File photo/TheNYExtra.com
Diaz Blows The Save Then The Mets Lose To The Phils In Extra Innings
When you looked at the Met roster in spring training, there were lots of questions that had to be answered. But the return of Edwin Diaz was not one of them as he looked great in Port St Lucie. But the regular season has been a bit of a mixed bag and last night was one of those down times. But quite honestly, it was not all his fault. File photo/TheNYExtra.com
He entered the game in the ninth inning nursing a 2 run lead and gave up a leadoff homer to Bryson Stott followed by a single and a walk to the next 2 batters. But he struck out Kyle Schwarber and one out later, looked to have struck out Wil Merrifield but the umpiring crew ruled he had not swung. So he walked to load the bases and Diaz proceeded to hit Alec Bohm with a pitch to tie the game. He did strike out Bryce Harper to keep the game tied but the Phils scored a 10th inning run on a Bryson Stott sacrifice fly which gave the Mets a tough loss to swallow.
When you take a close look at Diaz, his numbers are respectable but 2 things alarm me. His velocity has not been up to the levels we saw 2 years ago and 6 walks in 16 innings is far too much. He has struck out 25 hitters in those 16 innings relying mainly on his slider which concerns me. Now I want to be fair—he was coming off a major injury and maybe getting his command can be challenging after such a long layoff. And all closers (even the great ones) blow saves in the course of a long season.
He has served up 4 homers in those 16 innings and to my untrained eye, hitters looked far more comfortable in the batters box than they did 2 years ago. But he is is your closer recognized as the best in the game and you must not overreact to game like last night. The thing I think he needs to work on is the late movement on his 4-seam fastball which to me was his best pitch 2 years ago. Yes that slider struck out many hitters and is a good pitch but it becomes a weapon once he establishes that high heater.
Adjustments always have to made in baseball and I am sure his mechanics are fine but a consistent release point on his fastball must be worked on because that is still his #1 pitch. My gut tells me that Edwin Diaz will be fine but patience is a key here and his workload should be adjusted to make sure he is at his top level each time he enters a game.
Pitching him on back to back nights is a key towards utilizing his skills but maybe back off of that for a bit. I honestly do not think we are seeing anything but a bit of rust on his right arm but it does bear watching. Games like last nights loss were absolute in the Met win column 2 years ago and they need that from Edwin Diaz and that time will come again.
The bottom line is you just have to make sure a love affair with his slider does not preclude him from throwing fastballs because even in a game like last night, power hitters like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber could not catch up to it. And that notion should be in the mind of Edwin Diaz every time he hears his trumpets greet him when he enters a game. Your fastball Edwin—using it more will get you to where you want to be this season.
