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Dunedin rights itself after slow beginningBy BOB PUTNAM © St. Petersburg Times, published June 8, 2000 Dunedin Blue Jays manager Marty Pevey knew his team was going to be devoid of the high draft picks and touted prospects that filled the roster last year. Yet if there is one thing the team has had, it's patience. On May 13, Dunedin was 17-18 and sitting in fourth place. Time to panic, right? Not on your life. Pevey said the only way to get through the slow start was to play fundamentally sound baseball. "You've got to be fundamentally sound," Pevey said. "That's just part of baseball. Personally, I expect these guys to execute. I expect them to make the routine grounder, the routine catch, the routine play. I mean, high school guys do that. "We needed to make all those routine plays, like Bucky Dent did. If we did that, I knew we'd be okay as a team." The Blue Jays have gotten the basics down. Now they're just plain winning. Dunedin has been on a tear since its early slump, winning 18 of its past 25 games to climb into first place in the Western Division. And remember how the team was supposed to be barren of star status? Well, the lesser-known Blue Jays have fashioned themselves after last year's headliners. Dunedin is leading the league in hitting (.283) and is third in pitching (3.37 ERA). The team also has five players who were selected for the all-star game: Jersen Perez, Orlando Hudson, Joe Lawrence, Scott Cassiday and Jarrod Kingrey. Lawrence, a catcher, has been the catalyst on offense. He is second in the league in doubles (19) and extra-base hits (30) and fourth in batting (.323), hits (73), runs scored (44), on-base percentage (.549) and slugging percentage (.421). Cassiday, a starter, and Kingrey, a closer, have been the right combination for Dunedin's pitching. Cassiday leads the league in ERA (1.30) and is tied with two others in wins (eight). He also is third in strikeouts (75) and fifth in innings pitched (76). Kingrey is tied for the lead league in saves with 16. "I knew it was a matter of time before everything started to come together," Pevey said. "Last year's team was an all-star team in itself. This team isn't like that, with high draft picks. But we're playing sound, and that's what is pulling us through."
 © St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved. 
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