The Dodgers traded for Tarik Skubal. That was totally expected. But something seems odd about it: They didn’t give up much for him. 

It’s almost as if it was a foregone conclusion with the owners that the Dodgers would land him to prove a point. Baseball needs a salary cap. 

Owners have already drawn a hard line by stating they will not agree to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement without a salary cap. And players have drawn a hard line by saying, they will never agree to a salary cap. 

MLB has even gone so far as to create a TV ad campaign with fans saying baseball is broken and needs a level playing field so one team doesn’t buy all the players. It’s a pre-emptive public relations pitch by the owners to get fan sympathy on their side. And all it did was solidify the players resolve even more.

The truth of the matter is, owners could spend more if they want, they chose not to. Sorry, Ray Davis could have made this team a winner. He cut payroll and condemned it to mediocrity. It’s no longer about the standings; it’s about a line on a corporate spreadsheet. It’s pretty obvious the Rangers are profitable this way, otherwise he wouldn’t do it. It’s all about the bottom line, whether the team wins or not. That’s how billionaire work.

MLB needs the Dodgers to win it all this year to prove its point. The unfortunate other 29 Little Sisters of the Poor franchises simply cannot compete with those big, bad Dodgers.

Enjoy the last two months of this baseball season. It’s going to be a long, dark lockout. Just what the Rangers ownership is pining for. 

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