beyond the back page The Dodgers are guilty of only one thing — and it isn’t ruining baseball By Zach Braziller Published Aug. 3, 2026, 7:40 a.m. ET Tarik Skubal hssn't posted aan ERA above 2.80 since the 2022 season. AP Photo/Paul Sancya Let’s clear something up: The Dodgers are not the villain in this story.
The Dodgers are only guilty of trying to win, and win big. Of not worrying about what prospects they trade will turn into down the road. Of doing everything possible to become the first team to three-peat since the Yankees in 1998-2000.
The Dodgers’ Saturday night acquisition of two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal set social media ablaze. The immediate reaction was to paint the Dodgers in an evil light for once again landing a premier player, and to question whether we will have baseball next year.
The Dodgers have done nothing wrong. The rest of this sport has enabled them to become this behemoth. Contenders like the Brewers and Rays could’ve beaten the Dodgers’ underwhelming package of minor leaguers Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith. Hope is a blue-chipper, but Ryan will turn 28 soon and Smith is struggling in Single-A.
