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
chart July 23.pdf

ZACH’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Westbrook @
Cecil – Cecil four straight quality starts

Scherzer @
Dice-K – Both very risky but I’ll take the chance

Braden @
Danks – Braden a league average pitcher since perfecto and this is a tough matchup

Bergesen @
Greinke

Vazquez @
Garza – Vazquez no lock but he’s been pitching well enough lately

King Felix @
Slowey – If you want to start Slowey here go ahead…I’m just not a fan

Feldman @
Haren

Jurrjens @
Arroyo – Bronson’s a sleeper down the stretch given his brilliant second half history but let’s sit this one out

Billingsley @
Zito - Billingsley is hot

Bush @
Wandy – I’ll roll the dice on Bush in favorable matchup

Blanton @
Detwiler

Enright @
Takahashi

TBD @
Suppan

Gorzelanny @
Hammel – This isn’t the place to gamble on Gorzelanny. Hammel great at home (3.18 ERA) so pitch

Nolasco @
Correia – Correia close to earning back my trust but not yet

SUNDAY

Tomlin @
Litsch

Verlander @
Buchholz

Sabathia @
Shields – Shields solid last time out but too inconsistent to trust vs. Yanks

G. Gonzalez @
Floyd – Fresh off impressive performance @ TEX Gio has proven that he can handle the tough matchup

Millwood @
Chen

French @
Liriano

Lee @
Weaver – A duel worth watching!

R. Lopez @
Niese

Hanson @
Volquez – Edinson has a lot to prove

Hamels @
TBD

Wolf @
Wright – Wolf 12 ER blowup has scared me off for awhile

Duke @
Wainwright

Silva @ De La
Rosa – Two straight outstanding starts and I’m back on the DLR bandwagon

Johnson @ Garland – Garland + Home = Pitch

Kershaw @
Cain

MONDAY

Morrow @
Burnett – I’ll play it safe on Morrow but feel free to pitch…Burnett back to fantasy relevance

Carmona @
Lackey

Pavano @
Niemann

Bannister @
Cahill – Cahill a great play here

Wood @
Ohlendorf – Ditto for Wood

J. Santana @ T.
Hudson

Gallardo @
Lilly – Will Ted still be around for this one?

Myers @ J.
Garcia

Livan @
TBD – Livan @ Chase Field scares me

Richard @
Kuroda

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
chart July 23.pdf

Owning Scott Baker this year has been a roller-coaster ride to say the least!

CORY’S PICKS

Hughes @ W. Davis – Hughes has given up all 15 homers at home this year
Masterson @ Marcum
Galarraga @ Lester
Anderson @ D.Hudson – Hudson’s K rate means I’ll give him one more shot vs. weak A’s
Arrieta @ O’Sullivan
Fister @ Baker – Baker at home, vs. weak lineup… gotta try it
Feldman @ Big Erv – OK, OK
TBD @ Stammen
Medlen @ Cueto
Kennedy @ Pelfrey – Kennedy better at home than on the road?!
Parra @ TBD
Karstens @ Carpenter
Dempster @ Francis
Volstad @ LeBlanc – LeBlanc happy to be back home
Monasterios @ Lincecum

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
chart July 23.pdf

SIANO’S PICKS

Porcello @
Price

Moseley @
Talbot

Mazzaro @
Wilson

Matusz @
Davies

Pauley @ F.
Garcia

Hawksworth @ J.
Santana

Lowe @
Stammen

Maholm @
Jimenez

An. Sanchez @
Bumgarner

Padilla @
Latos

Saunders @
Kendrick

***Zach says “I agree on all of these. Vin Mazzaro (pictured above) has been pitching extremely well of late but it makes sense to take the safe route and ditch in this scary matchup.”

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 chart July 23.pdf 

CORY’S PICKS

Sabathia @ Tomlin
Millwood @ Romero
Verlander @ Shields – Shields unimpressive vs. O’s last time out
G. Gonzalez @ Lee – OK to gamble on Gio here but later in the season brings conservatism
Rowland-Smith @ Floyd
Pavano @ Chen
Lackey @ Weaver – Let’s see Lackey do it against a “real” offense
Hanson @ Strasburg – Hanson : 2009 ? Strasburg : 2010
Lopez @ Hamels
Wainwright @ Niese
Lilly @ Myers
Volquez @ Gallardo – Edinson’s beatdown vs. the Nationals scared me off for a bit
Duke @ De La Rosa – DLR has not been sharp since coming off the DL
Billingsley @ Garland – Garland does well at home and Dodgers can’t score without Manny
Johnson @ Cain

***Siano says:

Hey guys,

Hot off the press, here it is:

PoD chart July 23.pdf                                                                                           

For those of you who are new to the chart, this is 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 right now). 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.

All feedback is welcome. Agree? Disagree? Let’s hear it!

-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
chart June 29.pdf    ***UPDATED POD CHART COMING SOON!

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Davies @
Mitre

F.Garcia @ Mazzaro – Big
Chief is the ChiSox stopper now?!

Baker @ Matusz – Can’t trust either now anywhere vs. anyone

Price @
Talbot

Cecil @ Bonderman -
Bonderman struggling too much for my tastes

Big Erv @ Feldman -
Just when I trust Big Erv he gets hammered so I’ll take a pass
here

Lester @
Pauley

Hawksworth @
Gorzelanny – Don’t let the W-L fool you, Hawksworth is not
good

Pelfrey @ McDonald -
Pelfrey unsafe at any speed

Jimenez @
TBD

Cueto @
Oswalt – Oswalt owns the
Reds for his career, but will he be here for this one?

Latos @
Karstens

Martin @
Parra

Medlen @ An.Sanchez -
Anibal very mediocre lately… not terrible but not good

Bumgarner @ Kennedy – Tough
call on Kennedy but conservatism rules as the year gets later

ZACH’S PICKS

SUNDAY

W.
Davis @
Laffey – Davis 15 IP  3 ER over last two starts and this is a nice matchup

Litsch @
Galarraga

Lerew @
Hughes – Great opportunity for Hughes to get back on track, though KC offense no longer laughable

Slowey @
Arrieta – Slowey maddeningly inconsistent but a decent gamble here…I’m passing

D. Hudson @ Sheets – Hudson solid last time out so I’ll roll the dice here…Sheets 2.91 home ERA this year

Dice-K @
Fister – Fister’s success at home makes him tempting, but ditch vs. BOS

Bell @
Hunter – Tommy out of his mind right now

Jurrjens @
Volstad

Francis @
Happ – I’m holding off on Happ for his first start since April

LeBlanc @ Lincoln – Great matchup for LeBlanc

Leake @
Wandy – I’ll say yes on Wandy at home

TBD @
Bush – Just when Bush was starting to look like viable option, he puts up 4 IP  5 ER stinker

Dickey @
Kershaw

Lincecum @
Enright

Carpenter @
Dempster

MONDAY

Vazquez @
Masterson – Vazquez deserves a shot here

Bergesen @
Morrow

Scherzer @
Garza – Both risky but I say pitch

King Felix @
Danks – Nice!

Liriano @
Greinke – Even more nice

Buchholz @
Pineiro – Pineiro seven straight quality starts before Yankee Stadium shellacking

Hammel @
Blanton – Tough call on Hammel but I just don’t like the matchup

Silva @
Wright – Silva not worthy of your trust right now

Arroyo @
Wolf

Nolasco @
Zito

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
chart June 29.pdf    ***UPDATED POD CHART COMING SOON!

SIANO’S PICKS

Bannister @ Burnett  *AJ looking to save face, Royals
help with makeup and hair.

Duensing @ Guthrie  *Guthrie too
inconsistent

Niemann @ Carmona  *Carmona does well and makes next
start in a Yankee uni?

Marcum @ Porcello  *Need to see one more from Porcello since last start was vs CLE, not slugging Jays.

Saunders @ Wilson  *10 Ks @ BOS last start…nice.

Buehrle @ Cahill  *Has 70 minute game written all over
it.

Beckett @ Vargas  *Vargas hot again, welcome back Beckett

Suppan @ Wells  *Wells en fuego

Cook @ Halladay

Correia @ Maholm  *Maholm ridiculous last 16 IP and
Padres on road, great blue plate special.

Lowe @ Sanabia

Wood @ Norris  *One day Bud, one day.

Stammen @ Narveson

J. Sanchez @ Jackson  *My Boys!!!!! Sanchez great
last time out. E-Jax terrible since no-no…pass until he comes
around.

J. Santana @ Padilla  *The Padilla es fuego as
well.

***Cory says “Agreed
on all. I’d be more inclined to gamble on Sanabia than Maholm but one gets the
Braves and the other the Padres so the way Siano has it is fine with
me.”

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
chart June 29.pdf    ***UPDATED POD CHART COMING SOON!

CORY’S PICKS

Romero @ Verlander – tough call on Romero, I’ll play it safe

Chen @ Sabathia

Pavano @ Millwood

Weaver @ Lee – matchup of the day!

Lackey @ Rowland-Smith – tough call on Lackey, I’ll gamble vs. weak M’s offense

De La Rosa @ Johnson

Livan @ Volquez

Richard @ T.Hudson - Richard slumping badly, maybe fatigued?

Hamels @ Wainwright

Gallardo @ Ohlendorf

Cain @ Lopez

Takahashi @ Kuroda – Mets slumping and Kuroda seemingly back in form

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
chart June 29.pdf    ***UPDATED POD CHART COMING SOON!

CORY’S PICKS

Shields @ Bergesen – good
matchup for Shields to rebound

Pineiro @
Vazquez

Westbrook @
Liriano

Rzepczynski @
Greinke

Buchholz @
G.Gonzalez – tough matchup but
Gio dominates at home and in day games

Lewis @
Scherzer

Floyd @ King
Felix

Myers @
Lilly – trade
bait Lilly slumping lately and Astros actually scoring

Wolf @
Duke

Strasburg @ Arroyo – Arroyo
due for a meltdown soon, I do not trust him

Garland @
Hanson

Hammel @
Nolasco

Blanton @
J.Garcia

Niese @
Haren

Zito @ Billingsley -
Billingsley too erratic to trust against Posey-led Giants

***Siano says “I agree. Some risks in here both ways but tough to argue with CS’s valid
points which are only valid because I validated. Dig?”

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
chart June 29.pdf    ***UPDATED POD CHART COMING SOON!

CORY’S PICKS

TBD @
Hughes

Garza @ Arrieta – two
strong outings for Arrieta but 20-20 K-BB ratio is scary

Hunter @
Galarraga

Masterson @
Slowey

Litsch @
Lerew

Wakefield @
Braden

Danks @
Fister

Bush @ Lincoln – Bush on
a nice roll and gets the Pirates

Francis @
Robertson

LeBlanc @ Jurrjens
- Jurrjens hot since coming off the DL; LeBlanc struggles on the
road

Atilano @ Leake -
Leake 5.15 ERA since June 1

Wright @
Dempster

Moyer @
Carpenter

Dickey @ Enright – Dickey
keeps getting it done

Lincecum @
Kershaw

ZACH’S PICKS