strategy later on.

And that’s just the numbers, not the intangibles. To me, that sort of strategy reeks of CTS. (Yes, Coach Inouye-Perez, I’m referring to a UCLA coach who was FIRED.) When you run up the middle over and over, you are telling your most important player, your QB, that you doubt his ability to throw. When you call for a two yard out on third and eight, you’re telling your QB that you really doubt his ability to deliver in the clutch. When you punt in justsc territory in the first quarter, you’re telling your whole offense that you have zero confidence in them. In fast pitch softball, the most important player on the field is the pitcher. So Coach Inouye-Perez, you told your most important player that you KNEW she couldn’t get the other teams hitter out. That does a world of good for a pitcher’s confidence.

It may be time for this young lady to be promoted to Coach Emeritus. Maybe there is a women’s softball equivalent of Rick Neuheisel out there. Someone with a little passion. Someone who would deliver a message that it doesn’t matter if it’s Kaitlin Cochran or Mickey Cochrane or Babe Ruth, that person is just another out to our pitching staff.

I guess I view the IBB to the leadoff hitter as the female equivalent of the WCO, and Coach Enquist’s Successor (CES) to be a clone of CTS.

by Fox 71 on Jun 1, 2008 11:06 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm not really on board with this

I think we have to be really careful when we start calling for firings. Even I wasn’t on board with giving KD the axe after his second year. Sure, there were some disturbing trends in his second year, but there was the possibility for “learning” and “growth”, two things that clearly didn’t happen but where repeated ad nauseum by KD himself anyway. I admit that I don’t know a whole lot about the world of Softball, but getting to the WCWS doesn’t strike me as easy enough to be automatic. I can’t shake the same chilling feeling when I hear nutjobs (some of them BN driveby posters) calling for Howland’s job just because he couldn’t get a NC after three trips to the Final Four. The FF trips weren’t a cause for celebration to them, they were opportunities missed by CBH.

There are other teams that accomplished far less than the Softball team did this year with coaches that have been on the job longer than KIP. Maybe she’s not the right coach for the job. I’m always open to changing my mind. I just don’t think I have the data to back up an opinion one way or the other.

by Tydides on Jun 1, 2008 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

by Nestor on Jun 1, 2008 4:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know if she should be fired

but she sure should be questioned about this sort of strategy. The BN called out CTS all the time, and I don’t see why this coach should be exempt. Sure, the team had a good season, but CTS had one good season. One of the reasons CTS was on the hotseat was his horrible record in post season.

I guess the reason I’m so down on this coach is that in the big game she shows no confidence at all in her star player.

by Fox 71 on Jun 1, 2008 8:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We called out Dorrell

because we had standing. We saw every single of Dorrell’s football games and we were well aware of the ins an outs of the football program. It is absurd on your part to compare how we called for Dorrell’s removal to K.I.P’s situation here.

How many softball games have you seen this season Fox? You implied that UCLA should think about replacing her after watching what one or two games on ESPN? That is a joke. Please don’t bring that kind of reactionary take here on BN. Thanks.

by Nestor on Jun 2, 2008 4:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think I have as much standing as anyone

to call out what I perceive to be a bad coaching decision. I don’t concede that any of my criticisms were off the mark. I do concede that calling for her to be given the heave-ho may be a little too strident. I know there are times when you pitch around certain players, but in all my years (and there are getting to be too many to count), I have never seen a lead off hitter walked.

There is something to be said for unconventional strategy. Coach Prothro drove the fans nuts when he would quick kick on third down, but he drove the opposition more nuts. Unconventional strategy is not the same thing as defeatist strategy.

The better approach for Coach I-P would have been to tell Jelly to throw everything outside the strike zone, and if Tyrette Cobb was going to get a hit, it would be on a something outside of her wheelhouse. But just giving in? I’ll never concede the validity of that.

(It’s a little unfair to call me out for not going to softball games—I’m a bit of a distance away. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.)

by Fox 71 on Jun 2, 2008 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oops - left of a pretty important word

”...I have never seen a lead off hitter walked intentionally.

by Fox 71 on Jun 2, 2008 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tyrette Cobb??

Hilarious!

And speaking of baseball in “previous” days, guys like Gibson and Drysdale and Ryan didn’t intentionally walk guys who were dangerous at the plate. They’d throw a few heaters under the chin and reestablish who was the dangerous one between the rubber and the batter’s box.

greg in denver

by gbruin on Jun 2, 2008 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

up-and-in

Funny you mention up-and-in pitching to hot hitters, because that’s precisely what the softball team did to Cochran during the regular season. It was fun to watch because she still swung at it. Things even got theatrical when she finally got a little too close and took one off the shoulder. Cochran jumped up, slammed her bat down, and nearly charged the mound!

by Daynuh33 on Jun 2, 2008 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did they call it a strike?

for “standing in the strike zone”, ala the other night? Didn’t think so.

But a bench clearing brawl in softball would really be something to see!

greg in denver

by gbruin on Jun 2, 2008 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Babe Ruth?

Who was she?

by Give me a B... on Jun 1, 2008 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

fwiw

I saw Florida play A & M on Saturday while at the gym. Gave up a lead off triple and then proceeded to intentionally walk the next two to load them with none out. I thought they were crazy, yet they got out of the inning and went on to win that one.

by Free the 16 on Jun 2, 2008 10:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I waited until today to post on this

Partly, the title sort of made me feel a bit queezy in the stomach. Partly, I was still disappointed by the loss.

In any event, I agree that the first IBB was weak sauce, both tactically because it sent a terrible message. That said, I am uncomfortable equating CIP to CTS at this point. I came relatively late to the oust KD party, and argued for a time that young coaches should be given a chance to develop, and only fired when they demonstrate that they can’t grow, or have limited upside potential even after that growth.

It’s pretty clear to me that CIP is inexperienced, and maybe even lacks a degree of confidence. At one point in the next game, for example, a Bruin batter was hit by a pitch, but the umpire called her out on strikes saying that the batter was standing in the zone. From my view of it, the umpire was terribly wrong. Yet, when CIP came out to argue (they had them mic’d), she was meek and I thought inappropriately deferential. That, to me, spoke to her being slightly out of her depth. But, again, this is something CIP can and hopefully will fix.

As for one other thing, I tend to agree that UCLA shouldn’t, generally speaking, hire inexperience coaches, or stick to tradition based “keep it in the family” ideals. However, I don’t know enough about the hiring process, or the other available candidates at the time, to evaluate the CIP hire. That said, I hope the powers that be are keeping an eye on things so, if CIP doesn’t get it done over a reasonable period of time, that something is done. Again, I don’t know enough to even suggest a change. And a WCWS appearance seems pretty good to me. But, from 10000 feet, the softball world seems to be getting more competitive, and I’d hope noone waits too long.

by Menelaus on Jun 2, 2008 10:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You bring up some interesting points

For the last 20 years, the two most dominate schools have been us and Arizona. Most of the other schools that have been to the WCWS put together good teams for 2-3, then fade away (i.e. Cal, Washington, Northwestern). Texas was also a powerhouse in the late 90s, but were nowhere to be seen this year. Alabama has been consistant the past few years, and may prove to be the exception to this rule.

From what I have heard, softball is growing in leaps and bounds with girls across the country (which makes the elimination as an Olympic sport more outrageous, but that’s a whole other rant for me). If that is true, then the talent pool in the future is only going to grow, which means more schools are going to get more talented players.

As for CIP, I do agree that her strategy against ASU wasn’t smart, but since I am in exile, my only source of information is Daynuh’s excellent reporting, and therefore, I don’t know if this was just one mistake, or if this follows a pattern. I do know that we have a young team that only scored one run in 3 games, and that won’t win you championships.

by bruinbabe2000 on Jun 2, 2008 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Young team

I heard one of the reporters say that a lot of our best players next year would be freshmen. If that’s accurate (and I have no idea if it is), we should be in a position to make another championship run next year.

by Fox 71 on Jun 2, 2008 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A lot of the best players were freshman this year

The experience could only help them. I’m not sure about the recruits we have coming in next year.

by bruinbabe2000 on Jun 2, 2008 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well said

Kelly’s strategy for Cochran came somewhat as a surprise to me, so I personally wouldn’t view it as followng a “pattern”

I’m glad you brought up the growing parity in softball. A lot of people talk about our senior class being the only one leaving without a championship, but to honestly keep that tradition going seems so impossible to me. Softball just 5 years ago looked more like water polo does now; the same top teams every year, all from the west coast, no surprises. UCLA, Arizona, and the Pac-10 always got the best recruits so there was really no shot for the rest of the country. Nowadays, many of the best prep players (especially from SoCal) would rather leave home and help build a team in the SEC or Big 10. Monica Abbott from Tennessee, Charlotte Morgan from Alabama, Stacey Nelson from Florida, and Vanessa Soto from Lafayette are just a few examples.

Obviously it has never been easy to win a national title, but it’s definitely a little harder now than it was a few years ago thanks to the (welcome) parity in softball.

by Daynuh33 on Jun 2, 2008 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Parity

As I said, I am not close enough to the sport to comment with authority on the growing parity, so I’m happy to hear my suspicions shared by someone obviously more knowledgeable about the topic.

If that’s the case, and the situation was different as recently as 5 years, then all I’ll say is that it seems even more critical at this juncture to have the best coaching and not let anything slide because of some unstated tradition. Again, I am not in a position to say much, particularly about CIP, but, from my perspective, this is precisely the time to stay on things and make sure no doors are being opened any more widely than they need to be.

by Menelaus on Jun 2, 2008 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe you can answer a question about the Pac-10 for me

How many of the 10 schools have softball teams? Mr. BB asked me the other night. I know for sure us, Arizona, ASU, Cal, and Washington. I’m pretty sure U$C does not, but I’m not sure about the others.

by bruinbabe2000 on Jun 2, 2008 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

8 schools

All schools except U$C and Washington State. No one wants to go to Pullman anyway :)

by Daynuh33 on Jun 2, 2008 3:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Speaking for everyone here

We’d ALL rather go to Pullman than to the other…place (Sorry, I almost said school – my bad).

greg in denver

by gbruin on Jun 2, 2008 4:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Question for Daynuh

My non-expert take on fast pitch softball (men or women) is that no matter how good the hitters are, they aren’t going to enough to overcome a dominant pitcher. So are we getting the really dominant Koufax/Gibson-type pitchers? Or is this just wrong thinking, and pitchers are generally as good as the pitchers. (I played fast pitch in the Army, and we won every game easily until our ace pitcher got shipped out. Then things got more difficult.)

by Fox 71 on Jun 2, 2008 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

?

I’m a little confused by your wording.

Even dominant pitchers get hits off of them, obviously. Case-in-point: National Player of the Year Angela Tincher from Virginia Tech. She was clearly the best pitcher in the nation this year, and in one very famous victory (her no-hitter over Team USA), the world’s best hitters could not overcome her dominant pitching. But, if she was consistantly THAT dominating, the Hokies would be undefeated and playing for the NCAA championship at this very moment. Instead, Tincher had 10 losses on the season (including a 0-1 loss to UCLA). So dominant pitching doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything.

I may be totally off regarding your question. If so, please let me know.

by Daynuh33 on Jun 2, 2008 6:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

She was dominant some of the time, not all of the time.

Or the hitters were pretty good, so if she was off just a little, she was mortal.

FWIW, the most dominant guy I ever say was Koufax, but even he got beat a few times. And in ‘68, Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA. One year Steve Carlton won 27 games for the Phillies had an ERA under 2, and his team won a total of 59 games. Those are dominating pitchers.

by Fox 71 on Jun 2, 2008 7:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another thought that just occured to me

Is that probably the reason the head coaching job has been kept among UCLA alumnae, is that there was really no other place to get experienced head coaching. That will probably change down the line.

by bruinbabe2000 on Jun 2, 2008 2:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was thinking it might be along those lines

As with water polo, is (or maybe was) the sport at such a level that coaches move around so much? And who’s to say that the best place to learn isn’t under the best coach around? You get a few growing pains, but you could also be getting the next ‘best’. Isn’t that what we’re doing with Caldwell and women’s basketball?

by jaffa on Jun 2, 2008 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is a good point.

by Menelaus on Jun 2, 2008 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Few big differences: (1) We got Coach Caldwell from a national search; (2) UCLA’s women’s bball hasn’t been at the same level as softball for the last few years; (3) Lots of other universities also wanted to hire Caldwell; (4) Coach Caldwell also had exposure to other coaching regimes as she was an assistant coach at UVA.

by BruinEd03 on Jun 10, 2008 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs