Fans chanted his name. Teammates toasted his name. His manager deified his name, claiming he had just unleashed one of the greatest bullpen performances in baseball history.<\/p>\n
Everybody loved him. Nobody doubted him. And in the middle of the Dodgers\u2019 postseason run last October<\/a>, nobody was more valuable than him.<\/p>\n Remember Roki Sasaki<\/a>?<\/p>\n It\u2019s tough, but try.<\/p>\n Remember his first October appearance last fall, finishing the clinching game of the wild-card series against the Cincinnati Reds, one hitless inning, two strikeouts, everything disappearing at 100 mph out of this skinny kid\u2019s right arm?<\/p>\n That was the beginning of the chants, arguably louder than for any other player in Dodger Stadium history, stronger than Moo-kie, deeper than Fred-die, chants thundering enough to seemingly be heard for a lifetime.<\/p>\n \u201cRo-ki, Ro-ki, Ro-ki!\u201d<\/p>\n Remember what happened next? He finished off the first two wins of the division series against the Philadelphia Phillies amid a taunting mob in Citizens Bank Park, becoming the first pitcher in history to record his first two career saves in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Then, back home, he created what was, at the time, the highlight of the season.<\/p>\n With a depleted pitching staff needing him, with the Dodgers\u2019 teetering hopes balanced on him, Sasaki came through with three perfect innings<\/a> to essentially win the clinching Game 4.<\/p>\n Remember this? He started his work in the eighth inning by blowing past Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm. He finished his work after the 10th by being hugged by jubilant manager Dave Roberts<\/a> while still on the field.<\/p>\n The Dodgers<\/a> won it in the 11th on that incredible throwing error by Phillies\u2019 reliever Orion Kerkering and the rest is shiny blue history.<\/p>\n The Dodgers couldn\u2019t have won the World Series<\/a> without Sasaki and, judging from their reaction after that clincher against the Phillies, they thought they had found their closer of the future<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the great all-time appearances out of the pen,\u201d said Roberts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fellow Dodger pitcher Tyler Glasnow<\/a> went even farther, saying, \u201cSince \u2026 coming in from the bullpen, he\u2019s honestly one of the best pitchers I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n The highest compliment, though, was paid by teammate Miguel Rojas<\/a>, who raised a post-game clubhouse toast in his honor.<\/p>\n \u201cShot for Roki!\u201d he shouted.<\/p>\n Fast-forward to Sunday afternoon, Dodger Stadium, where the starting pitcher looks lost<\/a>.<\/p>\n He can\u2019t find the strike zone. He can\u2019t find his fastball. He can\u2019t find himself.<\/p>\n He gives up five hits and five walks in four innings. He requires the use of four relievers. He is eventually saddled with an 0-2 record with a 6.23 ERA after piling up a 4.46 ERA in eight starts last season.<\/p>\n The fans faintly begin chanting his name<\/a>, then their voices disappear into a hush. Nobody is coming to hug him. Nobody is coming to call him the greatest pitcher ever.<\/p>\n He\u2019s no longer the benefactor of a toast, because he is toast.<\/p>\n Remember Roki Sasaki?<\/p>\n Not like this, you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n The former star reliever has become their most embattled starter<\/a> and one who has made the season\u2019s first big move seem inevitable.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got to put him back in the bullpen, no?<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got to put him back to where he found his greatest success, where his lack of a variety of pitches will not hurt him, where he can throw 100 mph for 20 pitches and save the team with his strength.<\/p>\n As last October showed everyone, the bullpen is where he belongs. The rotation, featuring budding star Justin Wrobleski<\/a>, will survive without him. The bullpen needs him more.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t believe the Dodgers\u2019 public shrugs about the recent dead-arm condition of Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a>. Something was wrong. Maybe nothing serious, nothing long-term, but something was wrong.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t bring in the highest-paid closer in history and then not use him in consecutive save situations unless something was wrong. You don\u2019t have him throw a bullpen for Dodgers officials unless something was wrong.<\/p>\n That \u201csomething\u201d may have already been fixed, as D\u00edaz was available to pitch Wednesday after being sidelined for four days, but still. He could need help, and that is exactly what Sasaki offers and exactly what should happen.<\/p>\n C\u2019mon Dodgers, send him across the field and into the left-field corner where he belongs.<\/p>\n Bullpen him, now.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal is, kind of, go deeper in the game a little more,\u201d he told the media Sunday through his interpreter Kensuke Okubo.<\/p>\n No, no, no. He doesn\u2019t possess enough pitches to go deeper in games. He possesses just enough pitches \u2014 a fastball and a splitter \u2014 to last two innings, tops.<\/p>\n Look at this startling statistic:<\/p>\n In his first two innings of work, in three starts, he\u2019s allowed zero earned runs.<\/p>\n In his other seven innings of work, he\u2019s allowed nine earned runs.<\/p>\n Enough said. He\u2019s a two-pitch pitcher who needs to be moved from the rotation into relief, and don\u2019t think it hasn\u2019t been done here before.<\/p>\n Eric Gagn\u00e9<\/a> made 48 starts from 1999 until 2001. At that point, the Dodgers decided he didn\u2019t have the arsenal or attitude to be a starter, so they moved him to the bullpen.<\/p>\n He made 354 relief appearances without ever starting again, using his strength and skill and, yes, perhaps steroids, to convert a record 84-straight save chances while winning a Cy Young and coining the phrase \u201cGame Over.\u201d<\/p>\n Gagn\u00e9 was like Sasaki long before Sasaki. Even his entrance song, \u201cWelcome to the Jungle,\u201d matches Sasaki\u2019s \u201cBailalo Rocky\u201d<\/a> with its ominous tones.<\/p>\n This is all so obvious, it\u2019s a miracle the Dodgers haven\u2019t put him in the bullpen already. But this is just the Dodgers being the Dodgers, an organization that puts the players first.<\/p>\n