Love Me (Non) Tender

The Dodgers have decided to non-tender Takashi Saito, essentially making him a non-Dodger in 2009. From the article:

Had Saito been tendered, he would have been eligible for salary arbitration and a raise from $2 million to about $3.5 million. Because the right-hander is coming off an elbow injury that sidelined him for two months, the Dodgers were only willing to take as much risk as a $2.5 million contract plus incentives. It really was a "staredown," as general manager Ned Colletti described. There were no negotiations after Tuesday.

Is it just me, or is Ned playing it overly safe this off-season? Now I'm not saying the Dodgers should have signed Saito this year, after all he decided to skip recommended Tommy John surgery for experimental stem cell injection. When you add that to the fact that he is 39 years old, who knows what you are going to get in terms of production for 2009. It appears evident however, that Ned is folding hand after hand trying to make four aces with none of them being named Sabathia, Burnett, or Lowe. Why is Ned willing to offer Saito $2.5 plus incentives, but spurned at a contract worth $3.5? Maybe he's putting on the tough face for Manny's negotiations. But at the pace that those seem to be developing he better not hold that face for long. People will think he's walking around constipated.