He's attacking the strike zone.

I talked to them (Sunday) and I talked to them (Saturday) and stressed to them that every inning is important. We are not able to coast.

He's just a model for everybody to emulate, whether it be first-pitch strikes, getting ahead in the count consistently [or] quality of location. And he's averaging eight to 10 pitches an inning. He makes his put-away pitch. I'm sure he feels very good about where he is right now.

He's had a closer mentality in his preparation even when he was a middle setup guy.

One day he was the setup guy, next day he was the closer. There wasn't that analysis of him -- is he going to be able to handle the role?

He has improved as a person, as a professional. He is so much better prepared. He minimizes mistakes, knows what he has done wrong when he does it. He's essentially become his own pitching coach.