State mandated Municipal Small Storm Sewer Systems meeting held in Fairview Township

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Ben Gamel, reigning International League Rookie of the Year, ready for another year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

<p>It&#8217;s all in their heads.</p><p>And that&#8217;s exactly where the new Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders coaches with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders will try to go as they try to prepare the Triple-A players they&#8217;ll try to help flourish.</p><p>Through slumps and streaks, poor performances and great games, trials and triumphs, manager Al Pedrique, pitching coach Tommy Phelps and hitting coach Tom Wilson will attempt to help the RailRiders find the right approach.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s more of a mentality, really,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;We have an approach as an organization, as a rule. It&#8217;s more of a mental approach at this level.&#8221;</p><p>They won&#8217;t approach with caution.</p><p>For coaches, it&#8217;s almost imperative to develop a quick connection with players in attempt to win their ear, and attention, immediately.</p><p>&#8220;The big thing is developing relationships with them,&#8221; Phelps said. &#8220;And gaining their trust and seeing how they go about their business. And from there, we&#8217;ll see how it goes. Each pitcher has their individual objectives to work towards, and we&#8217;ll go from there.&#8221;</p><p>Essentially, they&#8217;ve all done this before.</p><p>Wilson, who is moving into a coaching role after spending the last few seasons as a scout in the Yankees organization, became comfortable with lending advice to his teammates while playing for the A&#8217;s, Blue Jays, Mets and Dodgers.</p><p>Phelps also played in the big leagues, with the Marlins and Brewers, and served as the pitching coach with Double-A Trenton the last couple of seasons.</p><p>Pedrique, a former big league infielder with the Mets, Pirates and Tigers, managed in the minor leagues with the Astros and Royals in the early 2000s and served as the Arizona Diamondbacks interim manager in 2003. He was promoted to Triple-A after managing Double-A Trenton during the past two years. And second-year RailRiders coach Jason Brown will help the staff again this season, as a first base coach and a catching instructor.</p><p>&#8220;We work well together,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;Tommy Phelps, I&#8217;ve heard a lot of good things about him. Tom Wilson, I&#8217;ve been watching him, the way he goes about his business during spring training and I feel good that he&#8217;s going to help the hitters a lot. We have Brown, there&#8217;s another guy who knows the game well.&#8221;</p><p>As a group, the coaches know they&#8217;ll have some challenges in store.</p><p>They also know some excitement&#8217;s in store for a group of RailRiders leaning on them as a bridge to success.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking forward to it,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got a lot of talent here. It&#8217;s going to be a fun season. We&#8217;ve got guys who have a chance to impact our ballclub and the major leagues in the future.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Coach Jason Brown talks with catcher Eddie Rodriguez during Tuesday&#8217;s RailRiders Media Day in the clubhouse. Brown is part of a RailRiders coaching staff that new manager Al Pedrique says knows the game, and will try to help Scranton/Wilkes-Barre players reach their potential during the 2016 Triple-A baseball season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040616railriders6.jpg</photo0><caption0>Coach Jason Brown talks with catcher Eddie Rodriguez during Tuesday&#8217;s RailRiders Media Day in the clubhouse. Brown is part of a RailRiders coaching staff that new manager Al Pedrique says knows the game, and will try to help Scranton/Wilkes-Barre players reach their potential during the 2016 Triple-A baseball season. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>New RailRiders coaches have a gameplan for success</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p><p>and Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

New Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have a strategy for success