2060.5 Omaha fires pitching coach

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In a Suprise to nobody the Omaha Cyclones fired pitching coach Masashi Hirata and replaced him with pitching coach Juan Garcia. Longtime Omaha manager Julian Negrete said the decision was hard but we needed a new voice with the pitching staff. Its no secret our pitching has been really rough this season. We realize we lost some of our best arms due to moves the organization made but we believe we are better than this and we needed to make this change.

This was Hirata 3rd season in Omaha after spending a couple seasons in Yellow Springs before that. We are thankful for the hard work he gave this organization and wish him nothing but future success. We are excited about the new voice in the bullpen in Garcia who spent some time in New Orleans as their pitching coach. Omaha is next to last in ERA, runs scored, and last in the league in walks. You can't just leave this unnoticed someone has to pay the price for this. We believe a new set of eyes, new ideas and fresh approach can improve these numbers and allow us to finish the season on a higher note.

Despite all this we have had some guys put up good numbers for us such as Mathis Gerard who has notched 11 wins for us this season. He has been a steady hand for us in a season that has been nothing but steady. Of course we still have one of the best arms in the league in the pen in Dave Ferrell who has picked up 32 saves this season. In a salary cap and roster spot move Omaha brought in. We recognize putting together a good defense behind those guys goes a long way to help them out and we are committed to getting there GM Spencer said.

Manager Negrete has not indicated if anyone else on the coaching staff is on the hot seat but the general sense is more changes could be coming soon and maybe even the manager himself might not be safe. Negrete is a great manager who has been with us for 10 seasons and guided us to 4 playoff appearances. Finding his replacement will not be easy and we are committed to keeping him and have no immediate plans of relieving him of his duties. Losing brings about a lot of tough decisions and starts many rumors and we don't care to address them when they arise. But we are committed to get this franchise turned back around and back on its winning ways again.