Thanks for the Memor-Rhys | Sports Daily Newsletter

You know him, you love him, and it had to have been kind of weird seeing him in the visitors’ dugout decked out in gray, blue, and yellow. Rhys Hoskins, long a pillar of the Phillies, wasn’t retained by the team and signed with the Brewers in the offseason.

Does it sting? Sure. Was it the right move? Well …

For one thing, the Phillies are off to a historic start. The clubhouse is as close as ever, and, even with an injured star, they haven’t showed any sign of slowing down. Hoskins, meanwhile, is on a contending club himself.

So are the Phillies really better without their longtime leader? Marcus Hayes offers his take.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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While James Bradberry continues to be sidelined during minicamp practices, other Eagles defensive backs have impressed.

Jumping out has been second-year cornerback Kelee Ringo, who has taken first-team snaps. One who can vouch for Ringo’s growth has been All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown, who has lined up to face Ringo.

At receiver, there’s a battle brewing for the third spot behind Brown and DeVonta Smith. Who has the edge?

As far as the team dynamic goes, veteran Brandon Graham spoke about issues that could have hampered the team during last season’s collapse. In any case, Graham is a believer in what the Eagles have going after he says Howie Roseman addressed whatever miscommunications there were.

The Phillies used the same recipe that’s been successful the entire series against the Brewers: pitching and defense. Aaron Nola’s seven strong innings stifled the Brewers to preserve a 2-0 series-sweeping win.

Ranger Suárez, who was hit by a comebacker on his left thumb in his last start, appears to be in line to take his next turn in the rotation against the Mets on Saturday in London.

Next: The Phillies are heading across the pond for their London series against the New York Mets. Game 1 is Saturday (1:10 p.m. Philadelphia time, Fox29). Suárez (9-1, 1.70 ERA) is expected to start against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea (3-2, 3.63).

Join Inquirer Phillies writers Scott Lauber and Alex Coffey at noon this Saturday to discuss all things Phillies and take your questions before the team takes on the Mets in London.

The Flyers officially closed the book on the first season in the “New Era of Orange” after a near playoff miss. Despite the late-season skid, president Keith Jones and governor Dan Hilferty did not diminish the club’s accomplishments this season on Wednesday. As they look toward the future, they’re continuing to monitor 2023 first-rounder Matvei Michkov and other prospects who could join the Flyers next season.

Brenden Aaronson knows a thing or two about making his debut for the Union as a teenager.

At 16, Aaronson made his debut for the reserve team in 2017, before making his official Union debut at 17. He now stars for Germany’s Union Berlin but says he’s heard of the 14-year-old phenom Cavan Sullivan.

“I’ve heard about how much of a superstar he’s going to be,” Aaronson told The Inquirer. “It’s really great for U.S. soccer, and it’s great for the Philadelphia Union.”

Next: The USMNT will be in Landover, Md., for an international friendly vs. Colombia on Saturday (5:30 p.m., TNT, Max).

We asked you: What do you think is the biggest scandal in sports history? Among your responses:

Uncontrolled use of steroids for so long followed by uneven crackdown. I doubt that use of illegal supplements has stopped — Ted C.

The 1919 Black Sox scandal was of course one of the very worst because they were intent on throwing a World Series. And there was the Patriots Spygate that involved our Eagles etc., and Brady’s Deflagate. But the more current two baseball scandals were the most important. MLB acting as if they were unaware that McGuire and Sosa and others were enhancing their physical strength with steroids, that later involved Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez and others. But the very worst to me personally was the Astros sign stealing scandal. And here again MLB failed to seriously deal with this. The entire Astro team should have been banned for a year, but of course would MLB ever do anything that would harm their bottom line? You know the answer to that. — Everett S.

Other than the Black Sox scandal, which is ancient history, I think the biggest scandal was Tim Donaghy, the NBA ref. He was on the take and who knows how many games he influenced. I find it hard to believe that more wasn’t made of it at the time. — Tom E.

There are so many of course. OJ, steroid abuse, betting on baseball. The biggest and most hurtful in my book is the Astros trash can cheating scandal from the 2017/2018 season. Of course, they won the World Series in 2017, which was a crime. Worse than what they did was the fact that no players were even disciplined or fined. They fined the team and fired the manager but no players were disciplined or fined. And these players are still playing today. And they won another World Series in 2022. I never liked the Astros but this cemented my feelings for them. Cheating in the sport you supposedly love and are paid mightily for is an unforgivable sin. — Kathy T.

As an old timer, I still think betting on your own sport and especially your own team is seriously taboo. Pete Rose was among the best players ever, but he committed the act and admitted it. By forgiving him or allowing him into the HOF, makes a shambles of what he did. And it would set a precedent and extremely bad example to kids everywhere if rules are not adhered to. The second act is the known drug offenders à la Barry Bonds, ARod, etc. And what makes it worse is that especially Bonds he had the talent without using substances to achieve awesome stats. Only my opinion. — Barbara H.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Alex Coffey, Lochlahn March, Jonathan Tannenwald, Aaron Carter, and Gabriela Carroll.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading along! Jim will be back tomorrow with the week’s last Sports Daily. — Maria