McCullough Named FSL Manager of the Year
After seeing his team stumble out of the gate with a 1-10 record to begin the season, Dunedin's second year manager has turned things around, and currently has the Blue Jays in first place in the FSL North. Still, he said he was, "shocked," and, "humbled," to learn that he had been voted Manager of the year.
"I'm honored to be recognized in that way, and certainly appreciative of how much Ralph [Dickenson, hitting coach] and Darold [Knowles, pitching coach], and Dan [McIntosh, trainer] and Armando [Gutierrez, strength and conditioning coach] have done as a staff here."
"It's certainly not all me." he added with a smile.
After surviving the month of April with an 8-14 record, the Blue Jays went on a tear in May, putting up a 20-10 mark to bring them over .500. They haven't looked back since, and with five games remaining in the regular season they trail the Daytona Cubs by just 2 games for the best overall record in the Florida State League at 75-60.
As unfair as it may be to the players and coaches of minor league teams, wins and losses are often an afterthought in minor league baseball. At the end of the day a team's minor league system is but a tool used to improve the fortunes of the major league club. Despite that harsh reality, and the loss of some key players, McCullough has managed to keep a winning attitude in the clubhouse, and has the team excited in the postseason.
A four year minor league player in the Cleveland Indians organization, Clayton knows as well as anyone how to toe the fine line between winning and improving an individual's skill set. "Winning is something we try to stress to these guys - that you want to be a winning player on a winning team," he said, "but at the same time we all know - and they [the players] know - that getting them what they need accomplished this season to further them going into next year is ultimately the most important thing."
In a season that has seen many players have career years, the skipper says he's "most proud of how the group of guys we have here turned things around from the first two or three weeks. We didn't get off to the start we wanted, but this group has been resilient, they've bounced back from a tough first month. They hung in there and a lot of guys turned their seasons around. It seems like a long time ago, but it was a rough start."
Perhaps the most exciting part of the 2011 season has been watching a group of hitters turn their respective seasons around from the first half to the second. To that end, McCullough is again quick to deflect the credit. "They've stuck to things Ralph has been harping on them from day one coming out of Spring Training and its showing at this point in the year. In the back half of the season a lot of guys have been playing well."
Having guided the D-Jays to the post-season in 2010 (they were swept by Tampa in the first round) McCullough is hoping to get back in 2011. Whether or not they will get in, however, is still very much in doubt. "With the way Clearwater and Tampa have been playing - they've been rolling - we know it's not going to be easy. We're just going to come out and try to keep winning. We like the position that we're in and we hope to just keep playing good baseball."
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