Yuki Saito has spent most of the past two seasons off the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' ichi-gun roster and with the farm team. His poor showing so far this year makes one wonder just how many days he'll spend with the top team going forward.

Saito (0-1, 8.22 ERA) allowed three runs in 4⅓ innings against the Chiba Lotte Marines in his first start of the season on April 2. He was pulled from his latest turn, April 17 against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, after four Eagles crossed home plate in his 3⅓ innings.

"Because the team has been competing in such a good atmosphere, I'm filled with a sense of regret that I pitched like this," he was quoted as saying by Sports Nippon after that game. "The root of the problem was my breaking balls. I couldn't throw anything but fastballs, and I really had trouble with my slider. It's really too bad."