Frustrating Phillies | Sports Daily Newsletter

Last year, the Phillies thrilled fans across the city as they made their World Series run. This season, what were once ooohs of awe have often turned to sighs or even groans of frustration.

The Phillies have the kind of power and talent in their clubhouse that makes them solid contenders to win, no matter what team they’re up against.

Yet too often, the team’s lack of consistency, random mistakes, and off days results in losses to even lowly squads. Even as one player, such as Nick Castellanos, seems to figure things out and start performing well again, another, such as Trea Turner, continues to struggle, to the point of grousing about calls and getting thrown out of a game.

Even the aspects of the game that are supposed to help the Phillies make sure the correct calls are made become a blown opportunity — as against the Orioles, the Phillies had the chance to request a replay that would have been to their advantage — and they didn’t even ask for it.

It’s enough to make even dedicated fans sigh and shake their heads.

— Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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In 62 years of coexistence, the Phillies and Mets have finished first and second, or vice versa, a total of four times. Yet despite such rare instances of mutual playoff contention — there are comets that appear more frequently — the division rivals have come together on only 28 trades — five in the last 25 years. But hey, it has happened. And if the teams are so inclined, there’s a trade that makes too much sense not to be completed before the Aug. 1 deadline.

The Phillies continued their plan on Monday to play Bryce Harper at first base every other day, but manager Rob Thomson says that will change soon.

Next: The Phillies continue their home series against Baltimore at 6:40 p.m. (NBCSP). Taijuan Walker (11-4, 4.11) will start against Orioles right-hander Kyle Gibson (9-6, 4.76).

The Eagles head into training camp this week as odds-on favorites to return the Super Bowl. There are, however, some question marks for the team. Can Nakobe Dean take on starting linebacker duties? What will Sean Desai’s defense bring? Here’s EJ Smith’s look at the biggest storylines.

What the Eagles have become accustomed to seeing is their veteran linemen — Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson — produce over the past decade. They’ve won a Super Bowl together and this could very well be their last ride together in trying to get another one. Mike Sielski has an appreciation of these stalwarts.

It’s a group that coach Nick Sirianni alluded to earlier this year when discussing how he had an advantage as a first-year coach to arrive with experienced veterans. Now in his third season, Sirianni continues to rely on his players leadership council to find ways to improve the team. To the coach, it’s about the process of becoming a better team rather than dwelling on the Super Bowl loss.

Tony DeAngelo is returning to Carolina after all.

Just nine days after being bought out by the Flyers, the defenseman is heading back to the Carolina Hurricanes, according to a report from the Daily Faceoff. The deal is expected to be for one year at around $1.6 million, according to the report, and will see DeAngelo return to Raleigh, where he played the 2021-22 season.

The Sewell native’s homecoming with the Flyers lasted just one year — a punishing reminder that the Flyers traded three picks for him almost exactly one year ago.

World Cup newbies Sophia Smith, 22, and Naomi Girma, 23, have a lot on their plates, as both are young starters for a team trying to three-peat as World Cup champions.

But both are also using their platforms for good, particularly in speaking up about the importance of mental health. The cause is close to Smith and Girma’s hearts, after their former Stanford teammate and goalkeeper Katie Meyer died of suicide in March of 2022. In the USWNT’s 3-0 win over Vietnam, Smith’s “shhh” celebration after her second goal was a tribute to Meyer.

“That was for Katie,” Smith said after the 3-0 win over Vietnam. “Nay and I talked about it before the game — we were like, what could we do for Katie? And that’s pretty iconic what she did. … We just wanted to honor her in every way.”

Next: The USWNT are back in action Wednesday against the Netherlands (9 p.m. ET, Fox)

WORLD CUP COVERAGE: We’re kicking in the savings — Subscribe now and score Jonathan Tannenwald’s exclusive, on-the-ground coverage from the women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand! Get unlimited access to Inquirer.com, The Inquirer App and e-Edition, premium sports coverage, Inquirer columnists, political analysis, restaurant reviews, and more. All for just $1 for 3 months! Subscribe now.

The tiger’s bite: Stephen Fulton’s main character energy is such that it led him to invent stories about his childhood scars, but then he went on to write his own underdog story in boxing.

Wildcats at Wells Fargo: Ah, Villanova versus UCLA — no one wants to miss that, so the venue is a place that can hold all the fans who want to go.

Four for my headache: David Murphy has some thoughts about some of the issues facing a few of Philly’s sports teams.

World Cup wrap: One of the teams predicted to win by the Inquirer’s soccer contingent got off to a great start, as did another squad that probably should have been picked.

Which Phillie holds the club record for stolen bases? Without going to the internet for help, email us your answer.

A) Richie Ashburn

B) Mike Schmidt

C) Jimmy Rollins

D) Billy Hamilton

We asked: What’s the extent of your soccer involvement, if any? Among your responses:

A fan - English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, the German Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1, Italy’s Serie A and MLS, in that order. — Richard V.

I am writing in regards to the question about who I am excited about watching in the World Cup. Living in Fort Collins and also having a 15-year-old daughter who has played competitive soccer for 7 years now and who is looking to play in college, we are rooting for Sophia Smith from Fort Collins. She is absolutely amazing and such a talented star. We love watching her and most recently seeing her dad with her after her premier game at the World Cup, was heartwarming. — Kristen U.

I have been working in pro soccer since 1974! I grew up in Broomall. I got first introduced to pro soccer when the Philadelphia Atoms came to town and I was instantly hooked. I bought season tickets and watch in awe as the Atoms beat the Dallas Tornado, 2-0 to win the NASL championship that summer. I then went to college (American University) in DC where I quickly started working with the NASL Washington Diplomats in their front office. Shortly after graduating AU, I opened up my own sports PR shop and one of my first clients was the Washington Diplomats II (which was really the Detroit Express which relocated to DC). Over the next 30 years, I worked with just about every soccer entity in and around DC including Team America (NASL), the Washington Stars (of the APSL which is now the USL Championship) and DC United, for which I served as their interim PR director for a few months while also serving as their promotional partner for six seasons. My agency was also served as the PR Division of the APSL (during their final three years) and I have also worked on FIFA World Cup 1994, Women’s World Cup 1999, the Atlanta Olympic Soccer Games (which took place in DC) in 1996 and several other events. While my top rooting interest continues to be DC United, I have a fondness for the Union – glad to see that soccer has finally been well-accepted in Philly. While I’ve lived in DC longer than I lived as a kid in the Delaware Valley, I’m still a Philly boy at heart! — Steve W.

I like watching World Cup soccer and cheer on both our men’s and women’s teams, but I have never seen a live soccer game other than watching my young daughter Beth play. — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Gus Elvin, Scott Lauber, Andrea Canales, Matt Breen, Jonathan Tannenwald, David Murphy, Mike Sielski, EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, and Sapna Bansil.