April 30, 2011 6:05 PM Potomac Nationals (8-12) vs Salem Red Sox (15-5) Game #21

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #12

Probable Starters: RHP Paul Demny (0-1, 2.70) vs RHP Ryan Pressly (2-0, 3.38)

Unprecedented Success: Last night’s 5-2 victory gave the Red Sox their 15th win in the first 20 games, securing a place in Roanoke Valley baseball history. The 2011 Salem Sox became the first Salem ballclub to ever begin a season with a 15-5 record. It has been two straight years that Salem has had great Aprils; in 2010, the Sox were 14-6 through 20 and went 21-7 through the first 28 games. Today, the Salem Sox will try to equal the 1996 Salem Avalanche with 16 April victories. That Rockies-affiliated Salem team went 16-9 in April.

Remember When?:  It’s hard to believe that through six games, this Salem club owned just a .205 team batting overage and scored only 20 runs. But despite the slow offensive start, the team began 4-2.  Over the past 14 games, Salem’s offense has been dynamite, batting .322 (155-481) as a team with 17 HR and 104 runs scored en route to an 11-3 record during this scorching stretch.. As a team, the Red Sox are hitting a league-best .291 for the season with 124 runs. Salem has more than twice as many runs as its 460 rival Lynchburg. The Hillcats have only 61 runs so far this season. The Sox also lead the Carolina League in homers (21) and doubles (63).

Bayer, Extra Strength:  Reliever Jeremiah Bayer arrived to Salem with a solid, but largely unheralded, track record. So far in 2011, he has given Red Sox Nation reason to take notice. Through 20 games, Bayer leads the Carolina League in ERA and is third in opponent’s batting average. With three and two-thirds scoreless innings pitched on Friday night, the Greenfield, MA-native shrunk his ERA to 0.54, just one run allowed in 16.2 IP. In that span, Bayer has permitted just 10 hits and five walks, while striking out 16. Opponents are hitting .172 off Bayer, who has gotten even stingier in run scoring situations. With runners in scoring position, opponents are 3-24 (.125) against Bayer. They are 0-9 (.000) in two-out scoring sitations.

Enjoy Your Own Bed While You Can:  Friday night kicked off a 10-game homestand for the Salem Sox, the longest stretch of consecutive home games of the season.  Not only will Salem be at home for the next ten games, but 17 of the next 20 contests for the Red Sox will be hosted at LewisGale Field. Extending further, 24 of the next 33 will be at Salem Memorial Ballpark, but the Sox, beginning on June 2, will finish the first half with 18 straight games on the road. Thus far, it has not mattered where Salem has played, since the Sox are 8-3 at home and 7-2 on the road en route to their league-best 15-5 start.

Timely Hits, Clutch Pitches:  While Salem’s offense is at the top of the league, the clutch hitting has superseded the overall offensive performance. The Sox are hitting .328 with runners in scoring position for the season. No other Carolina League team has hit better than .271 in similar situations. Additionally, Salem pitchers have held opponents to a .224 average with runners in scoring position. With two outs, Salem arms have limited foes to a .189 average in scoring situations.

April 29, 2011 7:05 PM Potomac Nationals (8-11) vs Salem Red Sox (14-5) Game #20

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #11

Probable Starters: RHP Marcos Frias (1-1, 4.60) vs RHP Pete Ruiz (0-0, 9.69)

Enjoy Your Own Bed While You Can: Today kicks off a 10-game homestand for the Salem Sox, the longest stretch of consecutive home games of the season.  Not only will Salem be at home for the next ten games, but 17 of the next 20 contests for the Red Sox will be hosted at LewisGale Field. Extending further, 24 of the next 33 will be at Salem Memorial Ballpark, but the Sox, beginning on June 2, will finish the first half with 18 straight games on the road. Thus far, it has not mattered where Salem has played, since the Sox are 7-3 at home and 7-2 on the road en route to their league-best 14-5 start.

Scorching Sox: Salem’s offense began the season slowly, hitting just .205 with 20 total runs in the first six games. Since then, the Sox sticks have delivered an epic performance, unrivaled by any other team in the league. Over the past 13 games, Salem has hit an insane .325 (146-449) as a team with 16 HR and 99 runs scored. As a team, the Red Sox are hitting a league-best .292 for the season with 119 runs. Salem has scored 15 more runs than any other team and has 17 more doubles than any other team.

Defensive Steadiness: Salem has seven errorless games this season, three of which occurred in the four-game series in Kinston. With 17 errors in 19 games, the Sox are one defensive miscue behind Myrtle Beach and Frederick, who each have made 16 errors on the season to lead the league. In the outfield, Jeremy Hazelbaker has three outfield assists, tied for second in the circuit behind Wilmington’s Nick Francis, who leads the league with seven. Catcher Dan Butler currently sits atop the catching leaderboard with a 1.000% fielding percentage so far this season.

One is Good, Two is Better:  Even though Salem is tops in the league with 20 homers, the Red Sox’ bread and butter has been gaining two bases at a time. The Sox have delivered an outrageous 61 doubles in 19 games, 17 more than the second-best total in the league. That puts Salem on a pace to have 449 doubles in 140 games. Reynaldo Rodriguez leads the club and the Carolina League with 12 doubles, putting him on a pace for 88 over a 140-game season, which would shatter the individual league record of 51, set back in the 1940s. Dan Butler is second on the club and second in the league with nine, while Peter Hissey has seven and Derrik Gibson and Jeremy Hazelbaker each have five.

Calligraphy Specialists: Perhaps Salem’s most underrated and important asset to the 14-5 start has been the spectacular penmanship from Salem’s relievers. Salem’s bullpen  did not allow a single run in its first 30 innings pitched this season, and the pen has allowed just 56 hits in 76.2 IP, compiling an ERA of 2.35 for the first 19 games. Salem is eight-for-eight in save opportunities, led by Cesar Cabral’s quintet of saves, which is tied for the league lead with Potomac’s Pat Lehman. Mitch Herold has two saves and Will Latimer has one. Meanwhile, Anatanaer Batista is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in five relief appearances and Jeremiah Bayer is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four relief appearances.

April 26, 2011 6:30 PM Salem Red Sox (12-4) vs Kinston Indians (6-11) Game #17

Grainger Stadium                    Kinston, NC                 Road Game #7

Probable Starters: LHP Drake Britton (0-2, 12.54) vs RHP Clayton Cook (1-1, 2.25)

Three Outta Four Ain’t Bad: Though 16 games, the Salem Sox have the third-best overall record in all of minor league baseball, winners of 75% of their games so far in 2011. Only the St. Lucie Mets (17-2) and the Burlington Bees (13-3) have better marks. Despite the blazing beginning, the Red Sox are only one half game ahead of Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League Southern Division. The Pelicans are 12-5 and, like the Sox, have won eight of their last ten games. Salem will meet Myrtle Beach for the first time this year on Thursday, May 7 at LewisGale Field, a four-game series at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

Scorching Sox: Salem’s offense began the season slowly, hitting just .205 with 20 total runs in the first six games. Since then, the Sox sticks have delivered an epic performance, unrivaled by any other team in the league. Over the past ten games, Salem has hit an insane .330 (118-358) as a team with 11 HR and 79 runs scored. Eight different Sox hitters have batted over .300 during this stretch, led by Reynaldo Rodriguez, who’s hitting .450 (18-40) in the last 10, and Kolbrin Vitek, who’s at a .432 (19-44). Others above the .300 plateau in the last ten are Jeremy Hazelbaker (.371), Dan Butler (.360), Shannon Wilkerson (.353), Peter Hissey (.342), Ronald Bermudez (.313) and Zach Gentile (.304).

Reynaldo, A Beautiful Game: While the entire offense has been locked in, no one has been better lately than Reynaldo Rodriguez, who became the first Salem Sock of 2011 to homer in consecutive games when he took Drew Pomeranz deep in the second inning on Monday night. With two-straight three-hit games and four consecutive multi-hit games, Rodriguez has raised his season average to .397 (2nd in the league) and now has 18 RBI (tied for second). The Colombian first baseman has more walks (9) than strikeouts (8), while he leads the league in doubles (11), extra-base hits (15) and slugging percentage (.776).

One is Good, Two is Better:  Though Salem is third in the league with 15 homers, the Red Sox’ bread and butter has been gaining two bases at a time. The Sox have delivered an outrageous 55 doubles in 16 games, 18 more than the second-best total in the league. That puts Salem on a pace to have 481 doubles in 140 games. Reynaldo Rodriguez leads the club and the Carolina League with 11 doubles, putting him on a pace for 96 over a 140-game season, nearly double the individual league record of 51, set back in the 1940s. Dan Butler is second on the club and tied for second in the league with seven, while Derrik Gibson, Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Peter Hissey each have five.

Sub-1.00: The offense has been buoyed by solid pitching all season long, and four Sox pitchers have ERAs at 1.00 or under. Starters Chris Balcom Miller and Chris Hernandez have infinitesimal ERAs of 0.60 and 0.64, respectively, while relievers Jeremiah Bayer and Kendal Volz currently sit at 0.69 and 1.00. The Salem bullpen has an ERA of 2.14 and is seven-for-seven in save opportunities, led by Cesar Cabral who is four-for-four in saves.

In the Books:

Monday, April 18 – Salem 16 Lynchburg 5

Tuesday, April 19 – Salem 10 Lynchburg 5

Wednesday, April 20 – Salem 5 Lynchburg 4

Thursday, April 21 – Potomac 5 Salem 2

Friday, April 22 – Salem 6 Potomac 4

Saturday, April 23 – Potomac 9 Salem 8

Sunday, April 24 – Salem 11 Potomac 4

Record for the week: 5-2              Record for the season: 11-4

On the Agenda:

Monday, April 25 – Salem @ Kinston, 6:30, Grainger Stadium

Tuesday, April 26 – Salem @ Kinston, 6:30, Grainger Stadium

Wednesday, April 27 – Salem @ Kinston, 6:30, Grainger Stadium

Thursday, April 28 – Salem @ Kinston, 6:30, Grainger Stadium

Friday, April 29 – Potomac @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Saturday, April 30 – Potomac @ Salem, 6:05, LewisGale Field

Sunday, May 1 – Potomac @ Salem, 4:05, LewisGale Field

The Monday Brief

Salem may have lost two games, but the aggregate score of the week was 58-36 in favor of the Red Sox. Even after splitting the series with the Nationals, Salem emerged with the top record in the Carolina League, one half game ahead of Myrtle Beach (11-5) in the Southern Division. Even with just one hit on Sunday, Kolbrin Vitek had the best offensive week of any A-ball player in America, recording 16 hits in 31 at-bats (.516 average). He’s my pick for Carolina League player of the week, though Dan Butler (.471) and Reynaldo Rodriguez (.414) are also worthy candidates. Over the last seven days, Vitek erased the memory of his 4-for-27 start by connecting for multiple hits in six straight games. Having hit third in each of the 15 games this season, Vitek has exhibited a maturity and growth as an offensive player that Boston’s player development staff must adore. Already, he has experienced adversity, battled through it, and discovered a comfort zone that has allowed his considerable talent to take over. The continuing challenge for Vitek will be to continue to sustain the offensive production while also refining his defense and growing as a third-baseman.

Maniacal Musings

What’s in a name? As a broadcaster, I had to ask. Us play-by-play guys are always searching for interesting minutiae to sprinkle into a nine-inning monologue, and much of the random information is gleaned from brief passing-by conversations in the clubhouse or during quick chats amidst batting practice. So I asked Vitek, “What are the origins of the name Kolbrin?” He smiled and said that while the name had been explained to him when he was younger, he could not remember the details of its creation. But he did inform me that his older brother is named Gabrahm, another uncommon moniker. On the broadcast, I shared this brief exchange, not thinking all that much of it. Later that night, an e-mail arrived from Gerry Vitek, Kolbrin’s dad. Gerry (pronounced with a hard“G,” unlike Jerry) filled me in on the “creative endeavor” which he and his wife Kathy embarked to name their sons. They decided they wanted something unique, began playing with letters, and the rest was history. Gabrahm Michael Vitek, now a musician living in Nashville, shares the initials GMV with his father, while Kolbrin Daniel Vitek, or KDV, has identical initials with his mother. During a long baseball season, the best part of broadcasting is uncovering cool stories like this. And it’s nice to know that if one day Kolbrin becomes the everyday third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, there will undoubtedly be new parents in New England who embrace Gerry and Kathy’s “creative endeavor” and make it their own.

While crafting this week’s edition of the Learnings, I learned that it was Dan Butler, rather than Vitek, who has been named Carolina League Player of the Week. And you know what, as much as Vitek deserves the recognition, it’s hard to argue this choice. Butler drove in 14 runs in five games this week, while hitting .471. In one game, he had three doubles. In another, he launched the first Carolina League grand slam of the season and the first of his career. He leads the league in slugging percentage (.737) and is tied at the top of the RBI chart. Butler’s background does not scream prospect, but his professional track record, growing more substantial every day, is becoming far too impressive to ignore. Salem fans are lucky to be able to watch this guy as he continues to shatter all possible expectations.

But as good as Butler has been, if you asked me which member of the Salem Sox has surprised me the most thus far, my response would be Colombian first-baseman/DH Reynaldo Rodriguez. Putting his dynamic offensive numbers aside for a second—don’t worry, I’ll give his 10 doubles their due in a moment—the single skill that has most caught me by surprise has been Rodriguez’ defense at first base. With so many so-so first baseman out there, Rodriguez’ sure-handedness and athleticism over there has been a delight to see. Whether he is digging a low throw out of the dirt or displaying tremendous flexibility in performing a gymnastics-like split to reach out further for a throw on a bang-bang play, his overall defensive prowess had wowed me enough times in two weeks that I’m now beginning to expect it. Anthony Rizzo, now raking in Triple-A with the Tuscon Padres, is probably the best defensive first-baseman I’ve seen in my four years calling minor league baseball. It’s only two weeks, but Rodriguez is rising up my rankings fast.

Now, in regards to Rodriguez’ offense, I’ll try to put his start in perspective quickly. In 15 games, less than 11% of the season, Rodriguez has 10 doubles, three more than anyone else in the Carolina League. If he were to keep up this pace, he’d finish with about 93 two-base hits. The league record is 51, set back in the late 40’s. By the way, Rodriguez is third in the league with a .377 average, second to only Butler in slugging percentage, and third in on-base percentage. He’s scored 16 runs in 15 games and driven in 14 more. Baseball reason mandates that some of these numbers will gradually taper off, but from my broadcast booth, it has been amazing to watch up this point.

It is always good to see Red Sox Catching Coordinator Chad Epperson, who managed the Salem Sox during my rookie year in the Roanoke Valley. Following a 14-hour drive from Florida, Eppy and his family arrived on Thursday to enjoy the weekend at LewisGale Field. Of course, Eppy took care of business, heading out early before every game to tutor the backstops. It was fun to reminisce a good bit about the ’09 season, which featured a trip to the Mills Cup Championship series and four Salem players who made MLB debuts in Boston in 2010. On Saturday night, we watched Daisuke dominate the Angels out west and recalled how his incredible talent came to the Carolina League for game one of the playoffs. Folks in Winston may still be bitter, and we likely will have to face Mark Buehrle if we see the Dash again in the postseason, but the memory still brings a smile to your face a couple years later.

The new week begins tonight in Kinston, with Salem set to face the 5^th overall pick from the 2010 draft, Drew Pomeranz, a lefty out of Ole Miss in the series opener. With Boston getting a well-deserved day off, I hope you might consider checking out the broadcast to hear how Salem’s red-hot offense fares against one of the top pitching prospects in the minors. If you tune in, send me an e-mail or tweet and there’s a decent chance I’ll give you a shout-out on the airwaves. At the very least, I promise you will get a reply.

Statistically Speaking

Led by Reynaldo Rodriguez, Salem has compiled an outrageous 51 doubles so far in 2011. One other team has 36, while no one else has more than 29! If you extrapolate through 140 games, the Salem Sox are on pace for 476 doubles. No Salem team has ever hit more than 295.

A Closing Haiku

Chris Balcom-Miller,

I didn’t even mention,

But he’s three and oh.

Lepler’s Learnings will be posted every Monday on “Salem Sox Talk.” Fans can listen to every Salem Red Sox game with Voice of the Red Sox “Evan Lepler” on NewsTalk960 WFIR and online at www.salemsox.com. Evan welcomes your e-mails at elepler@salemsox.com.

April 21, 2011 7:05 PM Potomac Nationals (4-7) vs Salem Red Sox (9-2) Game #12

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #7

Probable Starters: LHP Danny Rosenbaum (0-1, 2.70) vs RHP Tom Ebert (0-0, 0.00)

A New Opponent Duo: After playing the first 11 games solely against Frederick and Lynchburg, now the Salem Sox gear up for a grueling 14 day sequence against Potomac and Kinston. Salem is currently entrenched in a 28-day stretch with a scheduled game every day, though 14 of the next 18 will be played at LewisGale Field. Potomac arrives to the Roanoke Valley having lost seven of its first 11, however the Nationals won two out of three over Frederick the past three days at Harry Grove Stadium to register their first series win of the season. The Nationals are the defending Carolina League Champs, having defeated Winston in four games last September.

Thumbs Up:  Tonight, Tom Ebert becomes the first arm from Salem’s bullpen to make a spot start in 2011. Rather than bring Pete Ruiz or Chris Balcom-Miller, who both threw in Sunday’s doubleheader, back on short rest, Ebert will make his second career start in the series opener against Potomac. Ebert struggled and lasted just two and two thirds in his only other start on July 31, 2010, but overall Ebert went 10-4 with a 2.87 ERA for Greenville last year, averaging more than four innings per outing. He’s allowed one hit in six and two-thirds this year.

Over the Hillcats: Salem wrapped up a six-game in nine-day stretch against its 460 rival with a perfect 6-0 record. The Sox outscored the Hillcats 44-17 in the dominant half-dozen, sending the Kitties to their tenth consecutive loss overall on Wednesday night. Since 2009, Salem has obliterated the Braves’ affiliate, winning 34 of the last 47 games against Myrtle in 2009 and 2010 and Lynchburg in 2011.

Salem’s Hitmen: With 11 more hits last night, the Sox increased their overall batting average to .274, just two points shy of Myrtle Beach for the top rate in the Carolina League. The Sox were hitting .205 as a team heading into last Sunday’s doubleheader, but have gone 61-for-180 (.339) in the past five tilts. Salem owns the most doubles in the circuit (34) and has also blasted more bombs (10) than anyone else in the league. Through 11 total games, Salem’s run differential of +26 is superior to all of its CL competitors.

Great Tek-Nique: After starting the season on a four-for-27 skid at the plate, third-baseman Kolbrin Vitek has broken through in the last three games. Vitek went 8-13 in the series sweep of Lynchburg to raise his average from .148 to .300. The scorching stretch included two doubles one triple, and three walks. Vitek is one of three Salem Sox to have started every game thus far in 2011, along with Derrick Gibson and Reynaldo Rodriguez.

Rey-Rod Extends Streak: With a seventh inning single on Wednesday night, Reynaldo Rodriguez prolonged his early-season hitting streak, extending it to nine straight games. During the streak, Rodriguez has hit .382 (13-34), with one homer, six doubles, one triple, ten RBI, and three walks.  Rodriguez currently owns the longest active hitting streak in the Carolina League, one game longer than Winston’s Kyle Shelton, who currently has hit in eight straight.

April 20, 2011 7:05 PM Lynchburg Hillcats (1-9) vs Salem Red Sox (8-2) Game #11

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #6

Probable Starters: RHP Arodys Vizcaino (1-1, 2.70) vs LHP Drake Britton (0-2, 22.85)

Hammering the Hillcats:  Salem has dominated Lynchburg by a combined score of 26-10 over the past two nights, and the Sox have now outscored the Hillcats 38-13 in five meetings so far in 2011, all Red Sox victories.  The Sox are hitting .286 vs the Cats, while Lynchburg has accumulated just a .196 average in the five games. Since the beginning of 2009, Salem has a put together a scintillating 33-12  record in 45 games against Atlanta’s advanced-A affiliate.

Britton Aims to Join the Winning Rotation: Despite Salem’s 8-2 record, the Sox have gone 0-2 with Opening Day starter Drake Britton on the mound. The lefthander has struggled with command thus far, only recording 13 outs in his first two starts, both against Frederick. Britton pitches opposite Lynchburg ace Arodys Vizcaino this evening. With Chris Hernandez’ super effort on Tuesday, the Sox are now 8-0 when Ruiz, Balcom-Miller, Pressly, and Hernandez take the ball at the outset. Ruiz has received a pair of no-decisions, while Balcom-Miller, Pressly, and Hernandez are each 2-0. The latter trio has allowed just 18 hits and three earned runs in 30.2 IP, an ERA of 0.88.

The Whole Package: Early on, Salem’s pitcher’s carried the Red Sox while the offense adjusted to Carolina League action. In the past four games, however, the Red Sox lineup has delivered an overwhelming assault on the scoreboard. The Sox have scored 40 runs in the last four games, a remarkable eruption considering Salem had scored just 20 runs in the first six games. Salem has 50 hits in the last four games, 15 more than Salem recorded in the first six contests. The Sox were hitting .205 as a team heading into Sunday’s doubleheader, but have gone 50-for-147 (.340) in the past four tilts, raising the team average to .267, second-best in the league.

Extra, Extra! Read All About It!:  With a season-high nine extra-base hits on Tuesday night, the Salem Sox continued their remarkable stretch of superb hitting. Forty-five of Salem’s 85 hits this season have  been greater than singles, an extra-base hit rate of a preposterous 52.9%. The next best in the Carolina League is Lynchburg, as 41.1% of Hillcats hits have gone for extra. Entering Wednesday’s action, the league average is 35%. Entering the day at the major league level, only 32.8% of all hits this season have been doubles, triples, or homers.

We’ll Take Two: An extension of the extra-base hit supremacy is that Salem is tops in the Carolina League in doubles with 33. That is more doubles than any team in the International League (AAA), the Eastern League (AA), the Southern League (AA), and the Midwest League (A-). Only five teams across all of minor league baseball have more than 33 doubles. Ironically, a former member of the Salem Sox plays for the MiLB leader, the Tuscon Padres. San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate in the PCL has 42 doubles, and first-baseman Anthony Rizzo has six of them. Rizzo went from Boston to San Diego as part of the Adrian Gonzalez trade in this past offseason, and so far has hit .412 with 18 RBI in 12 games for Triple-A Tuscon.

In the Books:

Monday, April 11 – OFF DAY

Tuesday, April 12 – Salem 4 Lynchburg 0

Wednesday, April 13 – Salem 5 Lynchburg 2

Thursday, April 14 – Salem 3 Lynchburg 1

Friday, April 15 – Frederick 5 Salem 1

Saturday, April 16 – MORE RAIN

Sunday, April 17 – Game one: Salem 6 Frederick 5 (8 innings), Game two: Salem 8 Frederick 1

Record for the week: 5-1              Record for the season: 6-2

On the Agenda:

Monday, April 18 – Salem @ Lynchburg, 6:05, City Stadium

Tuesday, April 19 – Salem @ Lynchburg, 6:05, City Stadium

Wednesday, April 20 – Lynchburg @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Thursday, April 21 – Potomac @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Friday, April 22 – Potomac @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Saturday, April 23 – Potomac @ Salem, 6:05, LewisGale Field

Sunday, April 24 – Potomac @ Salem, 6:05, LewisGale Field

The Monday Brief:

The bullpen finally allowed a run in the last inning on Sunday, but aside from that and Drake Britton’s struggles (more on this in a bit), it has been a quite impressive stretch of smooth sailing for the Salem Sox. After an Opening Day loss, the Sox have won six of their last seven and have the lowly Lynchburg Hillcats, who have lost seven straight games, on deck this week. Obviously, it’s early and the Hillcats could rebound and win tonight, but Salem appears to be in an excellent position to keep churning out wins with the familiar recipe of pitching to soft contact and finding the gaps while at the plate.

Maniacal Musings:

Winning minor league baseball games can be a fascinating ulterior process. At this level, the goal is development, and frequently a team’s win-loss record is not indicative of future potential to progress up the baseball ladder. But it has also been said that winning and development go hand-in-hand, and it is hard to deny that finding a way to win a slew of close games early in the year can yield an incredible developmental edge. With an entourage of youthful players, mistakes are inevitable. But so far, the Salem Sox have primarily overcome their miscues to win six of their first eight games. It has been impressive to see the collective group make a few pivotal plays on a nightly basis in order to emerge victorious more often than not.

While Chris Balcom-Miller has been nearly unhittable (just three hits permitted in ten scoreless frames atop the mound), the Salem Red Sox bullpen must be considered the #1 reason why this team has realized such a super start. Why? How bout thirty complete innings of scoreless ball! Like any professional calligrapher will tell you, that is spectacular penmanship. Even after Anatanaer Batista surrendered in a meaningless run in the final inning of Sunday’s action, the Salem bullpen’s ERA remains smaller than the bottom-most line of a sight-chart at the doctor’s office: 0.29.

If you’d have told me that through eight games, Salem’s only losses would have occurred in Drake Britton’s two starts, I’d immediately have dismissed you as a non-credible distributor of speculation, and I’d probably have held it against you for the foreseeable future. Yet clearly, my grudge would be misplaced, since you’d have been correct, and Britton is indeed 0-2 with an ERA that could be used in prop bet—What’ll be higher, Britton’s 22.85 earned run average or the number of times LeBron James rolls his eyes while listening to Eric Spoelstra during a timeout this postseason?—But I once again caution fans to leap to any Grand Canyon sized conclusions. Need I remind you that Kyle Weiland endured unbearable growing pains in his first couple of months in the Carolina League before becoming the top pitcher at the level by the end of June. And now Weiland is racking up double-digit Ks in triple-A for the PawSox. Yes, Britton has faced 31 batters and only gotten 13 outs, but his stuff is too explosive to not settle down and become effective. And when he overcomes the adversity to strike out ten Keys in July, the success will feel that much sweeter.

The Salem Sox were rained out on Saturday in Frederick (the third rainout in five tries with the Keys so far in 2011), but the early postponement allowed me to visit some friends in the nation’s capital in the afternoon and evening. Despite the miserable weather in the region, it was a fantastic trip, in large part because of the out-of-this-world accordion player I witnessed at a Saturday night social gathering. Here’s my advice to you as we wrap up the musings: If you ever have the chance to enjoy top-notch accordion music, do it. You can thank me later.

Statistically Speaking

I have alluded to this already, but now will back it up with some numbers. It is absolutely amazing to marvel at some of the clutch performances of the Salem Red Sox thus far in 2011. Need some data to believe me? Well, Salem’s pitching staff has held its opponents to a .111 average with two outs and runners in scoring position. Foes are 4-for-36 in such situations, a testament to how Salem has only allowed 21 earned runs through eight games. The .111 clip will regress closer to a mid-.200s mark, you would think. It almost has to. But for the moment, leaving opponents stranded as lame ducks on the base-path pond has surged the Sox to the top of their division.

A Closing Haiku

Even on Sunday,

A game-winning round-tripper,

Mailman delivered.

Lepler’s Learnings will be posted every Monday on “Salem Sox Talk.” Fans can listen to every Salem Red Sox game with Voice of the Red Sox “Evan Lepler” on NewsTalk960 WFIR and online at www.salemsox.com. Evan welcomes your e-mails at elepler@salemsox.com.

April 14, 2011 7:05 PM Lynchburg Hillcats (1-3) vs Salem Red Sox (3-1) Game #5

LewisGale Field                       Salem, VA                    Home Game #5

Probable Starters: LHP Dimaster Delgado (0-0, 54.00) vs LHP Chris Hernandez (0-0, –)

Chopping Down the Braves: The Boston and Atlanta organizations are forever connected through their sharing of Massachusetts’ capital city in the early 20th century. As Salem and Lynchburg continue the minor league rivalry, the Red Sox have dominated since taking over the Roanoke Valley in 2009. In the last two years, Salem went 28-12 against Atlanta’s high-A farm club in Myrtle Beach. Adding in the first two wins in the current series, the Salem Sox have won 30 of their last 42 games against the Braves Advanced-A affiliate. At LewisGale Field, the Red Sox are 17-5 against the Atlanta representative in the Carolina League since 2009.

Hazel Homers: Outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker hammered a pair of round-trippers on Wednesday night, becoming the first member of the 2011 Salem Sox to hit multiple dingers in a single game. Last season, a Salem player went yard multiple times on seven different occasions.  Anthony Rizzo and Ryan Lavarnway each did it twice, while Oscar Tejeda, Will Middlebrooks, and Jason Place did it once.

Spectacular Penmanship: Salem’s bullpen continued its super start to the 2011 season last night, throwing four more scoreless innings in relief of Ryan Pressley. In 15 innings so far, the Red Sox relievers have not surrendered a run. Moreover, the pen has permitted only six hits and six walks in those 15 frames, complementing the dominance with 15 strikeouts.

It’s Better to Be Timely than Good: Salem’s lineup has not produced an overwhelming concoction of offense on the young season, but the batters have done enough at the right times to secure a 3-1 start despite only batting .218. With two outs and a man on second or third, the Sox are 6-17 (.353) through four games. Salem is tops in the Carolina league in hitting with runners in scoring position and two outs. Ironically, Michael Almanzar has more at-bats than anyone else in this situation, but his hitless in his five opportunities.

Gibson’s Goner: With one swing on Tuesday, Derrik Gibson increased his career homer total by 50%. His two-run blast in the fifth off Cory Rasmus was his third career home run in 233 games. The shortstop from Delaware also went deep on May 1, 2010 against West Virginia and on July 9, 2010 against Hagerstown in SAL action.

April 12, 2011 7:05 PM Lynchburg Hillcats (1-1) vs Salem Red Sox (1-1) Game #3

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #3

Probable Starters: RHP Cory Rasmus (6-9, 3.18) vs RHP Chris Balcom-Miller (7-7, 3.30)

From One Commonwealth to Another:  An old-time Massachusetts baseball rivalry returns tonight as the Red Sox and Braves’ Carolina League affiliates tangle for the first time in 2011 and for the first time as a pair of Virginian farm-clubs. Massachusetts and Virginia are two of the four U.S. States that bill themselves as “Commonwealths,” creating a new wrinkle to the longtime Salem-Lynchburg “Route 460 Series.” Through 1953, the Braves and Red Sox were co-residents of Boston, a stretch that ended when the Braves moved to Milwaukee. Now, after 12 years in Myrtle Beach, SC, the Braves High-A club has invaded southwest Virginia to once again battle for regional baseball supremacy with the Sox.

Backstop Backbones: Catchers Dan Butler and Matt Spring combined to bat 5-6 in Salem’s Sunday doubleheader, catalyzing the Red Sox offense that otherwise started slowly. Aside from the pair of backstops, the Red Sox batted 5-44 (.114) as a team. Butler and Spring also combined for five of Salem’s seven RBI in the opening twin-bill.

Four Thumbs Up: Led by Tom Ebert’s three and two-thirds innings of scoreless, hitless baseball, the Salem bullpen has provided the Sox with an incredible boost to begin the season. Ebert, Mitch Herold, Kendal Volz, and Cesar Cabral combined to toss seven scoreless innings out of the pen in Sunday’s doubleheader, surrendering only two hits overall.

A Veteran Table-Setter: When Peter Hissey stepped in the box to lead-off the bottom of the first on Sunday, he joined a pretty small club. The 21-year-old became just the fifth player in Salem’s Carolina League history (since 1968) to lead off on Opening Day in consecutive seasons. The West Chester, PA-native went 2-5 and scored two runs in Salem’s victory on April 8, 2010 and went 1-4 in Salem’s 7-2 loss to Frederick on Sunday. Last season, he hit .234 as a 20-year-old, stealing 25 bases and only making two errors. Of the previous four players who have sat atop the Opening Day lineup in back-to-back years, two went on to play in the major leagues: Infielders Luis Quinones (1981-82) and Chone Figgins (1999-2000) each progressed from Salem to the Show, with Figgins currently entrenched in his 10th MLB season. Hissey also joins Jerry McDonald and Miguel Vilorio.

The Rear-View Mirror: The 2010 Salem Red Sox finished with one of the top records in the Carolina League, but failed to make the postseason due to the quirky nature of playoff qualification. Salem opened the year with 21 wins in its first 28 games, including a season-best seven-game winning streak in the first seven days of May. The Red Sox also finished the first half strong, winning 12 of 15 before dropping the final game before the All-Star Break. In the second half, Salem dropped seven of nine before winning 20 of the next 30. Injuries and promotions hurt the Sox in August, eliminating the club from postseason contention in the season’s final week. Oscar Tejeda led the 2010 Salem Sox with a .307 average, Ryan Lavarnway hit 14 homers, and Will Middlebrooks was tops with 70 RBI.

In the Books:

Friday, April 8 – TOO MUCH RAIN

Saturday, April 9 – TOO MUCH RAIN

Sunday, April 10 – Game one: Frederick 7 Salem 2, Game two: Salem 5 Frederick 4

Record for the week: 1-1

On the Agenda:

Monday, April 11 – OFF DAY

Tuesday, April 12 – Lynchburg @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Wednesday, April 13 – Lynchburg @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Thursday, April 14 – Lynchburg @ Salem, 7:05, LewisGale Field

Friday, April 15 – Salem @ Frederick, 7:00, Harry Grove Stadium

Saturday, April 16 – Salem @ Frederick, 2:00, Harry Grove Stadium

Sunday, April 17 – Salem @ Frederick, 2:00, Harry Grove Stadium

The Monday Brief:

The Salem Red Sox persevered through frustrating precipitation that prevented any baseball on Friday or Saturday, and then split a doubleheader with the Keys on Sunday. Heading to the bottom of the last in game two, the Sox appeared destined for a trying 0-2 beginning, but instead authored a magical rally to overcome a two-run deficit. After back-up catcher Matt Spring pulverized a two-run double to tie the game, number-nine hitter Vladimir Frias muscled a two-out single to center, bringing home pinch-runner Shannon Wilkerson and the Sox walked off victoriously. Although the anticipation of opening weekend was dampened by all the rain, picking up a dramatic victory in the 14^th inning of Sunday action provided a delightful conclusion and gave everyone—players, coaches, fans, and broadcaster—a nice lift heading into the first full week of the season.

Maniacal Musings:

Usually off-days are like highly-anticipated vacations, but today feels more like a forced leave-of-absence from the diamond. Consider that our season is 140 games in 151 days, including the three-day All-Star break in June. That basically leaves us with eight legit days during the season in which the team has nothing on the schedule. That’s an average of one day off for every 17.5 baseball games. And frankly, I love the schedule. I love the grind. My batteries are fully charged and I’m excited for my life to be all about the Salem Sox for the next five months. But with all that said, why, why, why do we have an off-day just three days after the season begins, which is immediately followed by 28 straight days with a game?

Don’t get me started on our sequence of CONSECUTIVE OFF-DAYS in late August, with a week remaining in the season. In the second-half, the Salem Sox will have two 27-game stretches without a break, but get back-to-back days off on August 29 and 30. Can you explain the logic of this to me? I’d love to understand the reasoning behind this schedule.

With that rant out of the way, a quick word to devoted Red Sox Nation: Don’t be concerned with Drake Britton’s rough first start. It’s always dangerous to evaluate based upon a small sample size of action, but I remind everyone to consider the circumstances surrounding Britton’s third-inning knockout. Here’s a guy who is fired up to be the Opening Day starter, loosens up on Friday, mentally prepares for Saturday, and then gets thrown out there on Sunday because of the inconvenient and unending rain early in the weekend. I can say with confidence that fans will see a different Drake Britton in his next start, and not only because he followed up his rough outing with what appeared to be a cleansing haircut in the clubhouse. Freshly trimmed, Britton likely will get another shot at the Frederick Keys on Friday night.

After seven years in the Rays organization, 26-year-old catcher Matt Spring made a splash in his Red Sox debut. He doubled in his first at-bat before popping up in his second chance, at which point he returned to the dugout and apologized to fellow backstop Dan Butler. Even though he was 1-2, he had just snapped the impressive streak of consecutive hits for Salem catchers. In the front end of the twin-bill, Butler went 3-3 with a thunderous solo homer, and when Spring doubled in the second inning of game two, Salem catchers had mustered four of Salem’s first six hits of the season. At that point, everyone else was 2-31. But Spring avenged his pop-up and crushed his second two-base hit in his third opportunity, driving in the tying runs for Salem in the epic bottom of the last. Together, Spring and Butler combined to go 5-6 with two doubles, a homer, and five RBI in the first two games.

Statistically Speaking:

In the opening double-dip, Salem’s stable of relievers gave reason to believe it would be a formidable unit. In seven innings, four different relievers combined to shut down the Keys completely, surrendering just two hits and three walks without yielding a single run. For those of you who struggle with math, I’ll help you out. That is a 0.00 ERA.

A Closing Haiku

The grind has arrived.

More sunshine would be splendid.

Bring on the Hillcats!

Lepler’s Learnings will be posted every Monday on “Salem Sox Talk.” Fans can listen to every Salem Red Sox game with Voice of the Red Sox “Evan Lepler” on NewsTalk960 WFIR and online at www.salemsox.com. Evan welcomes your e-mails at elepler@salemsox.com.