Dodgers Dugout: You get to be the Dodgers’ general manager for a day

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell,  and I’m wondering why that guy who was managing the Angels looks so familiar.

Fantasy General Manager

Some people get annoyed with me when I say the Dodgers are not going to win the World Series this year. I’m supposed to be a fan and stay positive, they say. And I try. But then I see the bullpen and how they performed in a four-game series against the Angels, and I realize that there is no way they can win. They still can’t find any sort of bridge from the starters to Kenley Jansen. And I don’t understand how this can continue to be a problem season after season.

There is one thing to keep in mind. It feels as if half this team is either on the disabled list, or playing hurt. In the next few weeks, a lot of those players are going to be returning, making me wonder what player moves the Dodgers will make to find room for them. So, what I want to know is, instead of me rambling on about what they should do like I always do, what would you do?

First, let’s look at the current 25-man roster as of Friday morning at 8 a.m.:

Pitchers (13): Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton, Louis Coleman, Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Kenley Jansen, Scott Kazmir, Clayton Kershaw, Adam Liberatore, Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling, Chin-hui Tsao, Alex Wood.

Catchers (2): A.J. Ellis, Yasmani Grandal.

Infielders (5): Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley.

Outfielders (5): Carl Crawford, Kiké Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Trayce Thompson.

And these are the players on the disabled list and their expected return, according to the team:

Brett Anderson (expected back around the All-Star break)

Andre Ethier (end of June)

Yimi Garcia (mid-June)

Alex Guerrero (end of May)

Brandon McCarthy (August)

Frankie Montas (unknown)

Josh Ravin (probably not this season at all)

Hyun-jin Ryu (mid-June)

Scott Van Slyke (end of May)

So what do you do? When Van Slyke returns at the end of the month, who would you send down to replace him? Of course, it is possible another player will become injured and make the answer easy, but for the sake of this fantasy GM session, let’s pretend no one on the 25-man roster is hurt. Who goes down or just gets released? If you look at just the numbers, the top candidates would be Hernandez, Crawford or Puig. Thompson is playing well, but he would actually be the easiest to send down, since he wasn’t expected to make the team in the first place. Hernandez provides value with his defensive versatility. Crawford is being paid more than $20 million. Puig isn’t going down, except in batting average and lineup position.

And what do you do with Guerrero when he comes back around the same time as Van Slyke? You can’t send him down without his permission. If you trade him, he then can become a free agent at the end of the season, hurting his trade value. Of course, I’d release him, but that’s just me.

And then, when Ethier comes back, who gets bumped from the team?

Pitching-wise, who goes when Ryu, Anderson, McCarthy and Garcia are ready? Who gets dropped from the rotation? Stripling would be one, but who else? Wood? And what about bringing up Julio Urias, who goes when he inevitably gets called up?  

So while I know this is all speculative, isn’t part of the fun of being a fan speculating on what will happen next? So I want you to email me what you would do when these things happen, assuming no one else gets hurt and that everyone is playing at about the level they are now. Be sure to include who would be in your starting rotation and what your regular lineup is.

Tell me what you do when:

Van Slyke returns

Guerrero returns

Ethier returns

Ryu returns

You bring up Urias

Email me your roster moves, and I will run selected ones in one of next week’s newsletters.

Set your DVR

The Dodgers are playing on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball on June 12 (at Giants) and June 26 (at Pirates).

In case you hadn’t noticed

Over the last two weeks, Corey Seager is hitting .385 with five homers and a .750 slugging percentage.

Just something for fun

The great site baseball-reference.com has an area where they rank a team’s players by WAR, so you can see the 20 greatest players of all time for your favorite team. Who are the top 20 for the Dodgers? Here you go:

1. Don Drysdale
2. Pee Wee Reese
3. Duke Snider
4. Jackie Robinson
5. Zack Wheat
6. Dazzy Vance
7. Willie Davis
8. Clayton Kershaw
9. Don Sutton
10. Sandy Koufax
11. Nap Rucker
12. Ron Cey
13. Orel Hershiser
14. Gil Hodges
15. Jim Gilliam
16. Fernando Valenzuela
17. Steve Garvey
18. Carl Furillo
19. Roy Campanella
20. Brickyard Kennedy

Remember, we are just ranking them using one metric, so if you think your favorite player is too low, it’s OK.

What Vin Scully means to me

I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memories, and I got a lot of responses. I will publish selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me.

Jolene Shaw: I can even begin to tell you what Vin means to me.  I was 12 years old when our family started listening to the baseball games.  We listened in the car, at home, at the beach, on vacation and wherever there was a radio available and the games were on.  I had a transistor radio and we took it to the ballgame just to hear Vin call the game.  I have been an adoring fan for 65 years. It was agony during my high school years in the mid 50's to see them get beat by the Yankees in the World Series. We even share a birthdate - November 29.  There is nothing higher on my bucket list but to meet him in person and shake his hand or give him a hug. ... We have been shut out from seeing the games due to not having Time Warner and this has been SO sad for me because I know this is his last season.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on. His latest response:

Michael Gorecki: Ross, who ultimately was responsible for trading Mike Piazza to the Marlins? Was it Fred Claire or did Fox force the trade? I thought it was a disaster.

Ross: Mike Piazza was entering his last year with the Dodgers before free agency, and negotiations for a contract extension were not progressing. Piazza had hit 208 home runs for the Dodgers in seven years. Mike reportedly had rejected a six-year offer of $ 79.2 million.

News Corporation owned the Dodgers and Fox. Chase Carey, the chairman and chief executive of Fox Television, called Don Smiley, president of the Marlins, to discuss Fox's interest in a cable sports network controlled by Florida owner Wayne Huizenga. But, their conversation eventually turned to improving their teams by making a trade. Those two men, neither of whom had baseball experience, constructed a seven-player swap----Piazza and Todd Zeile going to Florida, and Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich and Manuel Barrios coming to the Dodgers on May 14, 1998.

Fred Claire, the executive in charge of player personnel for the Dodgers and responsible for making trades, said he was never contacted about the transaction. Club president Bob Graziano disagreed. Claire was told to contact Piazza and Zeile and tell them they had been traded before the media was informed.  Fred then planned to announce his resignation.

However, Smiley did not know Sheffield had a no-trade clause which he had to waive so that delayed the trade. Claire stayed on, but was fired along with manager Bill Russell 37 days later.

Piazza played only five games with the Marlins before he was dealt to the Mets.

And by the way, Fox and the Marlins did not become partners until 2000, two years after the Piazza trade.

The TV situation

If you would like to complain about the Dodgers’ TV situation, you have three options: The Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and whatever local cable or satellite provider you have that doesn’t carry the Dodgers. Here’s who to contact:

For the Dodgers, click here or call (866) DODGERS ([866] 363-4377). (I hope you like form letters).

For Time Warner, click here.

For DirecTV, call (800) 531-5000 or click here.

For your local cable or satellite provider, consult your bill for the customer service number and for the website.

And finally

Why do people consider Clayton Kershaw the best pitcher on the planet? This breaks it down for you.

Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston