Verizon workers to stay on job without new contract

web1_rebel2.jpg

Some Americans refuse to give up on Confederate flag

<p>For Austin Romine, the 2015 season has been one he would like to cherish, and forget.</p><p>The RailRiders catcher has certainly seen his share of ups and downs this season, but he&#8217;s still plugging away as one of the most consistent players on the roster, and is now riding along for what could be a memorable journey.</p><p>Before the season even started, the lowlights started for the 26-year-old as he was designated for assignment by the Yankees after not making New York&#8217;s Opening Day roster. There was a period of uncertainty as he sat in DFA limbo for nearly a week before being outrighted to Triple-A to continue his career. At that point, Romine said he just wanted to play baseball.</p><p>It took a little bit of time for Romine to get going as he got off to a disastrous start batting just .192 in 14 games in April.</p><p>As the weather warmed up, so did Romine&#8217;s bat. He hit .299 in 21 May games before posting a batting average of .303 in June. He held an OPS over nearly .800 in May and that stat was well past .800 in June.</p><p>Just when he started to get in a nice rhythm, he was sidelined after getting drilled in the head by a pitch from Rochester&#8217;s Lester Oliveros.</p><p>Romine didn&#8217;t land on the disabled list after the incident and sat on the bench for just six days. When he returned, it was in a big way. His first game back was against Rochester and Romine clubbed his first career grand slam and drove in six runs to lead SWB to a big win over their rival.</p><p>Before and after the injury, Romine hit safely in 19 straight games, an International League high for the season. His batting average rose to a season-high of .286 on July 3. He carried that momentum to a spot on the International League roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game for his first appearance in an all-star game since 2011 when he played in the Double-A Eastern League contest.</p><p>Another bad break occurred last month which put Romine on the disabled list with a hand injury. He played in just one game from July 11 until he was activated off the disabled list on July 28.</p><p>Now, he&#8217;s trying to shake off the rust, while sharing time with prospect Gary Sanchez behind the plate and a slew of others at designated hitter.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s coming. I get to DH a little bit. With Sanchez coming up, my catching time might go down a little bit, but when they get me in there I&#8217;m trying to do my job and stay relevant in the lineup,&#8221; Romine said. &#8220;The timing&#8217;s coming. It takes games. It takes repetitive playing a lot and seeing a lot of live pitching and it will come.&#8221;</p><p>While Romine&#8217;s playing time may decrease during the last month of the season, he knows that it will be worth it because the RailRiders are loaded with prospects. In addition to Sanchez, outfielders Aaron Judge, Ben Gamel, Slade Heathcott and Tyler Austin are all on prospect lists as are infielders Greg Bird, Jose Pirela and Rob Refsnyder just to name a few.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re doing well. There&#8217;s a lot of them here in Triple-A and some of them are going up and it&#8217;s good,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s what Triple-A should be. There&#8217;s prospects playing here and they&#8217;re doing well and we got a hell of a team.&#8221;</p><p>One of the youngsters to learn he was getting called up is the organization&#8217;s top prospect in starting pitcher Luis Severino. Romine caught the 21-year-old several times this season and knows he can contribute to New York&#8217;s push towards a pennant.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody sees it every time he goes out there it&#8217;s 1-2-3. It&#8217;s pretty impressive to catch,&#8221; Romine said. &#8220;His mentality is perfect for the Big Leagues. He fears nobody and goes right after people. His confidence is high and he&#8217;s put himself in a position to wow some people. I know a lot of people are going to try to watch.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_TTL050614RailRiders_spt_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Austin Romine is congratulated at home plate after hitting a home run during a game earlier this season. It&#8217;s been a year of ups and downs for the 26-year-old. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_TTL050614RailRiders_spt_3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Austin Romine is congratulated at home plate after hitting a home run during a game earlier this season. It&#8217;s been a year of ups and downs for the 26-year-old. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Catcher has overcome adversity this season</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

A steady Austine Romine is leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders