As Jed Hoyer, fresh off win-now trade-deadline moves, was lobbed a question about the Dodgers’ blockbuster trade for two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, he was accompanied by the Wrigley Field organ.
Though the organ plays only instrumentals, the lyrics of the ’80s hit were unmissable:
“Everybody wants to rule the world.”
Only the Dodgers have ruled the baseball world for two years, and by adding Skubal, baseball’s most talent-rich team got richer, showing they have no intention of relinquishing the throne.
The Dodgers bested everyone for the summer’s top target, including the Cubs.
“We had a lot of conversations with them,” Hoyer said of unsuccessfully trying to pry Skubal from the Tigers.
With the Dodgers in town this week, the Cubs will get an up-close look at Skubal and an up-close look at what sits ahead of them as they chase their championship-level aspirations.
But for one night, at least, the Cubs showed how to depose the kings, smacking four homers, getting dazzling defense from Pedro Ramirez at third base and Seiya Suzuki in right field and watching starter Matthew Boyd throw 6 2/3 effective innings in a 10-5 win.
“It’s a tough team to beat, man,” manager Craig Counsell said. “This is a really good baseball team, and you’ve got to play at your best to beat them. We showed a lot tonight.”
To win it all, though, they’ll have to beat the Dodgers in October.
Gulp.
“That’s the team you’ve got to beat, right?” Hoyer said. “Clearly, they’re going to be the favorites. They’ve won two times in a row. They’ve got the most talent in baseball, I don’t think there’s any question about that. It’s a great challenge for everybody.
“Going back to back is an incredible accomplishment, and I totally respect the fact that they pushed in to do it three times in a row. … It’s our job and everyone else’s job to make that not happen.”
The road to a World Series goes through Los Angeles, but the Cubs need to figure out how to get past their division rivals first. The Brewers are still seated comfortably at the top of the NL Central standings and knocked the Cubs out of the postseason last year.
“The pressure’s on us,” Hoyer said. “We have to play really well to track them down.”
But the Dodgers are the team on everyone’s minds, their move to land Skubal casting them as an even more unstoppable juggernaut.
It infuriated a hefty percentage of baseball fans, if the boos from the Wrigley faithful were any indication.
“I know there’s been a reaction around baseball about it,” Hoyer said, “but they put themselves in position to do that deal. And they did. That’s exactly what they should be doing.”
‘Moby Dick’ moment
How long did Hoyer’s front office chase Kevin Gausman?
About as long as Captain Ahab chased Moby Dick.
The Cubs finally landed the righty starter in a trade Sunday.
“He was kind of a white-whale type target for us for a long time, going way back,” Hoyer said. “He kind of struggled early on [in his career], and we kept asking about him. … He went to San Francisco and took off.
“We were like, ‘Oh!’ We’d been asking about this guy for years thinking this is the talent he had. … He was a guy we really went after for a long time.”
Shaw still stinging
Utility man Matt Shaw’s long-lingering hand sprain is still smarting.
Shaw, sidelined since late June, hasn’t been able to take batting practice.
“The hope is certainly that he comes back this year and helps us,” Hoyer said.
El Jaguar roars
The Cubs swapped outfielders Monday, bringing Kevin Alcantara up from Triple-A Iowa and sending Justin Dean to the minors.
The move proved prescient: Alcantara slugged his first major league homer in the win.
