Cheers for Rolen | Sports Daily Newsletter

Newly inducted baseball Hall of Famer Scott Rolen will join the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday night, and it’s possible some unforgiving fans may boo his appearance at Citizens Bank Park.

That’s a shame when you think about it. Rolen has a complicated legacy in Philadelphia, to be sure. Manager Larry Bowa inadvertently ripped Rolen in 2001 (although he denies it) and the Gold Glove-winning third baseman was traded away to the Cardinals during the following season.

True, Rolen wanted out, but looking back, could you blame him? When it came to spending, the Phillies had a small-market mentality in a major market, and Rolen received no assurances from the team that it would build a contender around him. He signed a far lesser contract to remain with St. Louis than the Phillies had offered him. And he forged the rest of his Hall of Fame career as a truly great defensive third baseman.

But imagine if he had stayed. Imagine a Phillies infield that included Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Rolen at third. How different might it have been if an alternate history had played out? Scott Lauber examines the possibilities.

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Tom Gordon dreamed years earlier of pitching the last out of a World Series, but there he was in the dugout with a red Phillies jacket as Brad Lidge loaded up for the final strike of the 2008 Fall Classic. Eleven months later, Gordon’s career was over. But his life in baseball was far from finished. Matt Breen continues his series catching up with players from the 2008 champion Phillies.

There are a lot of reasons to think this Phillies team is poised for another long postseason run. The problem is that this team doesn’t have any shutdown arms besides Zack Wheeler. But Rob Thomson has a ton of options for mixing and matching beyond Wheeler, and David Murphy examines the possibilities.

The Phillies beat the New York Mets, 5-4, but Ranger Suàrez was less than overpowering.

Craig Kimbrel leads Major League Baseball in pitch-timer violations but says he isn’t concerned. “I’d rather give up a ball than throw a pitch in a hurry,” Kimbrel says.

Next: The Phillies continue their home series against New York at 7:05 p.m. Friday (Apple TV+). Taijuan Walker (15-5, 4.40 ERA) will start against Mets right-hander Tylor Megill (8-8, 4.94).

It was a heated discussion that was broadcast for all to see on national television. A.J. Brown conceded that. But Brown said Thursday in addressing last week’s animated sideline talk with Jalen Hurts that it didn’t have anything to do with the lack of touches he was getting in the win over Minnesota. There is no beef with Hurts, the receiver said.

Meanwhile, meet new Eagles punter Braden Mann.

Next: The Eagles visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday at 7:15 p.m. (6ABC).

Sean Couturier is officially back. After two back surgeries, 135 missed games, and over 600 days sidelined, Couturier was back on the ice without limitations Thursday as the Flyers opened training camp in Voorhees.

Couturier survived John Tortorella’s infamous no-pucks practice — no easy task — and passed his first key test as he looks to get back to his old self. The veteran center thought the grueling conditioning stint went pretty well and is now ready for his next test: facing contact.

That will likely begin Friday when the team will hold intrasquad scrimmages before the first exhibition game on Monday in Newark against the Devils.

Several rookies are vying for a shot at making the opening-night roster. We look back at the top 10 greatest seasons by Flyers rookies.

Dániel Gazdag’s game-tying penalty in injury time served as Wednesday’s defining moment, but the Union’s comeback to earn a 2-2 draw with Charlotte wouldn’t have been possible without the exploits of Bridesburg native Quinn Sullivan. The 19-year-old scored his first goal with a nifty finish in the 70th minute and also played a role in the buildup to the penalty that preceded Gazdag’s equalizer.

Jonathan Tannenwald runs through his biggest takeaways from the draw at Charlotte, including Sullivan’s big night.

Next: The Union host LAFC on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup final (7:30 p.m., Apple TV-free).

We asked you: Who else would you like to see in our “where are they now?” series and why? Among your responses:

I would like to see Carlos Ruiz brought back. He was a favorite of mine and of my brother John. 2008 was not his best season, but he was an integral part of that team as he shared catching duties with Chris Coste. Of course, his best season was 2012 when he hit .302 and was an All-Star. It was sad news when Chooch was suspended for 25 games due to having taken a prohibited stimulant. He went on though to play 8 more excellent years for the Phillies. Who can ever forget Roy Halladay’s postseason no hitter against the Reds when Chooch pounced on that little dribbler down the 1st base line and threw out Phillips from his knees. I remember loudly exclaiming, “No, no,” thinking he would never make that play. — Everett S.

Chooch, so often overlooked, handler of pitchers extraordinaire, from the superstars to the position players brought in when the bullpen was depleted. He famously told one of the latter, I forget who it was, “Shake off the first sign I give you so he thinks you have more than one pitch.” It worked. Where is he now? — Joel G.

And although he came long before the 2008 Phillies ...

The 5-for-1 guy Von Hayes. He had the smoothest left-handed swing you would ever want to see, but things never really worked out for him in Philly. But I sure loved watching him swing the bat! — Bill R.

Love him or hate him, Gritty made his debut as the Flyers’ mascot five years ago. We’re asking for your opinions on the big orange guy. Take part in our Inquirer.com survey here.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Matt Breen, Alex Coffey, Olivia Reiner, DeAntae Prince, Gustav Elvin, Josh Tolentino, David Murphy, Jeff Neiburg, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Rymir Vaughn.