There’s a way for the New York Yankees to secure what the New York Knicks just experienced. With the acquisition of Tigers ace Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, the Yankees will be marching down the Canyon of Heroes this fall.
The Bronx Bombers are already the overwhelming betting favorites to win the pennant in what’s an underwhelming American League. But to beat the NL betting favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers, they need Skubal.
Imagine him forming a starting rotation trio with Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler. Imagine those three throwing seven or eight innings of quality starts in October. If Skubal is your No. 3 starter in October, that’s a great situation for a team to have. It’s too much to pass up.
There’s no doubt the Dodgers are a great team, but they are beatable. Outside of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, does the rest of their starting rotation really scare anyone? Plus, three-peating is difficult in baseball. The last team to do it was the Yankees (1998-2000), who can ironically deny the Dodgers a chance to match that feat.
It’s in his hands (Brian Cashman photo courtesy ESPN)
The Yanks have the offense, starting pitching, and bullpen. They have been one of the best teams in baseball this season with a 46-30 record heading into Monday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
If not now, when will they finish the deal and win championship No. 28? It’s been way too long for their standards. It matches the Yankees’ standards and the Rangers’ title drought of 31.
The Yankees have to give up the farm system to get their guy—Skubal’s that good. I watched him stymie the Seattle Mariners for six innings with a 13-strikeout performance in Game 5 of the ALDS. It’s remarkable that Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch inexplicably took him out in the seventh inning of a winner-take-all game, especially with the Tigers taking a 2-1 lead. The Mariners couldn’t hit him, and in a game like that, he should have gone as far as he could, even nine innings if possible.
Not surprisingly, the Mariners tied the game in the seventh inning on Leo Rivas’ single with runners on base, and eventually the Mariners broke through on Jorge Polanco’s double in 15 innings.
Skubal’s a free agent after this season, and he will command $300 million in the market. There’s no way the small-market Tigers team can afford him.
It’s doubtful the Yankees are paying up for his services this offseason. Hal Steinbrenner is not his father, who would cave in to the players’ request. But it should not deter the Yankees from landing the big trade deadline prize. It’s about winning a championship this year.
Again, if not now, when? How many more years can we keep waiting?
The Dodgers are a candidate to get Skubal, too. They have the assets from the farm system to get him. They have been going for a championship for a long time now, and they are motivated to make history by becoming one of the few teams to three-peat. This should be another incentive for the Yankees to make a move for him.
Hal Steinbrenner (photo, NJ.com)
If the Dodgers acquire Skubal, the Yankees don’t have a chance to beat them. Steinbrenner and the Yankees shouldn’t be pondering him here. It’s the only thing to do.
The Knicks have supplanted the Yankees as the top team in town after ceding it in 2001, when the team went on a two-decade hideous descent. If George Steinbrenner were alive, he would have done something about the Knicks taking the Yankees’ spotlight away and made a difference-maker move that would have changed the conversation.
Hal needs to share that same motivation, or else he won’t change the perception that winning a championship is the only thing that matters.
