The Mets have released 40-year-old rookie reliever Ken Takahashi on Tuesday. Hopefully, it’s just the begining of an ambitious house cleaning and a prelude to some much needed change on this roster as we shift the focus to 2010.

Takahashi was 0-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 28 relief appearances. He wasn’t exactly as good as his ERA might indicate as he allowed a great deal of inheritted runners to score which only served to pad another pitcher’s ERA. He also was terribly ineffective against lefty hitters who ripped into him for a .302 batting average and a .387 on-base.

Takahashi also appeared in 18 games for Buffalo (AAA) of the International League, and started seven games finishing with a record of 1-3 with a 2.38 ERA.

The move may have been made to accomodate his wish to return to Japan for the upcoming season.