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Re: Softball - d4cohn - 05-22-2017

(05-22-2017, 04:43 PM)JJJ link Wrote:[quote author=d4cohn link=topic=16598.msg193593#msg193593 date=1495482474]
[quote author=JJJ link=topic=16598.msg193558#msg193558 date=1495437522]
I was at that tourney in Hawaii, we seemed to be playing good players who were doing well, and we looked like an offensive juggernaut. No idea about rpi of opponents etc but it sure was fun watching us winning.

You know a coach's resume at a school is bad, when the only sentence in her coaching bio regarding her three years spent at the school detail a 4-1 performance against teams that finished #120 and #128 in RPI in a small non-conference tournament, and a random upset over a ranked team.

To wit: "Hanson guided Stanford through a challenging 2016 season filled with adversity. Despite the obstacles, Stanford (13-35, 0-24 Pac-12) produced a number of highlight moments including defeating No. 17/12 Missouri at the Mary Nutter Classic, a 4-1 showing at the Malihini Aloha Tournament in Hawaii and outstanding individual performances in Pac-12 play."
[/quote]
You are absolutely right. My point was not to defend the coach but to say that the team has players capable of winning, reacting to the Lauren article. It can be done, but hanson't been so far...
[/quote]

I know you weren't defending Coach Hanson, JJJ. I simply was pointing out how the tournament that you saw in Hawaii is literally the high-water mark of Coach Hanson's tenure according to gostanford.com, aside from a couple of random upsets here and there.  :P

+1, btw, on the "hanson't" joke. :)

On another note, day after regionals has come and past without any news from the AD, so I think it is very likely at this point that the coaching staff will be retained for next year.

Re: Softball - d4cohn - 05-22-2017

(05-19-2017, 01:30 AM)Cred link Wrote:Okay, I am satisfied that Stanford's announcement of the hiring of a new coach, should there be such an announcement, cannot realistically be expected to occur until sometime after the incoming coach's team has wrapped up postseason play.

Separately, however, I continue to wonder if the date of Softball's end-of-season banquet (don't know about this year, but last year it was held about a week and a half after the final game) might be a factor in setting the date of the announcement of the current coach's dismissal (assuming such an announcement is imminent).

Suppose an irreversible commitment to firing Hanson has been made.

Do you keep the news tightly under wraps, refraining from sharing it not only with the general public but with the coaching staff in particular, until after the banquet has been held, thereby ensuring that the event is carried off as routinely as it would be in any other year; or

Do you privately inform the coaching staff beforehand that their Stanford experience is coming to a close, thereby giving them an otherwise missed opportunity to say their goodbyes at the team's final gathering, while holding off on the firing and its accompanying announcement until a time no earlier than the day after the banquet; or

Do you pull the trigger irrespective of when the banquet is to be held? And if the trigger is pulled before the banquet, would that likely or even necessarily mean the banquet would (rather awkwardly)  go on without a coaching staff present?

What would be the upside, if any, of making the announcement before the banquet is held?

Well, the banquet was held tonight. Hope that means a change is coming soon.

Re: Softball - Cred - 05-25-2017

Just about 15 months ago, a Stanford frosh performed the remarkable feat of hitting for the "home run cycle" in the virtual "blink of an eye" span of 6 games. (By "home run cycle" I mean solo HR (Feb. 28) + 2-run HR (Mar. 5) + 3-run HR (Mar. 6) + grand slam (Mar. 5).) The latter three of those HRs, part of a .667 BA/5 runs scored/9 RBIs effort spanning a mere 6 at-bats, contributed to Stanford's one and only winning streak of noteworthy duration for Year 2016 (4 games (Mar. 4, Mar. 5, Mar. 5, Mar. 6), its next best "streak" being back-to-back wins on Feb. 25 (a game which, incidentally, saw this (then) frosh, forced into action by injuries sustained by the two players above her on Hanson's depth chart, initiate in highlight-reel fashion the double play that put away #17 Missouri) and on Feb. 26). Indeed this player's fingerprints are all over two of the three "bragging points" for Year 2016 noted in Hanson's profile on the Stanford softball website (defeating a ranked team and posting a 4-1 record in a tournament); and as for bragging point #3, fugetaboutit, I say, unless you first can show me a D-1 team so performance-challenged that it cannot produce at least a couple of "outstanding individual performances" over the course of a 24-game schedule.

Now check this out:

#1      0      1-15     
#200-14
#302-21
#4130-15
#531-14
#610-14
#715-52
#821-23
#921-20
#1010-11
#1120-18
#1250-16
#1351-16

Each row of the above table statistically represents one of the 2016 team's 13 position players. Using a somewhat modified version of the Weighted On Base Average (wOBA) formula (the most significant modification being my dropping of the "reached base on error" factor from the formula since crediting a hitter with success for an at-bat worthy of being recorded as an out doesn't suit my purposes here), I've ranked the players according to "offensive value," for lack of a better term. Column 2 shows the greatest number of consecutive games sat out by each player during the course of the 2016 season (absences due to injury or mandatory attendance of special events not considered). Column 3 represents the worst slump suffered by each of the players during the course of the season. For example, the top row reveals that the team's theoretically best hitter participated in every game for which she was available to play and suffered a 1-for-15 stretch at the plate as her worst slump for the season.

Now, see if you can identify which row in the table represents the player described in the opening paragraph of this post.

Give up? The answer  is row 4, that of the conspicuous statistical anomaly. Incredibly, 2016's 4th most impactful hitter per plate appearance--last season's team leader in HRs, RBIs and runs scored per plate appearance (granted, 77% of this player's at-bats came in nonconference play; however, applying the same formula as before, her 2016 nonconference performance would place her 5th among the current team's individual nonconference performances for 2017, a not too shabby "level playing field" ranking)--who, despite posting this triad of team-leading stats, easily ranked dead last among the team's 13 position players in number of times sent to the plate--did not set foot on the field for 13 consecutive games, having been relegated solely to the role of onlooker as the team offensively suffocated to the tune of a 4.3-hits/1.8 runs/1.6 RBIs per-game average over the course of those 13 games.

Amid this prolonged, virtually team-wide offensive drought that cried out, loud and clear, for this team's coach to pull out all the stops in an effort to provide an offensive spark--under circumstances that positively demanded that the hammering, pounding, unremitting call for creative, dynamic, solution-seeking coaching be heeded--how on earth could a "dynamite athlete" (quoting Hanson herself here) who had demonstrated such offensive explosiveness right before this coach's eyes fail to be called upon even once in 13 games, as the unrelenting beat-down of a perfectly steady stream of fast-accumulating losses continued to sap her team of vitality and hope game after game after strategically stagnant game??

Granted, this player did fall into an 0-15 slump (0-8 vs. nonconference pitching, 0-7 conference) just before being packed away in cold storage, but, as revealed by the column 3 figures above, virtually every player on the team endured a struggle of comparable severity at some point in the season. Nowhere, and I mean nowhere but Hanson-era Stanford softball would that 0-15 blemish have prompted a head coach to even think of resorting to the extreme, self-binding move of essentially cutting the player from the team for the better part of the Pac-12 "season."

Of course, no application of coaching strategy, however sound that strategy may be, is guaranteed to "work." Indeed, judging by the quite underwhelming 2017 season this player had (albeit the opportunity given her to establish even an offensive "foothold," much less gather any offensive momentum was quite limited), and also by the fact that the "homerun cycle" of 2016 was achieved against nonconference pitching (though perhaps it should be borne in mind that this season's top 3 Cardinal sluggers collectively hit 10 of their 15 HRs against conference pitching), one might well be inclined to believe that an effort mounted in 2016 to devise and implement a supplemental coaching scheme aimed at maximizing the odds of unleashing yet another individual offensive blitzkrieg--this one leveled against Pac-12 opposition--would have failed. Might have, might not have--with respect to answering the question of what strategic action should have been taken by this team's coach in this instance, it matters not one iota which. For when all has been said and done, there remains but one paramount principle of relevance, to wit:

It is imperative that the captain of a sinking ship make every reasonable effort (such as that described in the immediately preceding paragraph) to save that ship. As demonstrated herein, that did not happen with this "captain" in 2016. Perhaps the sense of urgency due in such circumstances just doesn't strike with force sufficient to motivate to action when one has claim to a contractual life preserver that guarantees the wearer's survival of any storm, including the Perfect 0-24 Storm. over the next several years.

Well, ignorance breeds failure, and now, 2 wins and 46 losses worth of largely wasted-away time later, the game-day potential of this player two years in remains a negligently under-explored unknown. It's called inferior coaching.

Inexcusable. Unacceptable. Unpardonable.




Re: Softball - Mick - 05-25-2017

Given how Hanson handled Rittman's holdover players, are you at all surprised?  It doesn't surprise me in the slightest, that this end-to-end, mediocrity played favorites to the detriment of her team.

News flash: coaches play favorites, they have their own blind spots and yes, they can be self-defeating.  IIRC, future NFL hall of famer and Stanford WR James Lofton only caught three passes his sophomore year, and 12 passes his junior year.  Along comes brand new coach Bill Walsh and presto, Lofton catches 53 balls for the same ypc as the prior year.  What the heck was Christiansen thinking?  And Christiansen was a hall of fame coach!

On my own son's volleyball team at Princeton, their best hitter languished on the bench his senior year.  He played well his first two years (10th in the NCAA in service aces his freshman year in 2011), got hurt, rehabbed his junior year.  His senior year, he had the second highest service ace percentage on the team and he hit for the highest average as a pin hitter.  The margin was even greater for conference games.  But he played in just 1/3 of the sets.  And during the annual team banquet, the coach praised another pin hitter as "having the highest hitting average."  And so it goes.

Coaches have their own blind spots.  And I suspect that Coach Hanson has more than most.  If there is a sliver of justice in this world, she'll be gone by tomorrow.

Re: Softball - DC 86 - 05-25-2017

(05-25-2017, 05:54 AM)Mick link Wrote:And Christiansen was a hall of fame coach!

Unquestionably a hall of fame player but not a hall of fame coach.

26-38-3 in his only NFL head coaching job and 30-22-3 in his only college head coaching job (sandwiched between John Ralston 55-36-3 with two Rose Bowl victories and Bill Walsh 17-7 with two bowl wins).

Re: Softball - Cred - 05-26-2017

(05-25-2017, 05:54 AM)Mick link Wrote:Given how Hanson handled Rittman's holdover players, are you at all surprised?  It doesn't surprise me in the slightest, that this end-to-end, mediocrity played favorites to the detriment of her team.

Personally, I will never forget <a href="http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/05/28/stanford-softball-in-shambles-after-infighting-controversial-resignation/">this sad tale</a> (starting with the paragraph that begins "Several players said..." (just above the article's 6th pic, "heading" pic included) and concluding about 10 paragraphs later with the words "That's wrong.").



Re: Softball - Cred - 05-26-2017

(05-22-2017, 09:49 PM)d4cohn link Wrote:Well, the banquet was held tonight. Hope that means a change is coming soon.

I mentioned here last week that "I am continuing to monitor a little something that, for as long as it remains unchanged with each passing day, somewhat counteracts the increasing sense of doom that I myself feel with the passing of each successive uneventful news day." That "little something" is Hanson's twitter page.

Couldn't help but notice the "little something's" recent deviation from what has been the norm this time of year, for the past couple of years, with respect to level of activity. Currently, no mention of the banquet, no retweeting of congrats to the graduating seniors, no congratulatory tweets for honors earned by Cardinal softballers for the just completed season, no good luck wishes to Stanford teams of various sports competing in postseason play, nothing at all since May 6, despite there being no current shortage of such easily accessible, "retweetable" material. For starters:

Stanford Softball‏ @StanfordSball May 13 It's been quite a ride. Thank you and congratulations to our seniors on terrific careers.
Stanford Softball‏ @StanfordSball May 15 @kyliesorenson10 and Bessie Noll picked up @pac12 honors. Kylie Sorenson earned All-Pac12 second team honors and Bessie Noll was named to the All-Defensive team, as announced Monday by the conference.
@GoStanford May 16 Congrats to Bessie Noll, named the first @pac12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in @StanfordSball history.
Stanford Softball‏ @StanfordSball May 18 @kyliesorenson10 concludes her career with her 1st NFCA All-West Region honor.

Just FYI...

A partial list of Year 2016 mid to late May tweets:

Coach Hanson Retweeted 14 May 2016 Thank you and congratulations to our seniors!
Coach Hanson‏ @RachelKHanson 15 May 2016 Good luck to @Stanfordh2opolo and @StanfordWLax today!
Coach Hanson‏ @RachelKHanson 22 May 2016 Flipping between @UA_Softball and @Utah_Softball. Both playing their best on championship Sunday!
Coach Hanson Retweeted 22 May 2016 Watch as #Pac12SB looks to clinch a 5th regional title today!
Coach Hanson‏ @RachelKHanson 22 May 2016 Great year, @StanfordTennis! Way to represent.
Coach Hanson‏ @RachelKHanson 23 May 2016 Good luck tomorrow, @StanfordWTennis! Bring home the hardware!
Coach Hanson‏ @RachelKHanson 25 May 2016 Good luck to @StanfordWGolf! We'll be watching and cheering!
Coach Hanson Retweeted 25 May 2016 Fun evening together at the end of the year banquet.

and

A partial list of Year 2015 mid to late May tweets:

Coach Hanson Retweeted 26 May 2015 Capping tonight's banquet with a team photo.
Coach Hanson‏ @RachelKHanson 27 May 201 Congrats to @StanfordWGolf on your National Championship! Incredible last couple of holes. Ice in your veins!
Coach Hanson Retweeted 27 May 2015 Congrats to Kayla Bonstrom on being named an @NFCAorg Second Team All-American!
Coach Hanson Retweeted 29 May 2015 Congratulations to Kayla Bonstrom who was named an Academic All-American!

My hope of witnessing the end of the Hanson era this spring has been sustained, somewhat, by the notion that perhaps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1vJXvZHGKY recently (more specifically, perhaps a certain someone had just been informed of an imminent change to come in her employment status) that served, in whole or part, as the first half of a certain cause-and-effect relationship, the latter half being the abrupt cessation of Hanson's largely Stanford-focused communications via social media, as described above. IF, however, the relatively prompt hiring of the incoming coach in the case of Dawkins' dismissal is more or less typical of firing/hiring process timing, then I must concede that whatever measure of hope I thus far have managed to draw from observation of said deviation precisely now has commenced to journey down the path of gradual dissipation, given the uneventful passing today of the last opportunity prior to the Memorial Day weekend for Stanford Softball's decision-makers to deliver the would-be Good News.

:(

Nevertheless, still I say...

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/y/yogiberra110034.html




Re: Softball - Cred - 05-28-2017

Well, I most definitely did not expect to see the numbers 2-0-1-8 at <a href="http://www.gostanford.com/coaches.aspx?roster=612">this link</a> anytime soon -- 3 months down the road, perhaps, but not today -- nevertheless, I clicked on the "Coaches" link at GoStanford.com on impulse this morning and, lo and behold, this is what appeared:


2018 Softball Coaching Staff


NAME                              TITLE
Rachel Hanson                        Head Coach
Dorian ShawAssistant Coach
Kacee CoxVolunteer Assistant Coach


The only 2017 name missing from the above roster: Assistant Coach Megan Langenfeld.

Can't be absolutely certain that the above is "official" -- for all I know it could be a work in progress subject to further revision (but I doubt it) -- but if this is the final coaches roster for 2018 then my condolences to the players, and most particularly to those most unfortunate sacrificial lambs among them who, upon excitedly and trustingly committing to play for the Cardinal, never conceived of the possibility, apparently soon to become reality, that they would never -- from the very first step on campus to the very last -- have the privilege and reap the benefits of playing under the tutelage of a mentor even remotely resembling a Pac12-level coach.

*sigh*

Re: Softball - d4cohn - 05-28-2017

(05-28-2017, 11:00 AM)Cred link Wrote:Well, I most definitely did not expect to see the numbers 2-0-1-8 at <a href="http://www.gostanford.com/coaches.aspx?roster=612">this link</a> anytime soon -- 3 months down the road, perhaps, but not today -- nevertheless, I clicked on the "Coaches" link at GoStanford.com on impulse this morning and, lo and behold, this is what appeared:


2018 Softball Coaching Staff


NAME                              TITLE
Rachel Hanson                        Head Coach
Dorian ShawAssistant Coach
Kacee CoxVolunteer Assistant Coach


The only 2017 name missing from the above roster: Assistant Coach Megan Langenfeld.

Can't be absolutely certain that the above is "official" -- for all I know it could be a work in progress subject to further revision (but I doubt it) -- but if this is the final coaches roster for 2018 then my condolences to the players, and most particularly to those most unfortunate sacrificial lambs among them who, upon excitedly and trustingly committing to play for the Cardinal, never conceived of the possibility, apparently soon to become reality, that they would never -- from the very first step on campus to the very last -- have the privilege and reap the benefits of playing under the tutelage of a mentor even remotely resembling a Pac12-level coach.

*sigh*

Totally agree with you Cred. I feel for the rising seniors, and all of the players on the team. It appears that Coach Hanson ran out of excuses with regards to the number of pitchers on the roster (see gostanford's talking point that last season was the first time Stanford has had five pitchers on the roster since 2005). What is interesting is that I think, relative to the talent on the roster, the offensive performance under Coach Hanson and Dorian Shaw has been far worse than the pitching staff's performance under Coach Langenfeld. Coach Hanson and Coach Shaw have had an All-American and multiple All Pac-12 performers in an offense-driven league, and still have put up absolutely anemic offensive numbers in all three seasons.

If you thought the performance on offense was bad this year, just wait until next year, when the lineup no longer has Kylie, Lauren and Bessie, who provided just about all of the power in our power-light lineup. The only power bat in our lineup next year, without significant player development, will be Whitney Burks. We are going to have a small-ball, OBP and steals oriented lineup, playing under a coach that doesn't believe in small-ball, bunting and stealing.

Best case scenario with Maddy Dwyer coming in is we lose a lot of 1-0 games when she pitches because we can't score. Worst case scenario is we challenge for another 0-24 conference season.

Re: Softball - martyup - 05-28-2017

Sadly, this thread now has 22 pages.  This equals the number of P12 loses our women suffered in softball this past season.

If Hanson doesnt get fired . . .

Re: Softball - BobK - 05-28-2017

This is Day 15 of Hansen not being fired.  The possibility has long passed. 

Interested about Megan.  Wonder how this affects Dwyer ?
Of course performance counts.  For some that is

Re: Softball - d4cohn - 05-28-2017

(05-28-2017, 02:25 PM)BobK link Wrote:This is Day 15 of Hansen not being fired.  The possibility has long passed. 

Interested about Megan.  Wonder how this affects Dwyer ?
Of course performance counts.  For some that is

Bob, I think Langenfeld was the scapegoat that allowed Coach Hanson to keep her job for this coming season. If you can't blame your pitching woes on not having quality pitching talent, you blame your pitching coach. I am interpreting this development as an indication that the pressure is on Coach Hanson to win next year to avoid being fired. I think it is absurd on Earl and Bernard's part, for the reasons I laid out previously, to think changing the pitching coach is going to have any effect on the team's performance, given the impending struggles on offense next season, but at least there is some pressure to win. I still think it was blatantly obvious though that a HC change was necessary.

Re: Softball - JJJ - 05-28-2017

Does anyone know if Earl or Muir read the 'board?

Re: Softball - BobK - 05-28-2017

While i love this board there is no reason for Earl or Bernard to read it.    They understand what is going on and far more input from others. 
Sadly they have spoken softly.

Megan may well have decided enough is enough.    Her dad used to post a lot when she was playing for ucla.  This being an open board maybe he or she could comment

Re: Softball - STG50 - 05-28-2017

They may have softly spoken but don't carry a big stick. Was Coach Lang a scapegoat or like you said was she tired of the natural? Maybe her ability to be a good hitting coach was stifled under Hanson. You Can't blame Stanford's woes on pitching! The pitchers had some bright spots this yr. I don't know who was calling the shots as far as the pitchers go, but it was Hanson(which I expect it was), she left her starters in way too long when struggling. With 5 capable arms plus Kylie Sorenson, who pitched a gr8 2+ innings late I the season, she did a horrible job of managing her staff.
Can't blame pitching! What will they do when Maddy Dwyer enters this Fall? I now count 6 pitchers!  Fundamental softball skills seems to be the problem! THAT'S COACHING!

Re: Softball - d4cohn - 05-28-2017

(05-28-2017, 04:16 PM)BobK link Wrote:While i love this board there is no reason for Earl or Bernard to read it.

I respectfully disagree, because the people posting to this board represent two of the groups of stakeholders that Bernard, Earl and the rest of the AD work on behalf of: the student body and the alumni. In turn, many people on this board either know current players, or have known players who recently played for the team, who should be the most important group of stakeholders that Bernard, Earl and the rest of the AD work on behalf of. However, despite what the students and alums have said on this board and in other forums, and what players have communicated to Bernard and Earl, it does not appear that they are listening to these stakeholders. Instead, they have based their decisions either on their own input, or on a coaching staff that has produced 3 of the worst seasons in program history.

Re: Softball - winflop - 05-28-2017

email Muir if you want your voice to be heard. Every time I emailed him about Dawkins he actually called me - three years in a row. Then when he finally fired him I thanked him for finally doing the right thing for the program - and told him I'd be willing to accept an apology phone call :)

My email to Muir about Hanson was short & sweet. This isn't even mediocrity which Stanford shouldn't accept, and there has been no material improvement from year one.

Re: Softball - JJJ - 05-28-2017

(05-28-2017, 07:16 PM)winflop link Wrote:email Muir if you want your voice to be heard. Every time I emailed him about Dawkins he actually called me - three years in a row. Then when he finally fired him I thanked him for finally doing the right thing for the program - and told him I'd be willing to accept an apology phone call :)

My email to Muir about Hanson was short & sweet. This isn't even mediocrity which Stanford shouldn't accept, and there has been no material improvement from year one.
Great call. I just sent an email. I even mentioned this thread (started in February, viewed in excess of 20,000 times, 22pages and counting, with reasons why it's past time for a change in leadership articulated by concerned alumni/fans).
I will post here if I get any response. Not holding my breath though...

Re: Softball - oldalum - 05-28-2017

I suspect part of the problem is that Muir hired her. Psychologically it's more difficult for him to admit he made a mistake than give her another chance to succeed. Easier to fire someone else's hire.

Re: Softball - terry - 05-28-2017

If anyone has something to say to Muir, they should contact him directly. Actually, they should have done it weeks ago. Complaining on this board is not a good way to communicate with Muir.