You might also note that Admiral Pye had nothing to do with the loss of the battleship California. The above shows a fundimental lack of understanding of the Navy chain of command. Admiral Pye did not command the California. He would not have been in charge of damage control measures or anything else about the operation of the ship.
Instead, initially the California was commanded by Ensign Edgar Fain as many of the more senior officers were ashore. Ensign Fain acted decisively in ordering counterflooding of tanks to keep California afloat and from capsizing. Even though his orders were a bit less than ideal in this respect, he did a credible job given his rank. He also got California to Zed by 0805 which is pretty good given the number of open hatches and scuttles on the ship.
Captain Bunkley came aboard and took command at 0910 75 minutes after the attack began. At that point the California reported ready to get underway on four boilers. But, buring oil slicks drifting down on her initially precluded this. At 1002 Captain Bunkley ordered "abandon ship." This put a halt to damage control efforts. At 1015 the order was recended and the crew ordered to return to the ship. But, the damage was done. The boilers were secured and progressive flooding was now out of control.
Admiral Pye, as Flag Officer commanded the battleline; that is, the battleships as a group. This was the normal duties of a Flag Officer. He did not command an individual ship. Admirals rarely do. If anyone is to blame for the sinking of California it is her Captain. He made the fatal decision that finished her not Admiral Pye.