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What’s Up, NEPA?/Good Eats And More!

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Happy birthday Sisilia Ryan Steransky!

<p>MOOSIC &#8212; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders closer Ernesto Frieri sat at his locker Tuesday afternoon soaking in the atmosphere that surrounded him.</p><p>It was media day, and he&#8217;s currently one step away from fulfilling his childhood dream: playing with the New York Yankees. To think, this time last year Frieri was at his home in California without a team and about to embark on a journey back to his baseball roots in his native Colombia.</p><p>He comes to Moosic off of an impressive showing at last month&#8217;s World Baseball Classic, which earned him a minor-league contract with the Yankees and an invitation to big-league spring training. From there, he recorded a 20.3 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio in four innings.</p><p>Frieri will start the season as the RailRiders&#8217; closer as he builds up his innings with the hopes that it won&#8217;t be long until he&#8217;s back in the majors.</p><p>&#8220;Honestly, I didn&#8217;t think I was going be with this amazing organization. This is the team of my dreams,&#8221; Frieri said. &#8220;I always knew to keep playing baseball I would have to keep getting better. I had to do what I was doing in the past and I got away from that.</p><p>&#8220;Yes, I just decided to stop one year, start back to zero and you work out. Just being with the Yankees tells me that it was the best decision that I could make.&#8221;</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t long ago that Frieri was one of the best closers in baseball.</p><p>In 2013 he finished in a tie for seventh in saves, when he closed out 37 games for the Los Angeles Angeles.</p><p>But after a rough start to the 2014 campaign &#8212; recording 11 saves and a 6.39 ERA in 34 games &#8212; Frieri was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates midseason. The Pirates tried to help him regain his form, but it was there that he saw things start to go off the rails.</p><p>Fast forward to 2016 spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Frieri left camp without a roster spot.</p><p>It was then when Frieri decided to go back to Colombia, start over and work with his longtime coach Manuel Ezquivia, who is now a Chicago Cubs scout.</p><p>&#8220;He helped me out huge, big time,&#8221; Frieri said. &#8220;The stuff that we did was crazy. He made me feel like a little baby. You know, when you teach kids you have to go slow, and I pretended like I didn&#8217;t know anything and it worked out really well.&#8221;</p><p>And it was his home nation that provided Frieri the chance to restart his career.</p><p>Even though he pitched in just one game for Colombia, a two-inning relief appearance against the Dominican Republic, the Yankees saw enough to give him a contract. The closer knew his opportunity with Columbia would mean everything for his baseball career and he prepared for it like his career depended on his performance.</p><p>&#8220;I knew that that was my window. That was the best chance that I&#8217;d have to show the world that I&#8217;m back&#8221; Frieri said. &#8220;That I was on my way back. I mean, I&#8217;m not back yet. I have more to show, but even I was happy. I didn&#8217;t expect to throw that hard. I never threw that hard in spring training. I never, never hit 95, 96 mph, never. I did it this year already. That tells me I&#8217;m ready.&#8221;</p><p>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders manager Al Pedrique expects Frieri to anchor the bullpen this season.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s going to get most of the opportunities to close games and we&#8217;ll go from there,&#8221; Pedrique said.</p><p>While Frieri is happy to be a closer again, his goal for the year is to finish in the Bronx.</p><p>Even though both the closer and setup roles are taken by Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances, respectively, Frieri believes he can provide value to the Yankees out of the bullpen.</p><p>But for now, he has to stay ready and continue to rack up his innings as he waits for his next phone call from the Yankees front office.</p><p>&#8220;They want me to pitch more. They know that I haven&#8217;t pitched in a full year and they totally understand that,&#8221; Frieri said of the Yankees. &#8220;They totally understand that my arm it&#8217;s getting ready again and I need to throw. As a pitcher, anybody, a fielder, whatever, you need to play every day and then get into that routine.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m happy to be here, I&#8217;m happy they gave me a chance. Before the WBC, I didn&#8217;t have a team and right after that the Yankees called me.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder Dustin Fowler at media day Tuesday at PNC Field in Moosic. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder Dustin Fowler at media day Tuesday at PNC Field in Moosic. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-BarreRailRiders infielder Donovan Solano at media day Tuesday. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Scranton/Wilkes-BarreRailRiders infielder Donovan Solano at media day Tuesday. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder Clint Frazier looks to improve on last season. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-6.jpg</photo2><caption2>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder Clint Frazier looks to improve on last season. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-7.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders Ben Heller pitcher. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-7.jpg</photo3><caption3>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders Ben Heller pitcher. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-8.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are ready for the 2017 season. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-8.jpg</photo4><caption4>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are ready for the 2017 season. FOR TIMES LEADER|CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders closer Ernesto Frieri will look to build on his spring training as he aims to make his return to the big leagues at some point this season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-5.jpg</photo5><caption5>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders closer Ernesto Frieri will look to build on his spring training as he aims to make his return to the big leagues at some point this season. </caption5><photoCredit5>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>RailRiders closer Frieri eyes spot with Yankees</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>VIDEO</strong></p><p>To see highlights from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders media day Tuesday at PNC Field, visit the online version of this story 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><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;">NRYrW5hB9BQ</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;">YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://youtu.be/NRYrW5hB9BQ</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;">Highlights from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders media day ahead of the 2017 season.</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;">Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Ernesto Frieri is looking to reach his dream with the SWB RailRiders