Here are some notes regarding some Major League pitchers:

– Joakim Soria has lost his job as the Royals closer after another meltdown against the Angels yesterday, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. “I went to his office and told him it’s the right time to do it,” Soria said. “I don’t want to be (the reason for) this losing streak. The team is playing really well, and they need a man who can go after (the other team). Right now, that’s not (me).”

Manager Ned Yost identified rookie Aaron Crowas Soria’s primary replacement. Crowis 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA in 22 games.

– Tigers left hander Phil Coke is hoping to return to the team’s rotation by June 8 according to Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. Coke will have one rehab start at Triple-A Toledo on Friday and manager, Jim Leyland, doesn’t believe he’ll need more than that.

– Cardinals manager, Tony LaRussa met with starter Jaime Garcia after his last outing to clarify any mixed messages he perceived, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post. “I just wanted him to know there wasn’t any hidden meaning or any hidden messages behind it,” said LaRussa.

Garcia allowed 12 runs (11 earned) over 11 hits throughout 3.1 innings against the Rockies last Saturday. According to LaRussa, he left Garcia in the game for so long because he didn’t want to over-use his bullpen, who is also having problems of their own.

“We had another game in the series. If we didn’t have to play on Monday, the decision would have been different. But, obviously, we played on Monday,” he added.

– The Colorado Rockies not only lost Jorge de la Rosa for the season, but also their ace, Ubaldo Jimenez hasn’t won a game this season. Dave Krieger of the Denver Post remind us that Jimenez a year ago today had a 10-1 record with a 0.78 ERA. This season he is 0-5 and an ERA of 5.86.

The apparent reason for his struggles could be the velocity of his fastball. Last season he was routinely in the upper 90’s, while this season he’s between the high 80’s and low 90’s.

“I know my velocity is not there, so I have to find a way to pitch with whatever I have,” Jimenez said.

Apparently Jimenez couldn’t build up his usual arm strength during Spring Training because of a variety of minor ailments, and he already visited the Disabled List back in April.

Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca also thinks that Jimenez is over emphasizing his control which could also be a reason for his loss of velocity.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.