Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD Category Chart #2

CORY’S PICKS

Atilano @
Bonderman

Jimenez @
Liriano – sick matchup, game of the night

Dickey @ Westbrook
- Dickey’s on a roll and the Indians are not good

Moyer @
Pettitte

Haren @
Lackey – Lackey seems to be getting back on
track

Myers @
Hochevar – Hochevar inconsistent but should handle
Astros

Braden @ Wells – both games slumping
too badly of late to trust even here

Buehrle @
Ohlendorf

Shields @
Hudson – I’ll give Shields one more chance to justify my
trust

Harrison @ Nolasco
- Nolasco slumping but TEX not as scary on the road

Ely @ Arroyo

Hey guys,

The wait is over! Here’s the updated Pitch or Ditch category chart.

PoD chart June 14.pdf

A reminder as to how it works:

We’ve divided all the starting pitchers in the Majors into four groups:
Aces, Pitch or Ditch graduates, Pitch or Ditch guys and DTM’s (players
you shouldn’t even think about starting). Keep in mind that these
classifications are geared towards 12-team mixed leagues and are of
course subject to change as the season progresses. We’ll be posting updated versions every two weeks.

-Zach

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD

Category Chart    ***UPDATED CHART COMING SOON!

CORY’S PICKS

Narveson @ Pineiro – pitch on Pineiro…2.66 ERA in 6 home starts this year

 Niese @
Talbot

Moyer @
Burnett

Livan @ Verlander -
when will the Livan bubble burst??

R. Lopez @
Lester

Chacin @ Baker
- tough matchup for Chacin, but I’m not giving up on Baker

Oswalt @
Chen

Guthrie @
Lincecum – OK to start Guthrie in deep leagues

Romero @ Correia -
Correia still gets the nod at home

Danks @
Duke

W.Davis @
Hanson – The Hellickson watch continues

Hunter @
An. Sanchez – Anibal struggling with his command lately but TEX not so
scary on the road

G.Gonzalez @
Dempster – not pitching Gio vs. the Cubs

Vargas @
J.Garcia – Garcia coming back to earth lately but the M’s should fix that

Kershaw @
Leake – matchup of the
night

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD

Category Chart    ***UPDATED CHART COMING SOON!

CORY’S PICKS

J.Santana @ Masterson – Masterson is streaky and he’s coming off a 2-hitter, soooo…
Halladay @ Sabathia
Lannan @ Scherzer – was the 14-K return from AAA just a mirage?
Kennedy @ Buchholz – Kennedy has become extremely consistent
Cook @ Pavano
Paulino @ Davies – Paulino on a tear last 5 starts
Bush @ Big Erv
F.Garcia @ Lincoln – Garcia a strong 2-start pickup in weekly leagues, too
Price @ Kawakami
Wilson @ Johnson
Cahill @ Zambrano – Big Z far too erratic to trust even vs. A’s right now
Rowland-Smith @ TBD
Cecil @ Latos
Arrieta @ TBD – Arrieta impressive his first time and now gets weak NL lineup!
Kuroda @ Harang

***Siano says “Ditch on Masterson. Give me one more Justin, you know I’m a fan. I also say ditch on Kennedy, not in Boston. I will say pitch on Scherzer but I get Cory saying ditch.  Fine with the rest, even Arrieta.”

Happy Friday everyone, 

As
competitive fantasy players, we all want to be on top of the very latest
information to gain that extra edge, and being the first to grab a stud
prospect off the wire could mean the difference between winning your
league and finishing second. But one thing that’s become clear over the
past few weeks is that teams aren’t always forthcoming when discussing
potential callups. Yesterday, Manny Acta was quoted as saying “There’s a
chance” that Carlos Santana (right) will be wearing a big league
uniform before the All-Star break. He went on to make a bold prediction.
“Put it this way, he’ll be here by September 1.” It’s June 11 and
Santana’s set to make his big league debut. To further illustrate this
point, here are a few recent quotes from Giants GM Brian Sabean on Buster
Posey and Indians GM Mark Shapiro on Santana:

SABEAN ON POSEY FROM MAY 9

“He’s still learning how to catch. Some of that is
game
calling. Some of that is the consistency that he’ll need as, we hope, an
offensive catcher.”

 

“Triple-A baseball isn’t very good. I’m going to
tell you that right now. Especially from a pitching
standpoint. Anybody who can pitch is in the big leagues.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_15051637?nclick_check=1

FROM MAY 25  (Posey called up May 30)

 

“There are a lot of sides to it. He is catching, he
is
playing first base and he is swinging the bat in a (hitters’) league
where it’s
tough to evaluate a high average. We can’t see how Posey would
immediately fit
in as regards to playing time. We want an idea that he’s going to get
significant time. In this snapshot, it’s not presenting itself yet.”

http://www.fantasysp.com/player/mlb/Buster_Posey/958861

SHAPIRO ON SANTANA FROM JUNE 3  (Santana
called up June 11)

“While he continues to flourish offensively,
defensively he continues to be a work in progress.”

 

“His game calling and leadership have made strides,
but his
throwing has to improve.”

 http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37486547/sports/player_news

Moral of the story? Don’t dismiss what you read but
don’t automatically assume you’re getting the whole truth.

-Zach

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD

Category Chart

CORY’S PICKS

J. Garcia @
R.Lopez

Dickey @ Guthrie -
Dickey deserves to start vs. the weak O’s

Atilano @ Westbrook

Ohlendorf @
Verlander

Myers @
Pettitte – very tough matchup
for Myers but he’s been exceptional lately

Moyer @ Lackey -
not trusting Lackey vs. a tough Phillies lineup

An. Sanchez @
Shields

Hudson @
Liriano

Peavy
@
Wells – not giving up on Wells, but he’s been struggling
lately

Hochevar @ Arroyo – gotta go
with Hochevar while he’s hot

Harden @ Narveson – maybe
an NL lineup will get Harden back on track?

Romero @ Jimenez -
awesome matchup

J.Vargas @
Correia – neither are great,
but both worth using in S.D.

Pineiro @
Billingsley

G.Gonzalez @
Lincecum – Gio has been very
reliable of late, roll with it

***Zach says “I’m passing on Harden. He’s been too erratic and the Brewers offense is pretty solid, ranking 9th in the Majors in runs scored. Peavy @ Wrigley is a little risky considering his tendency to serve up gopher balls but if you took Jake on draft day you might as well stand by him. Agree on rest.”

 

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD

Category Chart

CORY’S PICKS

Scherzer @
Danks – Danks’ last two have not been great but he was plenty good enough
before that to earn the start… Scherzer, who knows?

Big
Erv
@ Cahill

Lester @ Talbot – hope you
sold high on Talbot, tooouuggh schedule coming up

Burnett @
Guthrie

Cecil @ W.Davis -
Hellickson waiting in the wings if Davis doesn’t right the ship
soon?

Rowland-Smith @
Hunter

Chen @ Baker -
Trivia: Bruce Chen started the Mets’ first home game at Shea Stadium after
9/11

Wellemeyer @
Leake – Madison Bumgarner surely waiting in the wings if Wellemeyer
stinks it up again

Garland @ Dickey – do
you trust either of these guys? Nope, me neither

Dempster @
Bush

Oswalt @ J.
Chacin

Hanson @
Willis

An.Sanchez @ Moyer -
Anibal’s last two have been ragged so sit this one out, even though the Phillies
aren’t scoring of late

Maholm @
Martin

***Zach says “I’m going with Moyer again. He absolutely eats up the Fish and made me look smart a couple starts ago when I said Pitch @ FLA. Agree on rest.”

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD

Category Chart

SIANO’S PICKS

Wakefield @ Huff
Hughes @ Millwood
Tallet @ Niemann
King Felix @ Lewis
Galarraga @ Floyd
Greinke @ Slowey
Weaver @ Mazzaro
Volstad @ Kendrick
Karstens @ Strasburg *is it really here OMG????!
Richard @ Pelfrey
Cain @ LeCure
Lilly @ Gallardo
Moehler @ Francis
Medlen @ Jackson
Carpenter @ Kuroda

***Cory says “Pitch Slowey, agreed on the rest.”

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD
Category Chart

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Pettitte @
Romero – Romero has been a
stud all year, he’s earned this

Big
Erv
@ Fister – The shine is wearing off Fister

Shields @
Hunter

Lester
@
Guthrie – Guthrie has been solid this year but let’s be
realistic

Talbot @ Peavy
- Peavy’s gotta get better against the Tribe, right?

Verlander @ Hochevar -
Hochever impressive lately but Tigers are en fuego

Liriano @
Cahill

Robertson @
Niese

Narveson @ Ottavino -
Narveson useful vs. some, but not Cards

Silva @
Oswalt – Gotta give Silva
his due!

Leake @
Atilano

Garland @ Moyer -
Still not buying into Garland, even vs. slumping Phils

Wellemeyer @
Maholm

Chacin @ Willis

Hanson @
Billingsley – Matchup of the
night

 

ZACH’S PICKS

SUNDAY

Vazquez @
Morrow – I don’t trust Vazquez in this tough matchup

Westbrook @
Buehrle – Despite poor opponent, Buehrle too risky

Lackey @
Matusz – O’s worse than a Double-A team right now

Bonderman @
Bannister

Garza @
Harden – Harden just too erratic

Blackburn @ G.
Gonzalez – Favorable matchup for Blackburn

Pineiro @
Vargas – Pineiro very inconsistent but these are the M’s!

Nolasco @
Takahashi – Wheels beginning to fall off Takahashi? I’ll sit this one out

Arroyo @
Stammen – Better off not riding Arroyo roller coaster

Correia @
Blanton – I expected better from Blanton this year

Lincecum @
Ohlendorf

Dempster @
Myers – Myers is hot

Hudson @
Ely – Good test for Ely

Jimenez @ R.
Lopez

Parra @ J.
Garcia

 

MONDAY

 

Matsuzaka @
Carmona

Lee @
Feldman – Feldman DTM

Kazmir @
Sheets - Go with Kazmir if you’re feeling lucky

Wells @
Karstens

LeBlanc @
Hamels – Need to see more from LeBlanc

Zito @
Cueto – Opportunity for Cueto to right the ship following disaster outing

Wandy @
Hammel – Wandy disaster alert

Lowe @
Haren – Lowe continues to rack up quality starts

Walters @
Monasterios

Pitch
or Ditch is a strategy for (ideally) daily mixed leagues in which you
pick up
starters on a day-to-day basis based on how well they are pitching and
their
upcoming matchups, then cut them in favor of new guys the next guy. The
concept
is that the shallower the league, the more quality starting pitching is
available on the free agent wire, so rather than drafting expensive
starters,
it’s better to build a strong offense and bullpen and let the free agent
wire
populate your starting staff during the season. As a bonus, a handful of
“PoD”
guys emerge each year as worth keeping all year long, like Jair Jurrjens
last
year or Cliff Lee in ’08.
__________________________________________________________________________________

POD Category Chart

SIANO’S PICKS

Buchholz @ Tillman

Burnett @ Cecil  *Cecil red hot and at home but
ya never know when Yanks come to town. Proceed w/ caution.

W. Davis @ Wilson  *This has softball game written all over
it I’m not taking the chance.

Masterson @ Danks

Scherzer @ Chen  *Max has the momentum and the
opponent, might be a little risky but I say do it.

Baker @ Braden  *Baker back on the radar and gets the
A’s.

TBD @ Snell

Harang @ L. Hernandez  *No on Livan. Reds are NL #1 O. Harang an interesting matchup so I’ll say pitch
with my eyes closed. He hasn’t been that bad in May.

Latos @ Halladay  *JVD watch is on w/ Doc vs SD.
Latos has a 1.01 WHIP by the way.

J. Sanchez @ Duke

A. Sanchez @ Dickey

Zambrano @ Paulino

Wolf @ Wainwright  *I’m done with Wolf can’t peg
him, maybe when he plays the Stros.

Cook @ Kennedy  *I’m a Kennedy fan and we ain’t
talking Jack and Bobby.

Kawakami @ Kershaw

***Cory says “I’ll
agree with Siano’s picks across the board, although I’m a little more optimistic
about Davis vs. Wilson and a little less so about Harang, but not enough to
argue the other way on any of them.”