Whole new ballgame | Sports Daily Newsletter

They’re changing the grand old game of baseball, much to the chagrin of purists. Several alterations to the rules are going into effect in an attempt to speed up a sport that is just too ponderous for today’s world.

How many times does a pitcher need to throw over to first base, anyway? It’s hard to argue with some of the changes, to be honest. At any rate, the new rules go into effect with the start of spring training games, which begin for the Phillies on Saturday.

One such change: the elimination of defensive shifts in the infield, which have cost Kyle Schwarber countless hits in his eight seasons. Think Schwarber is happy about it? “You’d be stupid as a left-handed hitter not to be happy about it,” he says.

Scott Lauber looks at three new rules and three Phillies players, including Schwarber, who will be affected.

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

❓ Which of baseball’s new rules concerns you the most and why? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

When Andrew Painter, Griff McGarry, and Mick Abel were in double-A Reading last season, they began planning ahead to 2023. They decided that if they all were invited to big league spring training, they’d rent a house together on the water. The Phillies’ top pitching prospects didn’t wait long to start tooling around on Airbnb’s website. They found a place before the spring training roster was released, and decided to book it. This wasn’t a huge risk. Painter, Abel, and McGarry all have a legitimate shot at pitching in the big leagues this season. For now, they’re enjoying their time as roommates and trying to decide who is going to cook.

The Phillies have a need for a right-handed-hitting center fielder to back up Brandon Marsh, and they might turn to an infielder.

Joel Embiid is in high demand. A newly minted citizen of the United States and France, he has the option of playing with either country’s national team in this summer’s FIBA World Cup in Asia and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Asked if he has considered that quite yet, Embiid said the remainder of the 76ers’ season: “I’m focused on the season. We have a long season ahead, second half of the season. Once I get there, the main goal is to win. That’s what my focus is.”

Next: The Sixers host the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (TNT).

The Flyers were reeling entering Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames, as they had lost four in a row and had been blown out in two straight. But that changed against the Flames, as the Flyers put in a hardworking shift and rode their penalty killing and rookie goalie Samuel Ersson to a much-need victory.

While the win stopped the bleeding, it did not come without cost as leading scorer Travis Konecny left the game with an upper-body injury. Konecny, who had a goal and an assist in the game, was hit from behind by MacKenzie Weegar in the second period and did not return.

Next: The Flyers are right back in action Tuesday in Edmonton against the Oilers (9 p.m., NBCSP).

More than a week after the Super Bowl, Eagles fans remain angry about the outcome. This happens with fans nearly every time any Philadelphia team almost wins it all, Marcus Hayes writes. The city fixates on one or two shortcomings or sleights, real or perceived, then wallows in its misery.

This time around, Hayes says it’s time to snap out of it and stop letting it fester.

Mikael Uhre didn’t have a bad season with the Union last year, and he was part of the reason why Dániel Gazdag, playing off the opportunities and space Uhre often created with his dangerous runs, had a great season, improving on the five MLS goals he scored in 2021 (Gazdag’s first year with the team) by 380% to 24.

If Uhre doubles his goal-scoring output of 13 from his own first year, he will set a team record for goals in a season. Of course, it’s not as easy as feeling more comfortable in a second season and thus scoring more goals, but it happens. Jonathan Tannenwald explains how that’s part of the reason why manager Jim Curtin and Uhre himself are feeling optimistic about the striker’s chances for a great season of 20-plus goals.

Tannenwald also takes a closer look at Kristie Mewis and how she has played in the SheBelieves Cup.

Who holds the Phillies’ record for stolen base attempts in a season without being caught? (At 23-for-23 it ranks second all-time to Carlos Beltran’s 28 straight in 2004.) Answer here for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

A) Jimmy Rollins

B) Richie Ashburn

C) Chase Utley

D) Bobby Abreu

We asked you: Who on the Phillies’ spring training roster do you have tipped for an unexpectedly good season? Among your responses:

Hans Crouse. When they traded Spencer Howard, it was probably the right thing to do to get proven players for a guy who looked like he might’ve already reached his suprisingly low ceiling (and, in retrospect, still looks that way with Texas). ... Crouse was the perfect add-on to that deal [for Kyle Gibson], a guy who also had high upside and was probably a year or two away from the Show. 2022 was supposed to be his development year in Allentown but injuries got in the way. ...

Mark Appel. ... He demonstrated he has the talent in his long-awaited brief call-up last year. ... They have a crowded list of bubble guys for the bullpen and a couple guys that seem to be ahead of him in the pecking order, but I expect Appel to be one of the “they also serve who stand and wait” group on the IronPigs, and I won’t be surprised if he makes some appearances at CBP this season. — Marty M.

If given the opportunity to play regularly I think Brandon Marsh will turn into a decent hitter and a good center fielder. — Dan G.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Alex Coffey, Keith Pompey, Marcus Hayes, Jonathan Tannenwald, Olivia Han, Joe Santoliquito, Joey Piatt, and Jeff Neiburg.