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At the age of 40, Japanese right-handed reliever Takashi Saito gave the Atlanta Braves a very solid season in a year in which they desperately wanted to win it all, knowing that legendary manager Bobby Cox was going to retire after the season ended.

In his sixth Major League Baseball season, Saito posted the following stats:

Games played: 56

41 hits in 54 IP

69 Strikeouts

2.83 ERA

It’s a wonder, then, that the Braves released the dependable reliever.

Maybe it was because he will be 41 years of age heading into the 2011 season, but why wouldn’t you take that chance of another great pitching season from a veteran guy?

That’s no excuse to release Saito.

With the questionable decision by the Braves front office, it certainly is a great chance for the other 29 MLB teams to get him through free agency.

Saito can pitch for a contender like the Boston Red Sox or just be a veteran presence on a young squad such as the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As his value appears to have decreased, he also won’t be as expensive as the $3.2 million salary he got in 2010.

But this still raises the question: why did Atlanta let go of him? Are they just planning to rebuild, since even with Bobby Cox managing they could not win a world championship?

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The 35-year-old veteran backup catcher, Jose Molina, can be the difference maker for the New York Yankees, if general manager Brian Cashman thinks of going after him.

Baseball fans might wonder why anyone would want an aging backup catcher who hits in the low .200s.

First of all, he has won two World Series Championships with the 2002 Los Angeles Angels and the 2009 New York Yankees. He know what it’s like to win. It’s not something completely new to him that he’ll end up in the Minor Leagues during the middle of the season.

Molina also has a very strong arm behind the plate, better than current Yankees catcher Jorge Posada at least.

But most of all, he can save an $82.5 million debt for a player that can’t be risked to be released—Allan James Burnett.

Starting pitcher A.J. Burnett will enter his third year of his five-year contract next season.

Burnett had a record of 10-15 with an ERA of 5.26 this year and made the playoff roster as a reliever.

Everyone’s saying how he’ll be a bust for the rest of his career. But Jose Molina can save it.

In 2009, Molina caught Burnett for a total of 11 games, and Burnett had an ERA of 3.28.

When Jorge Posada was behind the plate, Burnett’s ERA was 4.98. This year, Burnett had even a higher ERA of 7.28 with Posada.

Another reason for Molina to come back is that he had one of his better offensive seasons last year, with six home runs and an average of .246 in 57 games.

Isn’t it obvious that Jose Molina should be brought in? He catches Burnett every five days, giving Posada a rest in between and saving maybe the biggest bust from the 2008 free agent market.

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Veteran Jim Thome‘s season ended yesterday when the Minnesota Twins were swept by the New York Yankees.

With Thome having no contract this offseason, and amid rumors of whether he’ll return for another season, could Yankees general manager Brian Cashman make a move for him?

At the age of 40, he proved that he can still produce, hitting 25 home runs in just 108 games, not to mention picking up some clutch hits along the way.

He would be the DH if he joined the Bronx Bombers, along with Lance Berkman and guys who need a break every once in a while. Manager Joe Girardi would even have more options and depth with the addition of the home run-happy, slugging first baseman.

Thome could also easily reach the 600-home run mark, as Yankee Stadium is the dream for left-handed power hitters.

He also stated earlier this season that it would be tempting to retire if the Twins won the World Series, telling us that he would like the win another championship before he hangs up his uniform.

The Yankees are going for their 28th World Series win, and they make a playoff push every single season.

The Bronx is a perfect fit for Thome, and he doesn’t come very expensive, either.

It certainly won’t hurt the team.

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New York Yankees fans have been wanting ace C.C. Sabathia to win this year’s Cy Young Award. After every single okay start, there were articles stating that C.C. had locked-up the most prestigious pitching award in Major League Baseball.

Well, there’s a phenom that has been pitching one of the best pitching seasons over the past couple of years, and it’s Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

I have no idea why people even think why anyone else deserves the American League Cy Young Award.

The first stat most people look at with pitchers are the W-L record. Hernandez has a record of 12-12, exactly at .500 win percentage.

But look at his ERA: an ERA of 2.31. He has already started 33 games, and looks to finish a fully healthy season in his next start.

Another stat that makes the ERA unbelievable is that he has thrown 241.2 innings.

His strikeouts line up at a league-leading 227.

His whip is at 1.063.

His walks allowed amount is only 68 compared to 227 strikeouts.

Isn’t is time for baseball fans to wake up and see that this great pitcher for an above-average team should win the Cy Young?

Who wouldn’t give Hernandez a first place vote?

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New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been one of the most overrated prospects over the past couple of years.

He all made us say “wow” when he came out of nowhere in the 2007 season, pitching the year with a ridiculous ERA of 0.38.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman didn’t know what to do with him except to keep his innings limit. 

In 2008, Joba pitched 100.1 innings with an impressive ERA of 2.60. It seemed like Chamberlain is heading for a great career as a starter, until he failed at that the next season.

In 2009, Joba was a starter throughout the entire season, and we know how that turned to be: a 4.75 ERA season with 76 walks allowed in only 157.1 innings.

After that year, Yankees fans thought that Chamberlain should just be a dominant reliever like he was and help out of the weak bullpen. He also did not win the starting job out of spring training, and it seemed like a relief.  At least then Joba would be useful. We, Yankees fans, were wrong. 

Even pitching out of the bullpen, he has an ERA of 4.73 with four losses. Adding to that, there’s also something that the stats don’t show, and it’s that Joba gives up the big hits. That includes giving up hits with runners in scoring position after taking over another pitcher that had left.

But even with all this, he still has plenty of value to be part of a trade for a superstar player. The Yankees almost acquired Dan Haren at the trade deadline, but stubborn Brian Cashman held onto Chamberlain, who was wanted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the deal was never completed.

At home games, when fans in the bleachers see Joba in the bullpen warming up, they automatically say something like, “we lost.”

The point is that Chamberlain should be out of New York by the start of spring training in 2011.

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The former No. 4 prospect in baseball Jeremy Hermida signed a Minor League deal with the Oakland Athletics on Friday.

Hermida, 26, has been inconsistent in his major league career so far, as his best season was back in 2007 with the Florida Marlins, where he hit 18 home runs and drove in 63 runs while hitting .296 for the year.

After that season, he hit .259 in 2008 and .249 in 2007: clearly becoming worse as each new season started.

Earlier this year, Hermida signed with the Boston Red Sox, expecting him to be the 4th outfielder for the team.

He disappointed the Red Sox by hitting only .203 in 52 games and was released on Tuesday.

Even though it looks as if his career is going to be over soon, you never know. The late 20’s is the time when hitters tend to have their breakout seasons. However, with Hermida‘s inconsistency, you don’t know what you’ll get from him.

There was no risk for the A’s when they signed him, and they look forward that he will turn things around, hopefully leading to future success for the .500 team.

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The year 2010 has been the year of the pitcher in Major League Baseball. It is filled with no-hitters and perfect games, from very different pitchers all throughout the league. 

Last year, Zack Greinke surprised us all by having a 3 under ERA, and earning 15 wins even with low run support. 

This year, only two pitching candidates are veterans, and one is only 24 years old (guess who it is)!

This has certainly been a surprising and exciting season thus far, and this discussion gives us another reason to love baseball.

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When speedy Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan charged the mound at Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad on Wednesday night, he did it to defend himself.

Nyjer had been plunked on the back earlier in the game, most likely on purpose for separating catcher Brett Hayes’ left shoulder, which tells you the Marlins weren’t too happy with Morgan. 

Morgan had made a dirty play in the series before against the St. Louis Cardinals, bumping into their catcher Bryan Anderson when there was no play at the plate.

It looks like the Florida Marlins had gotten their payback: They plunk the guy; you are leading by 11 runs; it’s over.

But Morgan, too, wanted his part of the revenge, as he stole second and third base—not to mention he slid in aggressively.

The Fish didn’t like that, as later in the game, Volstad threw behind Nyjer Morgan. That was pushing too hard. What are you going to do, just take another base?

Morgan sprinted towards Volstad and missed a punch, while Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins quickly clotheslined him to the ground. 

The benches cleared.

Now at this point, it seems to boil down to this: The Marlins made a mistake trying to hit Morgan two times. It should have just ended when he was hit the first time. Morgan had to crash into Hayes at the plate the night before; it was in extra innings. You aren’t going to slide and get an out at that point, are you?

Morgan understood the first time he was hit since he had made the dirty play in St. Louis, but it wasn’t dirty in Florida. He still kept his temper until he couldn’t anymore.

So, if the story were to end there, with players leaving after the brawl, there were positive notes for baseball in there. 

It showed that our national pastime matters to many of us. It showed that people will fight back in Major League Baseball and that it is isn’t a sport that should be ignored. It showed that there could be some entertainment while at it.

But sadly, the story doesn’t end there. As Morgan was heading to the showers after the brawl, with his jersey torn (which is probably coming out of his paycheck), he screamed at the fans booing him. You can’t exactly know what he had said, but screaming at fans and raising his hands as if saying, “what are you gonna do about it” is a big no-no.

He had made baseball an embarrassment because of that act, and that can’t possibly be close to being okay to MLB commissioner Bud Selig and us, the fans.

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If a New York Yankees fan is reading this, you might just go on to comment how dumb this is, saying how Burnett will turn things around. 

Hold on a second, you can’t disagree that he is the most inconsistent pitcher in all of baseball today.

I know how it hurts to hear it considering the fact that I’m a Yankees fan, but it’s true.

With Burnett starting on the mound, you can see a no-hitter one day, and a one IP outing with five ER allowed the next. Though most of the time the second saying is what usually happens.

His stats line up at 9-12 with an ERA of 5.17. I wouldn’t want him as my No. 2 starter in the postseason. 

The only reliable arm in the rotation for October is CC Sabathia.

Phil Hughes has trouble with his innings, and we don’t know if Andy Pettitte can return fully healthy after his injury.

The thing that questions me so much and some other baseball fans is, why does manager Joe Girardi keep depending on him? 

Opposing team fans are happy when he’s pitching because of the fact that there’s a good chance he’ll put the game out of reach early. 

Does Girardi think that since he is a $82.5 million Yankee that he can always depend on him?

This is where Girardi’s decisions make us scratch our heads. If Burnett does go on to be the No. 2 starter in the playoffs, we can only hope he is the Burnett on a hot streak.

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New York Yankees’ starter Phil Hughes is closing in on his pitching limit, which seems to be around 200 innings.

Hughes, 24, has currently pitched 140 and 2/3 innings this year.

At this rate, he would have to miss one start before the start of the playoffs if New York makes it (which they probably will).

He is currently 15-5 with an ERA of 3.90, great stats in preparation for October. 

Now the question is will Hughes be starting in October?

Manager Joe Girardi doesn’t have too many options when the time comes. Even though he does have C.C. Sabathia as his No. 1 starter, there aren’t many strong pitchers behind him.

Andy Pettitte is already 38, and he will start to throw off of flat ground Friday to see if he will be able to start in the postseason. Even if he comes back, we don’t know how well he’ll do after the injury.

A.J. Burnett is the most inconsistent pitcher you can find in Major League Baseball, so he can throw a no-hitter one day and allow 10 runs in one inning the next.

We don’t know how Hughes will react as a starter in the playoffs, especially after throwing, at minimum, 140 innings during the season. His arm may have taken a beating.

Other starter options include Ivan Nova, but he’s still a rookie and just made his first career start last week.

Dustin Moseley might be on the playoff roster, but he’s not a pitcher you would like to start in October.

Girardi always being himself will probably stick to his ways and will start just three pitchers. Since Sabathia is already chosen, two spots are left. If Pettitte struggles after coming back, Girardi will still choose him, saying how he’s an experienced veteran and how he has had success before in the playoffs. Girardi also always depends on Burnett, no matter how inconsistent he may be.

An example that shows Girardi’s ways is that he would trust Sergio Mitre for a year before he learned his lesson.

So, Girardi will probably say how he trusts the young pitcher in Hughes and go with a four man rotation in the playoffs. Too bad Girardi had a record of ruining young arms when he was with the Florida Marlins. He probably will keep relying on Hughes, and eventually Hughes will get fatigued.

Hughes will start in October, but only time will tell of his performance in the playoffs and into next season.

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