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Mayor George decrees today Ned McGinley Day

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Quiet weekend forecast for the Wyoming Valley

<p>MOOSIC &#8212; Crestwood grad Matt Wotherspoon has always prided himself on his preparedness.</p><p>It&#8217;s a big part of what had gotten him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year, after starting the 2016 season with the Trenton Thunder. When Wotherspoon did arrive to the Triple-A stage, he pitched like a veteran, and not a 23-year-old righty getting his first taste of Triple-A ball.</p><p>He collected a 2.01 ERA and three saves in 10 appearances and 22.1 innings en route to International League and National Championship titles with the RailRiders.</p><p>In doing so, Wotherspoon finally righted a ship that had been off course since his days at Crestwood, and got the PNC Field (home of the District 2 tournament) monkey off his back.</p><p>&#8220;One thing that always haunts me is not winning the district title against Abington Heights my junior year of high school at Crestwood,&#8221; Wotherspoon said. &#8220;Mark Modrovsky was my coach &#8212; never got a district title. We ran into a buzzsaw, which was Abington Heights &#8212; they were an awesome team. To come back here and win my first real championship, and to have it on this stage and back in my hometown was really special.&#8221;</p><p>Fast forward to Jan. 28, and Wotherspoon is back in PNC Field for the RailRiders&#8217; Fan Fest. And like he&#8217;s always done, Wotherspoon has been preparing for 2017 all winter. The biggest thing Wotherspoon said he worked on this offseason was the consistency of all of his pitches.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just making sure I&#8217;m in shape and ready to get down there. Making sure my arm&#8217;s in shape, making sure my body&#8217;s in shape,&#8221; Wotherspoon said. &#8220;I get up usually, I lift in the morning. I run after I lift a little bit, I throw and I go and run some more.</p><p>&#8220;When you get to (Triple-A) I think it&#8217;s about being able to repeat all of your pitches over and over again.&#8221;</p><p>Bringing back both manager Al Pedrique and pitching coach Tommy Phelps was a move Wotherspoon welcomed. The continuity between the Crestwood grad and pitching coach is something he values toward his success.</p><p>&#8220;(Phelps) is an unbelievable person, first and foremost, and he&#8217;s an unbelievable pitching coach,&#8221; Wotherspoon said. &#8220;I get along great with him and I know all the pitchers get along great with him. It&#8217;s nice to have the same guy. You develop a rapport with one another. He knows what I&#8217;m trying to do to batters and vice versa.&#8221;</p><p>The 6-foot-1 pitcher heads down south on Feb. 10 with a goal of starting the year with the RailRiders. However, he understands professional baseball can be a cruel game, and anything can happen.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of guys fighting for a lot of different positions,&#8221; Wotherspoon said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll find out (where I start) after spring training. I&#8217;ll go down there with the mindset I always do, and that&#8217;s just take it day-by-day and try to get better each and every day.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitcher Matt Wotherspoon has set goal to start 2017 in Triple-A. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL050916Railriders3-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitcher Matt Wotherspoon has set goal to start 2017 in Triple-A. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Crestwood grad&#8217;s goal to start season with RailRiders</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>PODCAST</p><p>To hear the TL sports staff discuss all of your favorite local, regional and national teams, listen to the Times Leader Sport Report at timesleader.com.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

SWB RailRiders pitcher Matt Wotherspoon prepared for future