September 12, 2007

MARK WHICKER: Gillespie would be a good fit for UCI baseball
Jilted UCI baseball fans should take comfort in how many coaches want the vacated job. None would be a better fit than ex-USC coach Mike Gillespie.

MARK WHICKER
Register columnist

UC Irvine fans might need a moment or two, or maybe a decade, to get past Dave Serrano.

Maybe this will help: The manager of the Yankees wants to coach the Anteaters.

"Yeah, our season ended more abruptly than I wanted it to," Mike Gillespie said. "We got eliminated Monday. The strange part about it is that Lucas Duda is the guy who wound up beating us, and I coached him at USC. So I was happy he was doing well, but not totally."

These particular Yankees play in Staten Island, least celebrated of the five boroughs, and they play in the New York-Penn League, consisting mostly of 2007 draftees who play for half the summer. It was a nice soft landing for Gillespie, whom USC shoved into "resignation" last year, but now he yearns for home, which means southern California with a small "s", and a college dugout.

It's a match made on E-Harmony. Both Irvine and Gillespie are on the rebound. The Anteaters would be hiring the man who coached USC to the 1998 College World Series championship, went to Omaha three other times, lasted 20 years as the man who dared follow Rod Dedeaux's act, and also coached Barry Zito, Mark Prior, Geoff Jenkins, Bret and Aaron Boone and Eric Munson.

It isn't likely that Gillespie would call UCI his "dream job," the way Serrano called Cal State Fullerton when he took over the Titans last Friday.

But it is a pretty symmetrical fit, considering Gillespie's recruiting skills, his knack for the area, and his personality, which ranges from Bob Newhart (on a banquet podium) to Beowulf (in the face of umpires).

Gillespie already has spoken with Paul Hope, UCI's associate athletic director. "I'm sure they're flooded with applications by now," he said. "I was really impressed with how they brought back the program, and the facilities and the commitment they have."

And Gillespie's interest in UCI should cool the foreheads of Anteaters who are having trouble following Serrano's logic.

• First, Serrano coaches UCI to Omaha and eliminates Fullerton, the most natural rival the Anteaters have.

• • Then, two Fridays ago, Serrano issues a statement saying he isn't interested in George Horton's CSF job even though Horton hasn't officially gone to Oregon yet.

• Followed swiftly by Serrano saying Goodwin Field was his Holy Grail all along.

The truth is most coaches would have made the same call Serrano did. And Serrano said he only got involved after it became clear CSF wasn't going to hire assistant coach Rick Vanderhook.

Still, it's like jumping from Firestone to Goodyear, and Irvine needs a pick-me-up bouquet. Becoming the only baseball team in the Big West with a national championship coach – yeah, that might do it, and what if Gillespie then hired Vanderhook?

Now, someone will point out that Gillespie is 67 and that Irvine, after it lost Serrano and John Savage, should be looking for a 20-year coach. But Irvine also lacks a full-time athletic director at the moment. Let Gillespie take it for three years and then the new boss can look to the future.

It takes energy to ride minor-league buses, even if it's just for two months, and Gillespie coached Matt Morris and Taylor Holiday, two of last season's Anteaters, at Staten Island.

"I know people will talk about my age, but I can still throw batting practice. From 35 feet, anyway," he said.

"Staten Island was a great experience. They have a beautiful ballpark. It has a spectacular view of lower Manhattan – right where the Twin Towers were, in fact – and with all the ships coming up through the Hudson River, there's really a different look to it every night. It's breathtaking. And our rivals were the Brooklyn Cyclones, which is a Mets' farm club. We played them all the time.

"I was coaching guys who were basically college age, just like I used to. It did me a lot of good. And so did working in the Yankee organization, because I scouted the rest of the year. But it's a long way from California."

Gillespie also got to read the Yankees' internal scouting reports and followed the rise of Ian Kennedy, the La Quinta right-hander who became one of Gillespie's last All-Americans at USC. Kennedy already has given the varsity Yankees two good starts, just 15 months out of college.

Dave Lawn, Gillespie's USC pitching coach who now coaches at Servite, accompanied ex-La Quinta coach Dave Demarest to Kansas City to see Kennedy's debut.

"I kept reading the minor-league reports and it was like Kennedy never had a bad game," Gillespie said. "Which is the way he was when he pitched for us. He's still not throwing overly hard, but his command is excellent and his changeup has really come on."

Gillespie has coached a couple dozen Ian Kennedys. UC Irvine will get few chances to hire a Gillespie.