Dodgers Dugout: Here’s why Dave Roberts did the right thing by removing Rich Hill

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and after watching “Sully,” I have to agree that it is a bad idea to travel with Tom Hanks.

The right move?

Let’s get right to the big topic: Did Dave Roberts do the right thing by removing Rich Hill after seven perfect innings against the Marlins on Saturday? Let’s examine what we know:

--Hill had made only two starts before Saturday for the Dodgers because of blisters, and was on the disabled list for blisters when they acquired him.

--The Dodgers training staff examined his hand after each inning to check for hot spots, which are a precursor to blisters.

--After the sixth inning, the trainers detected a hot spot on his finger. Hill persuaded Roberts to let him pitch another inning.

--After the seventh inning, the hot spot was still there, and his finger was tender to the touch.

--There is no guarantee Clayton Kershaw is 100%, so at the moment Hill is the de facto ace, and even if Kershaw is 100%, Hill is a strong No. 2, having allowed no earned runs with the Dodgers.

--The playoffs are three weeks away.

--If Hill gets a blister, it might put him out for the first round of the playoffs.

--Roberts’ job is to do what is best for the team and guide the Dodgers to a World Series title, which they haven’t done since 1988.

So, I’d have to say Roberts did exactly the right thing. You have to balance doing what is best for one player against what is best for the team. Hill was unhappy with the decision and argued to stay in the game. That’s exactly what you would expect, and want, a competitor to say. As Roberts said, if this were April, he might have made a different decision. And the circumstances were different from the ones surrounding the choice to remove Ross Stripling from his no-hitter earlier this season.

As a Dodgers fan, sure, I wanted to see Hill try to get a perfect game. I was a bit unhappy when I saw Joe Blanton on the mound. But Roberts can’t make decisions as a Dodgers fan. He has to do what is best for the team to win a title, and hope Dodgers fans understand. Some of us do. Some of us don’t. But we’ll all forget about it if we get to go to a championship parade in L.A. later this year.

The rest of the schedule

HOME (7 games): Sept. 19-21 vs. San Francisco, Sept. 22-25 vs. Colorado.

ROAD (13 games): Sept. 12-14 at New York Yankees, Sept. 15-18 at Arizona, Sept. 27-29 at San Diego, Sept 30-Oct. 2 at San Francisco.

The magic number

Each week I will look at a uniform number a Dodger is wearing and go through the history of that number with the Dodgers. When I was a kid and went to games, I was always curious who wore the number of my favorite players. Then again, I was a strange kid. For “best Dodgers to wear the number,” only the stats a player compiled while he was with the team and wearing that number count.

Next up is: No. 44 (Rich Hill)

Best Dodgers to wear No. 44: Al Downing (1971-77), Takashi Saito (2006-08).

Others to wear No. 44: Gene Mauch (1948), Bob Aspromonte (1956), John Roseboro (1959-60), Ron Fairly (1960), Dick Tracewski (1962-65), Alan Foster (1967-70), Hank Webb (1977), Ron Washington (1977), Mickey Hatcher (1979-80), Ken Landreaux (1981-87), Jose Vizcaino (1989-90), Darryl Strawberry (1991-93), Mark Guthrie (1996-98), Phil Hiatt (2001), Paul Shuey (2002-03), A.J. Ellis (2009), Vicente Padilla (2009-11), Aaron Harang (2012), Chris Withrow (2013-14), Chin-hui Tsao (2015).

What Vin Scully means to me

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

John A. Congestio: What does Vin Scully mean to me? Simply put he was my refuge, my comfort. As a child growing up in a home that was broken by mental illness, there were many fearful nights. I cannot count the number of times my sister and I were in the same room fearful of what we heard beyond the door. As I would lay there, I would turn on the transistor radio to drown out the yelling and listen to the baseball game. I loved baseball and I loved the Dodgers. To a young boy growing up in East Los Angeles the Dodgers were all my idols.

Out of that radio I would hear a calming voice describe the game. The voice would take my thoughts far away from my fear, taking me to a place where my imagination and dreams could overcome. With every descriptive word I heard I could believe that it was me out there making that play with Maury or Jim or Wes or Ron or Tommy or Willie or Lou or Don or Sandy. I felt I was no longer in this fearful place but rather in a place where I was safe and doing what I loved. In listening to the voice I could feel that I was far away and yet right there. I could let my imagination go and dream that maybe one of my idols would take me away from this fearful place and be my Dad for after all I know them all so personally through that voice. Somehow as the game would progress all of the bad around me became nonexistent and a small boy could fall asleep and dream of good things.

Through all of my childhood that voice was always with me. I practiced to mimic that voice. I would pretend I was that voice while calling out loud play by play as I played baseball with my friends. I would try to call the game the same way as that calming voice would. My friends would even tell me I should become a baseball announcer.

Through the World Series championships that I was fortunate enough to experience my idols win while being a kid, it was always the voice that made it real. That voice has called Dodger games longer than I have lived. I will miss that voice dearly for I know no other as I do that voice. No other voice could ever have the meaning which that voice had. No other voice could take away the fears of that scared little boy the way that voice did. Without that voice I do not know what that little boy would have done. So you ask what does Vin Scully mean to me, everything! Thank you, Mr. Scully, from that scared little boy then to this person who I am now.

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 whom 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.

What others are saying

You’ve been reading me for two years now, so I think it would be fair and appropriate to see what others are saying about the Dodgers. This new section will provide you with links so you can get a wider perspective on things.

Dodgers dress up rookies as cheerleaders

A.J. Hinch sympathizes with Dave Roberts

Stronger rotation has the Dodgers upbeat

And finally

Vin Scully remembers 9/11. Watch and listen to it here.

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