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Listen carefully, and it was there: Edwin Diaz had a plan of action.
Addressing a crowd of reporters in front of his locker in the wake of the Dodgers’ 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, Diaz said he would watch video of his latest ninth-inning meltdown at home later that night.
Not every closer would do that. Some of them would rather move on emotionally. Some would be afraid of what they might see.
Diaz has the stomach to search for the source of his problems.
“I just gotta find a way to pitch better,” he said.
Diaz cares more about finding solutions than he does about protecting his ego, and that’s what gives him a fighting chance to salvage his nightmare of a first season with the Dodgers.
His character was one of the reasons the Dodgers signed him to a three-year deal last winter, and his character is one of the reasons why manager Dave Roberts said he wouldn’t be taken out of the closer’s role after blowing three saves in his last four games.
Diaz could be subjected to more highly-visible setbacks by remaining the designated ninth-inning pitcher, but Roberts sounded certain he could mentally withstand it.
“I definitely don’t think that he would have gotten here to this point if he were a guy that would spiral,” Roberts said.
To justify the organization’s decision to not use Diaz in lower-leverage situations, Roberts offered an explanation that didn’t contradict his previously-stated mission to manage with greater urgency. He said the team didn’t have any other closing options, ignoring that anyone else would be a better choice than Diaz, who has a 11.57 earned-run average.
But that’s not what this is about.
While the Dodgers would like to finish the regular season with one of the two best records in the National League – doing so would grant them a first-round bye in the playoffs – they also have to prepare for October.
The best version of the Dodgers is the version of them with Diaz as a shut-down closer, and the three-time All-Star is most likely to rediscover his old form in his customary role rather than in mop-up duty.
If the Dodgers have to sacrifice a couple of victories for that to happen, so be it. They already wagered $69 million on Diaz over the winter. What’s another week or two?
Extending Diaz this courtesy won’t guarantee anything, of course. He has never looked right this season, not before Diaz underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow in mid-April and not after coming back from the injured list on July 29.
But it’s better they find out now whether the 32-year-old Diaz still has physical qualities required to be an elite closer. Because if the Dodgers ultimately need Roki Sasaki to pitch the ninth inning for them in October, the sooner they know the better.
For what it’s worth, Diaz said he thinks he’s closer to where he wants to be than what his numbers indicate. When he blew two saves on the team’s series in Arizona last weekend, he said he felt good about his fastball and that his slider needed work. When he gave up three runs on four hits in the loss to the Brewers on Thursday night, he said his slider was better but that his fastball was the problem.
“My fastball command was, I think, the worst since I got here,” Diaz said.
As calm a facade as he has kept, Diaz acknowledged he was frustrated.
“I know my ability,” he said. “I know what I can do on the mound. To not be able to do it sucks.”
He vowed to do something about it.
“I just gotta sit down with the pitching coaches to see what I’m missing and what they say to see if we can fix it and keep working hard,” he said.
The Dodgers can count on him to do that. They know they can trust him as a man. Over the next week or two, they will find out whether they can also trust his body.
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