"The Angels appear to be growing short of patience with Scott Kazmir. But whether they're frustrated enough to eat the $14.5 million it would cost them to release the left-hander remains to be seen.

Kazmir had the worst start of his major league career in Sunday's loss to Kansas City, with the Royals collecting as many runs and hits — five — as Kazmir got outs. Throw in two walks, two hit batters and a balk, and it was a meltdown of epic proportions.

Afterward, Angels Manager Mike Scioscia promised to make changes — though he was vague about what kind or who they would affect.

"We're going to sort some things out," said Scioscia, whose team takes on Tampa Bay on Tuesday after losing the final three games of its season-opening series to the Royals. "We're only four games into this and you definitely want to balance guys getting their feet on the ground with performance. But we need to find some chemistry."

A former All-Star, Kazmir lost 15 games last season and his 5.94 earned-run average was the highest in the majors among pitchers who threw at least 140 innings.

The Angels responded by ordering him to spend the off-season in Arizona, going through a rigorous training regimen Kazmir called "boot camp.""