I was in my car when the 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck yesterday, and I did not feel a thing.

But I spoke to friends from New England to North Carolina that felt the tremors and thankfully were able to tell me about them lightheartedly. As we’ve learned again and again, Mother Nature can bring incomprehensible inpact, with the devastation in Japan this past March a terrifying and humbling example of her strength.

Fortunately, the damage was minimal, and many east coasters experienced their first quake.

The above picture outlines some of the damage, as posted by a clever man near the epicenter.

Below, take a gander at today’s game notes for game three of the present series between the Red Sox and the Dash. You never know when you might come across an earth shattering nugget.

*****

August 24, 2011 7:05 PM Winston-Salem Dash (62-66, 30-28) vs Salem Red Sox (57-70, 26-32) Game #128

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #63

Probable Starters: LHP Joe Serafin (4-10, 5.80) vs LHP Manny Rivera (0-1, 7.88)

Seismic Streak: After dropping the first three meetings and five of the first seven against Winston to begin the 2011 season, Salem has won its last eight games against its North Carolina rival, dominating the Dash since July 3 by the combined score of 56-27. Tuesday’s slim 3-2 win improved the Red Sox to 10-5 against the Dash on the year, and with one more victory, Salem can clinch its third straight season series win over Winston. The Sox went 11-9 against the Dash in each of the past two regular seasons. Salem needs to sweep the current series to match the longest ever winning streak against Winston. From August 8, 2006 to May 9, 2007, the Avalanche won ten in a row over the Warthogs.

The Epicenter of Salem’s Success: Since arriving from Double-A Portland, 20-year old infielder Heiker Meneses has been right in the middle of Salem’s lineup, contributing to the tune of 24 hits in his first 15 games. Overall, Meneses is batting .421, with his in 13 of his 15 contests, including five doubles, three triples, and five RBI. Meneses began the year in Greenville, batting .277 in 51 games for the Drive, before journeying to Portland and succeeding as a filler, hitting .265 over 24 contests for the Sea Dogs.  During Meneses’ time in the Carolina league (since August 9), only Winston’s Tyler Saladino (.439) has a higher batting average.

Where We Stand:  With 12 games remaining, the Red Sox currently sit on wobbly ground, five and a half back of first-place Kinston. Salem has five more games with Winston-Salem, four more with Wilmington, and three more with Myrtle Beach. The Dash currently reside a game and a half behind the K-Tribe.

Richter Scale Pop: Salem’s Bryce Brentz entered the season’s penultimate week with 29 home runs, tied for  sixth-best in all of minor league baseball. One of the men he trails is former Salem catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who belted 30 bombs in Double-A and Triple-A before earning the call to Boston (In four games with the BoSox, Lavarnway is batting .294 (5-for-17 with two RBI and four walks). Also ahead of Brentz on the round-tripper leaderboard is Winston-Salem’s Ian Gac, who leads the Carolina League with 32 jacks, second most in all of minor league baseball (Iowa Cubs first basemen Bryan LaHair has 34). Brentz belted 11 homers in 40 games with Greenville and has smashed 18 in 63 games with Salem.  Because of a wrist injury that forced Brentz to miss three weeks in late May and early June, Brentz has played 25 fewer games than Gac.

A Solid Foundation: Salem was not charged with an error on Monday or Tuesday night, improving the squad’s record to 27-22 when not making a defensive miscue. Conversely, the Red Sox are just 30-48 when making at least one error. For the entire season, the Salem Sox are tied for the top fielding percentage at .976, joined by Frederick and Kinston at the top of the percentage chart. Salem has made 117 errors in 126 games, third-fewest in the circuit.  Winston, on the other hand, made two more errors on Monday adding to their league-leading total of 144 in 128 games.

 

By Evan Lepler

August 22, 2011

 

When Jackie Bradley, Jr. arrived at the University of South Carolina, he entered with an already lofty reputation.

“You’re the guy with a good arm, huh?” said one of his older teammates, upon meeting the Prince George, VA-native.

“Yea, that’s what they say,” Bradley responded.

(Photo courtesy of John Corneau)

A bunch of Gamecocks were hanging out at Sarge Frye Field, the baseball venue that South Carolina used before brand new Carolina Stadium was built in 2009. There was no scheduled practice, but a few guys were hitting and others were “messing around on our first day back.” A freshman named Jackie introduced himself to the crowd, and, when asked about his legendary arm strength, he said, “alright, give me a ball.”

Despite just arriving to the field and not warming up at all, Bradley, Jr. stepped to home plate and launched a missile that soared over the center-field batter’s eye, which sits 365 feet from home plate, according to the official Gamecocks website.

Whit Merrifield, soon to be a Gamecock legend in his own right, remembers that day vividly as the first quintessential Bradley, Jr. moment.

“The Sarge was kind of a Cracker Jack,” Merrifield explained, implying that the center-field fence was not exactly miles away. “But it was probably a good 370-380 and [Jackie’s throw] cleared it.

“I was like ‘Oh, my god!’ I’d never seen anything like it. From then on, he’s been all as advertized.”

Merrifield and Bradley, Jr. were two of the vitally important pieces to South Carolina’s first national championship in the spring of 2010. Merrifield became an instant icon with his College World Series clinching single in the bottom of the 11^th inning to defeat UCLA and win it all, while Bradley, Jr. earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the entire tournament.

One year older, Merrifield signed with the Kansas City Royals after they selected him in the ninth round in 2010. Meanwhile, Bradley, Jr returned to Columbia for his junior season, a frustrating injury-plagued year that still featured the happiest possible ending, as the Gamecocks won their second straight national title. Bradley, Jr. returned from his left wrist injury earlier than expected, coming up with a big ninth-inning hit in Omaha after missing 26 games during  South Carolina’s quest.

Despite modest stats as a junior (.247, 6 HR, 27 RBI in 42 games), the Boston Red Sox made Bradley, Jr. the 40^th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Many analysts suggested that his potential graded out to a top-20 pick and his stock had dropped because of the injury. Near the midnight deadline on August 15, news broke that the Red Sox and Bradley, Jr. had agreed to a $1.1 million bonus, an above-slot figure for the athletic outfielder who seemed exuberant about joining the organization.

In a conversation orchestrated entirely via twitter, The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham asked him if he had a comment about signing with the Sox. Bradley, Jr., a prolific tweeter, replied, “I want to thank Boston for the opportunity. It really means a lot to see how much faith they have in me. I’m excited to be a part of such a great nation. And I’m ready to give it my all. No complaints and no excuses! #RedSoxNation”

Merrifield, now a member of the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Carolina League, offered some insight to Bradley, Jr. before the entire process began.

“I talked to him before I left for spring training because I knew what kind of situation he’d be in,” Merrifield explained. “I told him to go with what his gut told him. Pro ball’s a different world. You’re king when you’re at South Carolina playing baseball, especially when you’re winning championships like we were. But nobody blames him for doing what he did, and I think he’s gonna be a great Red Sock. Jackie’s a smart kid, and I’m sure he weighed his options and made the right choice for him.”

Bradley, Jr. reported to short-season Lowell and could make his professional debut for the Low-A Spinners soon. Two days ago, he tweeted, “If all goes according to plan I will get to make my debut for the @LowellSpinners on Wednesday.” If Merrifield’s scouting report is accurate, that is not good news for New York-Penn League pitchers.

“[There’s] not a whole lot you can throw to him,” Merrifield divulged. “He hits everything well. Goes the other way really well, pulls some balls, got some power. Runs pretty well. As an opposing player, I don’t really know how to approach him.”

Bradley, Jr. will likely get a chance to make his first splash on the field with Red Sox Nation with the Spinners. Former Salem hitting coach Carlos Febles, now the skipper for the Spinners, would be the man to write Bradley, Jr. onto the lineup card for the first time.

But Bradley, Jr. has already made a strong first impression with many Red Sox fans, using the same twitterverse that other Gamecock athletes, including Merrifield, have embraced over the past couple years to connect with their dedicated followers. How did twitter become such a prominent venue for the South Carolina ballplayers?

“To be honest with ya, I couldn’t even tell ya,” said Merrifield. “I guess it was just last offseason, everyone kinda started doing it. It started as a way for us to kinda goof on each other with other people taking notice. It just kinda grew from there.

“I think Jackie’s got like 8,000 followers or something like that. It’s stupid. But it’s blown up, and it’s definitely the Gamecock thing to do, to have a twitter.”

As of August 22, Bradley, Jr. (@JackieBradleyJr) actually had over 9,000 followers, a conglomeration of Gamecock Nation and Red Sox Nation, with many of the former now naturally becoming part of the latter. And it is a good bet that he will cross over the 10 grand plateau before he arrives in Salem, perhaps as soon as next season.

The decision of where Bradley, Jr. begins his 2012 season is not a pressing matter, but he’ll likely be a Gamecock hero returning to South Carolina with Greenville or one of the headliners to Salem’s roster, a high draft pick who also happens to be from Virginia. At the moment, he is gathering his first taste of the professional baseball lifestyle in Lowell.

It did not take long for him to amaze his new Gamecock teammates in Columbia. It will be cool to see how quickly the 21-year-old can do the same in Lowell, Greenville, Salem, and beyond.

Before the season, it was announced that the Kinston Indians organization would move to Zebulon, NC and become the Carolina Mudcats in 2012. With that news, every journey through the Carolina League’s smallest city became slightly more sentimental over the past few months.

On Sunday afternoon, in the unrelenting heat, the Salem Sox split a doubleheader with the K-Tribe in their final visit to Grainger Stadium of 2011, and perhaps ever. At this time, it is unknown whether or not a professional baseball team will inhabit Kinston’s charming 62 year-old-ballpark moving forward.

The past few days in Kinston were made doubly nostalgic by the fact that longtime K-Tribe broadcaster Chris Hemeyer called his final Indians games on Sunday afternoon. The talented Hemeyer, whose professionalism and talent served as an example that I’ve looked up to since I joined the Salem organization in 2009, has taken a job at Campbell University as the new “Voice of the Camels.” He was understandably emotional while wrapping up his final postgame, and as I walked toward the bus, leaving Kinston for possibly the final time, I also realized that there were things about this venue I would miss in the future.

Though not a boon for my overall physique, I have become a connoisseur of concessions cuisine around the Carolina League in the past few years. Kinston’s chicken tender sub would win first prize in my personal ballpark dinner sweepstakes. Breaded tenders, melted white american cheese, and a hot, toasty hoagie, with scrumptious cajun-seasoned krinkle-cut fries often comfortably sat in my digestive chamber as the opening billboards of the broadcast began. Best pre-game meal in the league.

Additionally, while the location of the visiting hotel in Kinston never was ideal (basically next to a Hardees with nothing else nearby), the beds in our rooms were always absolutely perfect. They were comfortable enough for Gods, let alone measly broadcasters. The softness and plushness of the situation made it the best night’s sleep in the league. I’ll miss those beds.

Lastly, wonderful food and cozy rest are important, but the people at Grainger Stadium remain the #1 thing I’ll miss about visiting Kinston. Steve, the official scorer, always had a smile on his face. Fred, the Hawaiian-born scoreboard operator, often felt compelled to yell “Aloha” to Jon Hee over the PA (always embarrassing the former Salem infielder in the process). David Hall, the long-time beat writer for K-Tribe baseball, became a knowledgeable source and, more importantly, someone I really looked forward to catching up with. And of course Chris Hemeyer, whom I already mentioned, delivered Kinston baseball over the airwaves with creativity and energy, while also bringing a professionalism to his daily approach that I try to embody every day.

Kinston is not perfect, but I hope that baseball returns to Grainger Stadium. And if you head there for a ballgame over the next month or another time down the road, enjoy a chicken tender sub for me. It will be a good choice.

*****

The road trip continues tonight in Woodbridge, with Chris Hernandez looking to win his 11th ballgame, which would tie him with Winston’s Cameron Bayne and Frederick’s Bobby Bundy for the league lead. We’re on the eve of Strasburg-mania here in Potomac, as the P-Nats are expecting the Washington righthander to continue his rehab on Friday night at Pfitzner Stadium.

Hope you’ll spend some of your Monday night with Kevin Burke and I on the broadcast at 7:05, airing live on NewsTalk 960 WFIR and online at www.salemsox.com.

Thanks for reading, and talk to you soon!

Evan

P.S. Your vaguely-themed NCAA game notes for Monday are below.

*****

August 8, 2011 7:05 PM Salem Red Sox (50-61, 19-23) vs Potomac Nationals (59-49, 21-18) Game #112

Pfitzner Stadium                     Woodbridge, VA                          Road Game #58

Probable Starters: LHP Chris Hernandez (10-5, 2.50) vs RHP Paul Demny (7-10, 5.08)

The Final Four: With the regular season scheduled to wrap up four weeks from tonight, the Red Sox and Nationals begin their final series of the summer this evening at Pfitzner Stadium. After dropping two out of three to Kinston, Salem sits five and a half back of Winston-Salem in the Southern Division. Potomac currently trails Frederick by three games in the Northern Division chase, but leads Lynchburg by six games in its bid for the final playoff spot in the North. The Red Sox have 28 games remaining on their schedule, including the completion of a suspended game against Wilmington (Blue Rocks up 2-0 in the 2nd).

Lack of Institutional Control: At times, Salem’s inability to throw strikes over the weekend was jarring. Red Sox pitchers issued nine walks in eight innings on Friday, seven in seven in game one on Sunday, and an outrageous 10 in six in the finale of the doubleheader. All together, Red Sox pitchers 26 walks in just 21 innings pitched, handing the Indians countless opportunities that came back to bite them in the end. Seven walks became runs, including the go-ahead tallies in both Kinston victories.  Pete Ruiz walked a career-high six in two and a third innings on Sunday. Will Latimer, who had never issued more than two in a game this year, walked three in a single frame in game one of the twin-bill. Even Anthony Ranaudo, who’s control has typically been stellar, walked a career-high four, all coming in the final two frames of his five-inning outing.

A Kickoff Classic: Derrik Gibson reached base twice in the first inning on Sunday, continuing a remarkable run of providing immediate impact. Gibson doubled to begin the ballgame on Friday, improving his first-inning batting average to .588 (10-for-17). He drew first-inning walks in both contests on Sunday, raising his first inning on-base percentage to .682. In 22 games batting first this season, Gibson has hit .286 (24-for-84) with and on-base percentage of .394. After his average dipped to .207, Gibson has hit .325 since July 14, bringing his full-season clip to .234.

Second-Half Stud: With two more hits in Sunday’s first game, Kolbrin Vitek improved his second-half clip to .327 (51-for-156), tops in the Carolina League since the All-Star break.  His team-best 38th multi-hit performance improved his full-season average to .288, third-best in the circuit behind Winston’s Jose Martinez and Lynchburg’s Andrelton Simmons. After hitting .308 (32-for-104) in July, Vitek has been on fire in August, going 10-for-20 (.500) in five games played. Vitek also belted his second homer as a Salem Sock on Friday night, a solo shot in the sixth off Indians righthander Clayton Cook.

The Headmaster: Since July 23, first-baseman Miles Head has rediscovered his sensational first-half form, hitting .353 (18-for-51) over his last 14 games. In this stretch, his Carolina League batting average has surged from .229 to .276. He’s also reached base in 14 of his last 15 games. Promoted to Salem on June 28, Head lead the South Atlantic League with a .338 average at the time of his call-up. For the season, the 20-year-old Georgia-native has 18 homers and 69 RBI between the two levels.

Last night, Salem prevailed thanks to a Hurricane on the mound and some thunder(struck) in the batters’ box from Bryce Brentz. Chris Hernandez delivered an absolutely dazzling performance, and the Red Sox took some excellent swings against Potomac lefty Sammy Solis, who appears to have a pretty good future ahead for himself as well.

The proper tune of inspiration tonight might be “Don’t Fear the Buccaneer.” Potomac righthander Paul Demny provided plenty of cowbell in his first three starts this year against Salem, compiling a 2-0 record and a 1.15 ERA in his trio of outings against the Sox. He’s 5-9 with a 5.50 ERA in 17 stats against everyone else. Why Buccaneer instead of Reaper? Demny is an alum of the Blinn Junior College Buccaneers in Brenham, Texas, the same school that produced Cam Newton, Michael Bishop, and Chris Andersen, better known as the “Birdman”–Not to be confused with “Freebird” or (Enter) “Sandman.”

If you haven’t yet done it today, sing a song. Belt it out. There’s no reason not to.

Salem Sox baseball coming up at 7:05 on NewsTalk 960 WFIR and www.salemsox.com.

You can find me on the airwaves or singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the stretch at LewisGale Field,

Evan

*****

August 3, 2011 7:05 PM Potomac Nationals (50-56, 21-16) vs Salem Red Sox (47-59, 16-21) Game #107

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #53

Probable Starters: RHP Paul Demny (7-9, 4.86) vs RHP Stolmy Pimentel (0-3, 7.15)

Rock You Like a Hurricane: On Tuesday night, Chris Hernandez authored one of the finest pitching performances of Salem’s season, holding the P-Nats to one hit in seven innings. It was his lengthiest outing as a pro, pitching into the seventh for the first time since May 27, 2010, when he went six and two-thirds innings for the University of Miami in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. After dropping four straight decisions over five starts from May 29 to June 25, the former Hurricane southpaw is 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last seven starts. Currently, Hernandez owns the fourth-best ERA in the league at 2.50 and is tied for second with ten victories.

Won’t Get Fooled Again: After struggling to the tune of 2-for-28 on the recent road trip, Salem slugger Bryce Brentz awakened with back-to-back bombs in his first two at-bats on Tuesday evening against Potomac. It was the first multi-homer game Brentz career, giving him 24 for the season, second in the Red Sox farm system behind former Salem Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who currently is with Pawtucket. With 13 home runs in his first 160 at-bats in the Carolina League, his bomb to at-bat ratio of 12.3 would be tops in the circuit if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders.

Epic: After winning his third Carolina League Player of the Week honor, Salem catcher Dan Butler earned an even more coveted prize: a promotion to Double-A Portland. His success at the Advanced-A level is well-documented, as no one else in the circuit has picked up the Player of the Week nod more than once. From April 18-24, Butler went 8-for-17 (.471), with two homers, 14 RBI, five doubles, four walks, and a .591 OBP. From May 30-June 5, Butler gathered 11 hits in 25 at-bats (.440), with three homers, 14 RBI, three doubles, five walks, and a .583 OBP. Most recently, Butler has gone nine-for-21 (.409) in the past week (July 25-31), with two homers, six RBI, one double, and six walks. In 90 games with the Salem Sox, Butler hit .247 with 11 homers and 66 RBI. He also has led the club in walks with 45 and has served has the backstop in 74 games, gunning down 36 out of 108 who have tried to steal, a superb 33% clip.

Back In Black: Reliever Mitch Herold lives on the black when he’s on the mound, forgoing overwhelming velocity for pinpoint precision in his location. Herold tossed a scoreless inning for the Salem Sox on Tuesday night, pitching in the Carolina League for the first time since suffering a lat strain on June 27. Herold has held the opponent scoreless in 14 of his 21 appearances this year, holding opponents to a .214 opposing batting average. Lefties have hit just .133 (4-for-30) against Herold.

Smells Like Team Spirit: Tuesday’s victory kept the Red Sox within five and half games of the first-place Dash in the Southern Division second-half standings. Through 106 games, the Salem Sox have scored more runs than all but two Carolina League teams. Only Myrtle Beach and Frederick, the two division leaders, have mustered more offense than the Sox. Salem trails only Winston and Frederick in the home run category. The Red Sox have 74 dingers on the year.

 

In appreciation of their conveniently titled gold, platinum, and all-around superb album, we pay tribute to the melodic tones of the Counting Crows with today’s blog. August began on Monday, but from a baseball sense, the first pitch of our penultimate month comes your away at 7:05 tonight, as the Salem Sox return home for a three-game set against Potomac.

The P-Nats have been playing excellent baseball (21-15 in the second half) and receive a new reinforcement today, picking up Zachary Walters at the deadline from the Diamondbacks organization. The Nationals acquired Walters, who hit .302 with nine homers and 56 RBI for Low-A South Bend, in the deal for pitcher Jason Marquis.

All in all, the weekend of the Trade Deadline is a very eerie few days. Minor leaguers included in deals are generally considered to be afterthoughts by the mainstream media, and only a few diehard fans have more than a casual knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the farmhands that are exchanged. But it is amazing to me how someone, say catcher Tim Federowicz, can be a valued member of the Red Sox organization, doing his job well on a daily basis in Portland, Maine, where he expects to spend his entire summer (unless Pawtucket comes calling). Suddenly, he is uprooted from everything familiar and is sent to Albuquerque. How does one get from Portland to Albuquerque? (Hopefully, Tim still has Kyle Weiland’s number programmed into his cell phone.)

As Kendal Volz told me on Saturday after he got dealt, it is an abrupt reminder that professional baseball is far different from high school or college ball. The bonds you make with your teammates and coaches are great, but the business-side of the sport can also smack you upside the head when you least expect it. I have little doubt that Volz, Federowicz, Stephen Fife, and Chih-Hsien Chiang will slowly assimilate into their new situations, and they will gradually gain comfort, make new bonds, and experience success. But as almost every minor leaguer who gets traded will tell you, in the moment, it’s a bittersweet feeling at best.

The broadcast (not Anna) begins just after 7 PM on NewsTalk 960 WFIR and www.salemsox.com. Hope you will join me for some subtle Counting Crows references and we march into August and beyond.

Talk to you soon,

Evan

P.S. Enjoy today’s game notes, which are below…

*****

 

August 2, 2011 7:05 PM Potomac Nationals (50-55, 21-15) vs Salem Red Sox (46-59, 15-21) Game #106

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #52

Probable Starters: LHP Sammy Solis (4-1, 3.26) vs LHP Chris Hernandez (9-5, 2.68)

Round Here: While the Salem Sox only went 12-16 in July, the previous month represented Salem’s second best month of the season. After going 16-5 in April, the Red Sox won just nine games apiece in May and June. Following an off-day on August 1, the Red Sox begin a grueling grind of 27 straight days with a ballgame, beginning with tonight’s action against Potomac. The Red Sox currently trail the Winston-Salem Dash by five and a half games in the Southern Division second half race with 34 tilts remaining in the season.

Ghost Train: Through 105 games, consisting of 899.1 innings, the Red Sox have scored exactly the same number of runs as they have allowed, an incredible realization when you consider that Salem’s record sits at 13 games below .500. In aggregate scoring, the Red Sox are tied 453-453, having scored and allowed 4.314 runs per contest in 2011. Salem built a huge cushion in April, outscoring foes 131-81 en route to a league-best 16-5 record. Since then, the Sox are 30-54 and have been outscored 372-322.

Time and Time Again: Salem catcher Dan Butler earned Carolina League Player of the Week honors on Monday for his performance from the past seven days, the third time in 2011 that Butler has won the award. No one else in the circuit has picked up the honor more than once. From April 18-24, Butler went 8-for-17 (.471), with two homers, 14 RBI, five doubles, four walks, and a .591 OBP. From May 30-June 5, Butler gathered 11 hits in 25 at-bats (.440), with three homers, 14 RBI, three doubles, five walks, and a .583 OBP. Most recently, Butler has gone nine-for-21 (.409) in the past week (July 25-31), with two homers, six RBI, one double, and six walks.

Mr. Hernandez (Who Pitched In Omaha): Chris Hernandez makes his 20th start of 2011 in the series opener against Potomac, gunning to become just the third Carolina League pitcher with 10 wins on the season. The lefthander out of Miami dazzled in July, going 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA in five starts. Hernandez will be facing Potomac for just the second time, and he’s looking to beat the Nats for the first time, having suffered the loss in a 5-2 setback on May 1. Hernandez was scheduled to pitch the first-half finale in Woodbridge, but rain cancelled the game.

New Frontier: The chaotic weekend across the national baseball landscape rippled through Salem as well. On Saturday, before the middle-game in Lynchburg, word broke that reliever Kendal Volz was included in a trade between Boston and Kansas City. Volz joined former Salem shortstop and Boston utility man Yamaico Navarro in a package for Royals’ infielder Mike Aviles. On Sunday, three former Salem Sox were involved in the deal that netted Boston Eric Bedard. Catcher Tim Federowicz and pitcher Stephen Fife are now Dodgers prospects, while outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang, who was leading the Eastern League in batting average and RBI, joins the Mariners organizations. With Federowicz leaving Portland, Salem catcher Matt Spring has been promoted to fill that slot on the Sea Dogs roster. Hence, Josue Peley was activated off the disabled list for Salem. In addition, Mitch Herold rejoins the active roster in Volz’ spot. Herold returns after missing slightly more than a month with a lat strain.