September 11th, 2013 at 8:46 am 
by Ron Cervenka When the Dodgers signed right-hander Edinson Volquez on August 30, Dodger fans everywhere asked themselves one simple question.
Why?
Less than a week earlier, the 30-year-old Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native had been designated for assignment by the San Diego Padres after posting a lackluster 9-10 record with a 6.01 ERA in 27 starts with the Padres. And while these numbers might be fitting for a number five starter on a team that is closer to the bottom in the division standings than the top, they are not very good numbers for a team on the verge of clinching the division title – especially when you have a starting pitcher on your bench who is 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA named Stephen Fife who has pitched brilliantly as a spot starter all season long.
In his three appearances since joining the Dodgers, Volquez is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA. He has also allowed 2 home runs in 11 innings pitched. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
In his 9-year MLB career, Volquez is 53-51 with a career ERA of 4.79 which isn’t all that bad, but let’s be honest here, what on earth has Stephen Fife done to upset Ned Colletti enough to kick him to the curb when he is clearly the best choice to fill in for the Dodgers oft-injured regular fifth starter Chris Capuano?
Although a small sample size, Fife’s two-year career record with the Dodgers is 4-5 with a 2.71 ERA and could very easily have been 6-3 or even 7-2 had the Dodgers given him even two more runs of support in several of the games he lost.
We all know and understand the old baseball adage that you can never have enough starting pitching, but why on earth would you trust a guy who was basically fired for his ineptitude over a guy who has done everything that was asked of him and did it well – especially when the team is on the brink of clinching their first playoff berth in three years?
And here’s the kicker – with the Dodgers entering play on Wednesday against the second place Arizona Diamondbacks with their magic number at six, the Dodgers could very well be in a position to clinch the NL West title on Sunday afternoon at home against the hated San Francisco Giants; and if the Dodgers starting rotation remains unchanged, Edinson Volquez will be the starting pitcher that day. How good does that make you feel? Or worst – how bad does that make Stephen Fife feel?
To his credit, Volquez pitch well last night allowing three runs on four hits while walking one and striking out five in his six innings of work – a quality start in every sense of the word. But he also allowed a two-run home run that landed three quarters of the way up the Right Field Pavilion that gave the D-backs a 3-2 lead which thanks to a clutch two-out RBI double by Andre Ethier was later tied 3-3 forcing the game into extra innings. The game, of course, was eventually won by the Dodgers in the bottom of the 11th inning on an exciting pinch hit two-run walk-off home run by Scott Van Slyke – the Dodgers first pinch hit walk-off home run since June 8, 2007 by ‘The Killer Tomato’ Olmedo Saenz.
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Volquez will not be on the Dodgers post-season roster no matter what he does on Sunday and to be brutally honest, Fife would not have been either even if he had been the one to replace Capuano in the starting rotation. But the right thing for Colletti to do would have been to give the 26-year-old Boise, ID native the opportunity to continue his development as a major league starting pitcher.
We will never know or understand why Ned Colletti has done some of the things that he has in his tenure as the Dodgers general manager, but there is one thing that every Dodger fan knows and understands – Ned Colletti has completely destroyed the confidence of Stephen Fife and owes it to him to trade him to a team where he will at least have an opportunity to succeed.
Posted in 
“… but why on earth would you trust a guy who was basically fired for his ineptitude over a guy who has done everything that was asked of him and did it well – especially when the team is on the brink of clinching their first playoff berth in three years?”
Short answer: Because he was hurt, and then he was unable to recover to his old self.
Fife deserved a shot, but his August Albuquerque outings were awful. Top that off with the “good start/bad start” outings by Capuano, then the decision to try to get Fife accustomed to the bullpen, which he couldn’t do. I think that deep down they were trying to find a fit for him, but the timing was off. His performances were terrible, he couldn’t find the strike zone and then Volquez became available.
We will have to agree to disagree.
In Don Mattingly’s own words: “(Fife) always does better up here (with the Dodgers) than he does down there (at Triple-A).”
I do agree with you that Fife at least deserved the opportunity.
Fife was injured too. Why does Volquez get a pass on the injury thing but Fife doesn’t?
He was a serviceable starter with the Dodgers. Why make him into a reliever when you need starters? He had good starts against Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the Giants.
He hasn’t been treated well by the Dodgers. He does deserve a real shot to pitch in the majors. Free Stephen Fife.
To me, and I’m not at all sure of this, I feel that Colletti, like Torre, Mattingly and many people that run baseball teams have a tendency to lean toward experience. The experiece player regardless of his records seems, most of the time, gets the nod over the new fellow. I’m not saying that I agree with this or not but I think this is usually the case. Not alway, but usually.
You are right on that OBF. It leads to the old conundrum – can’t get a job without experience, can’t get experience without a job.
I see Volquez as a short-term fix. Honeycutt thought he saw something that he could work on, and Fife had been struggling. Remember that Billingsley and Beckett will be back next spring, and I expect both of them would come before Fife in the rotation regardless of how he does assuming they’re healthy and back in form. I’ll give Ned a pass on this one, but I agree that Fife should be given the opportunity either with us or elsewhere. We always worry about the Pedro Martinez syndrome, and we do so with good reason.
Volquez has always been intriguing. I have followed his career – He has excellent stuff and has been a strike thrower recently.
Fife got out of whack at the end of the season, but when a pitcher with the talent of Volquez becomes available, I think you have to take a chance. Honeycutt thinks he can “fix” him. Volquez has #2 stuff. I see Fife as a #4 or #5, at best, but if what the Dodgers did broke his spirit, he has no business being a major league pitcher.
I don’t agree or disagree – it’s just a case of not passing up what could be a very good thing. I also think Volquez has a shot at making the playoff roster over Capuano.
I would definitely put Volquez ahead of Capuano on the depth chart but I do not see either making the post-season roster.
Volquez may be a number two somewhere else but barring injuries, he will never be higher than a number five with the Dodgers – if that.
I have no problem with working with Volquez. It might be like finding the nugget.
I agree Fife is an end of rotation guy but then give him the chance to be a #4/#5 guy with another team as every team needs end of rotation guys. That is, make an effort to do so in the off season. He certainly has done all that has been asked of him.
No one said his spirit was broken. It certainly hasn’t been. It was suggested that his confidence may well have been destroyed. All kinds of major league players lose their confidence – Matt Kemp, Brandon League, Juan Uribe. Confidence is very fragile and Stephen Fife’s may well be damaged because of the way he has been used. He had a tough time in Albuquerque coming off an injury. Changing his assignment to relief most likely does not make his baseball life any easier. If Stephen Fife is broken, then try to fix him, just as they are trying to fix Volquez.
It’s not Volquez vs Fife. It’s look after Fife too. He has paid his dues in the Dodger organization, Volquez paid his elsewhere.