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Skubal’s Home Debut and the Urgency Test · The Rand Report: Sports

• 0:04
  Tarek Skubal did not dominate Dodger Stadium
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  on his first night home. Five innings, four hits,
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  three runs, six strikeouts, 95 pitches. He left
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  the game trailing. Command was off. The fastball
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  was not locating the way it usually does. He
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  said it himself. He sprayed the ball a little.
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  And still the Dodgers found a way. They scored,
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  they fought, they won six to five over the Royals.
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  This is the Rand report. I'm Jim Rand. That night
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  told you more about where this Dodgers team actually
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  sits than any of the deadline celebration or
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  the preseason hype did. Scoobal is the biggest
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  arm they could add at the trade deadline. Back
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  -to -back Cy Young winner, the clear prize on
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  the market, the left -hander who was supposed
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  to make an already strong rotation feel unfair
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  to the rest of the National League. Los Angeles
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  gave up real prospect capital to get him. three
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  pieces that mattered in the system, and the expectation
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  that came with the deal was immediate and heavy.
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  This was supposed to be the final piece that
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  turned a strong contender into something close
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  to a lock for another deep October run. Then
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  he took the mound at Dodger Stadium for the first
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  time in the white uniform. The crowd was ready
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  for the electric night. What they got was a competitor
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  who was human. Not bad, not soft, just not sharp.
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  He competed through it. He did not buckle when
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  the command was missing. but the dominant version
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  that made him the most sought -after starter
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  available did not show up on that first home
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  night. Dave Roberts saw something else that mattered
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  more than the final line on the scoreboard. He
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  saw urgency. He said it after the game. The club
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  finally showed the fight he had been looking
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  for during the recent skid. They had lost eight
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  of nine heading into this home stand. The energy
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  had been flat. The approach looked soft and stretches.
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  Monday night that changed. They answered. They
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  did not wait for the new ace to save them. They
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  played like a team that still understands it
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  has something to prove even after consecutive
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  titles. That is the real story of the night.
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  The Dodgers can acquire almost any arm they want.
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  They have the farm system depth and the organizational
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  confidence to make those moves when a difference
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  maker becomes available. They hear the same complaints
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  about parody and ruining the game every time
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  they add another star. Roberts has pushed back
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  on that narrative more than once. He is not wrong
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  when he says other teams had the chance to step
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  up for scuba and chose not to match the price.
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  None of that changes the requirement once the
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  lights come on at the stadium. You do not buy
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  October by simply adding the best available name.
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  You still have to show up with the right edge
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  every single night. The dynasty tax is real.
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  It is not just the prospects you give up in the
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  deal. It is the expectation that attaches itself
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  to every move of that size. An expectation without
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  urgency turns into softness faster than most
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  people want to admit. Scoobal will be better.
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  Roberts already said he expects a different version
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  the next time out. The stuff is still elite,
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  the competitor is still there. One rough home
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  start does not rewrite what he is or what he
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  can still be in October. But the larger point
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  stands for the entire roster. Talent is not the
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  same thing as urgency. Star power is not the
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  same thing as competing when the command is off
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  and the score is tight in the middle of a skid.
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  The Dodgers got the win. They saw the fight Roberts
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  wanted. That is a start. Now they have to keep
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  it night after night because the rest of the
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  league is not going to feel sorry for them when
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  the new ace has an off night or when the lineup
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  goes quiet for a few games. This is the cost
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  of being the team everyone else is measuring
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  themselves against. You get the resources, you
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  get the stars, you also get the standard that
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  never lets up. One win after a skid does not
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  reset that standard. It only proves the standard
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  is still reachable. Now shift the lens to the
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  NFL. Training camps are deep into the work. Preseason
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  Week 1 is only days away, and the injury list
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  is already doing what it always does in August.
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  It is rewriting depth charts before the games
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  that actually count even begin. Laramie Tunsel
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  is the clearest example right now. Torn triceps,
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  surgery required, significant time, possibly
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  months. One of the better left tackles in the
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  league is now a major question mark for the Washington
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  commanders and for Jaden Daniels' protection.
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  That is not a soft injury. That is a foundational
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  piece of the offensive line taken away in a one
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  -on -one pass rush drill. Brandon Coleman will
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  step in. The organization has said they are not
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  looking outside for help right now. We will see
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  how that holds when the regular season starts
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  and the protection is tested every single week
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  against real pass rushers. There are other names
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  across the league. Luther Burden in Chicago dealing
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  with a growing issue that is expected to cost
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  him the entire preseason. Other camps reporting
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  soft tissue problems, ACL concerns, and the usual
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  early attrition that never makes the highlight
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  reels but still changes the season for entire
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  position groups. This is the part of the calendar
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  where the soft talk starts to separate from reality.
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  You hear the same lines every August. The energy
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  is different this year. Guys are competing at
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  a higher level. This group has a real chip on
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  its shoulder. Some of it is true. Some of it
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  is just camp noise designed to sound good in
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  media sessions and social clips. The only thing
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  that actually counts is who is still standing
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  and still available when the pads come off and
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  the games start counting for real in September.
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  Availability is a skill. Toughness is a skill.
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  Staying healthy enough to actually play the season
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  is part of competing at this level. The teams
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  that treat camp like a performance for the cameras
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  usually find out the hard way when the injuries
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  hit and the depth is tested. The ones that treat
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  it like real work, the ones that demand physicality,
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  accountability, and consistent standards every
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  single day give themselves a better chance to
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  survive the attrition that always comes with
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  a long season. That is the real separation. Not
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  the highlight reel plays in shorts. Not the quotes
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  about energy. The separation comes from who is
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  still healthy, still disciplined, and still holding
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  the line when the calendar turns and the stakes
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  rise. Scooballs Night in Los Angeles and the
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  early injury reports across the NFL are the same
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  story told in two different sports. Talent is
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  not enough. Star power is not enough. The narrative
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  you build in July and early August is not enough.
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  You still have to show up with urgency. You still
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  have to compete when your best stuff is not there.
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  You still have to survive the attrition that
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  comes with the job. The Dodgers got the win on
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  Monday. They saw the urgency Roberts wanted.
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  That is a start. Now they have to keep it night
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  after night because no amount of deadline hardware
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  changes the fact that baseball still requires
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  you to compete every time the ball is thrown.
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  And in the NFL, the teams that keep their key
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  pieces healthy and their standards high will
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  separate from the ones still talking about camp
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  energy when September arrives and the real tests
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  begin. This has been The Rand Report. I'm Jim
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  Rand. Less hype, more truth. Until next time,
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  keep competing.