September 2010
Pitch or Ditch for Friday, October 1
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
CORY’S PICKS
Porcello @
Tillman
Pettitte @ Matsuzaka
- do you trust either? Not me!
Weaver @
Holland
Carmona @ Pena – solid
comeback year for Carmona (Lo12 guy!)
Shields @ Chen – good
matchup for Shields
Romero @ Pavano -
spike in Romero’s walk rate suggests he’s gassed
Cahill @
French
Rogers @
Wood
Maholm @
Mendez
Zimmermann @
Misch
Kendrick @
Beachy
Coleman @
Norris – one more shot on Bud
De La Rosa @
Westbrook
Kroenke @
Ely
Richard @ Zito
- Richard too erratic lately, and on the road, to trust
***Zach says “I’d ditch Pavano in a tough matchup vs. TOR. He’s been flat out awful over his last two starts (12.00 ERA). Richard is a tough call but coming off poor outing I’ll agree with Cory and say ditch.”
Pitch or Ditch for Wednesday, September 29
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
CORY’S PICKS
Vargas @ Harden -
time to draw the curtain on the surprising hit that was the Vargas
show
Cramer @
Pineiro
Verlander @
Tomlin
Pettitte @ Cecil -
Cecil is 3-0 in September with a 7.40 ERA. Don’t chase
wins!
Millwood @
Niemann
Beckett @ F.
Garcia
Baker @
Hochevar
McDonald
@
Walters
Kershaw @
Chacin – Chacin could shut
out the offensively putrid Dodgers
Gallardo @
Dickey
Bush @
Niese
Miller @
Lowe
Blanton @
Detwiler
Figueroa @ Cueto -
Cueto a huge coin-toss, I’d play it safe
Wells @ Young – Wells is
hot again, so pick on the weak Padres offense
Kennedy @
Bumgarner
***Zach says “I’d be careful with Beckett @ home run haven U.S. Cellular…pitch only if you have to. Pitch on Cueto. Last outing was as bad as it gets but he was coming off five straight quality starts and Astros’ lineup still mediocre. Agree on rest.”
Pitch or Ditch for Tuesday, September 28
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
CORY’S PICKS
Scherzer @
Talbot
Sabathia @
Drabek
Bergesen @
Price
King
Felix @ Feldman – Felix
could lead the Majors in ERA and K’s
Lackey @ Jackson -
gambling on Lackey as White Sox play out the string
Blackburn @
O’Sullivan
Braden @
Haren
Oswalt @
Marquis
An. Sanchez @ Minor -
both might be toast this year, play it safe
Wandy @
Volquez
Wolf @ Niese – Wolf on
fire down the stretch
Burres @
Suppan
Kuroda @
Francis
Dempster @ Latos -
Dempster’s last 6 starts: 3 shutout, 3 disaster. Flip the
coin.
R. Lopez @ J.
Sanchez
***Zach says “Blackburn cruising of late. I’d pitch him @ KC. Agree on rest.”
***Siano says “Blackburn
is red hot and it’s the Royals, pitch. Agree on rest.”
A Few Articles to Check Out
Hey everyone,
Over the past several weeks I’ve written a series of articles for Fantasy Goodness, a blog run by the guys at our fantasy department. Just thought I’d share these with 411 Nation!
Good luck to all of you who are still in contention. Remember, every extra run and RBI counts. 10 days left…
-Zach
Pitch or Ditch for Saturday-Monday, September 25-27
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
ZACH’S PICKS
SATURDAY
Guthrie @
Romero - Guthrie coming off rough start vs. NYY…I’m sitting this one out
Holland @
Gonzalez
Lester @
Nova – Playing it safe and ditching Nova
Greinke @
Gomez
Pavano @
Bonderman
Fister @
Garza – Fister great at home but awful on the road this year (4.96 ERA)
Danks @
Kazmir – Kazmir pitching OK lately but he’s still DTM in my book
Carpenter @
Coleman
Lowe @
Maya – Lowe 8 IP 0 ER 12 K last start vs. Nats
Wood @
Garland – Johnny Sinkers excellent at home (3.10 ERA)
Gee @
Kendrick
Norris @
Duke – Great matchup for Norris
Volstad @
Narveson – Both high-risk medium-reward
Zito @
Hammel – I don’t trust Zito in Coors
Ely @ D.
Hudson
SUNDAY
Chen @
Carmona
Duensing @
Porcello
TBD @
Marcum
French @
Shields – Big Game James so inconsistent but it’s the Mariners!
Pena @
Weaver
Lewis @
Cahill
Matsuzaka @
Hughes – I don’t trust either
Jurrjens @
Livan – Jurrjens too erratic right now
Pelfrey @
Hamels – Tough test for Big Pelf but I think he’s up for it
Happ @
Maholm
Mendez @
Capuano
Westbrook @
Samardzija
Cain @ De La
Rosa
Bailey @
Richard – Pitch Homer if you’re feeling lucky
Billingsley @
Saunders – Saundo not a bad gamble vs. awful Dodgers’ lineup
MONDAY
Galarraga @
Carrasco – Galarraga too inconsistent lately
Burnett @
Rzepczynski – This one could get ugly for Burnett
Matusz @
Davis – Davis lights out in September (3.10 ERA)
Pauley @
Wilson
Buchholz @
Buehrle – Buehrle slumping lately…I’ll pass
Baker @
Davies – Baker a worthy risk vs. weak lineup
Anderson @ Big
Erv
Halladay @
Lannan
Sanabia @
Minor
Bush @
Niese – Good spot for Bush…Niese breaking down
Morton @
Lohse
Lilly @
Jimenez
Zambrano @
Stauffer
Pitch or Ditch for Friday, September 24
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
CORY’S PICKS
Beckett @
Pettitte
Hochevar @
Tomlin
Liriano @
Verlander
Guthrie @ Cecil – great
second half by Guthrie
Vargas @ Niemann -
Vargas finally faded, especially on the road
F. Garcia @
Pineiro
Hunter @ Cramer – Hunter
still useful in easy matchups
Wainwright @
Gorzelanny
T.
Hudson @
Zimmermann
Myers @
McDonald
Gee @ Blanton
- Blanton still useful in easy matchups
Miller @ M.
Rogers
Lincecum @ Chacin
-
Chacin better away than home, but overall worth the gamble
Ely @ Enright
- mirror images!
Arroyo @
Young
***Zach says “I’m passing on Beckett. He’s 0-2 with an 11.17 ERA and 2.28 WHIP in four starts vs. the Yankees this year. This one could get ugly. Agree on rest.”
Pitch or Ditch for Thursday, September 23
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
CORY’S PICKS
King
Felix @
Hill
O’Sullivan @
Talbot
Price @
Sabathia
Lee @ Braden – Braden
fading in September
Suppan @
Burres – Burres pitching well and Cards mailing it
in
Figueroa @
Detwiler
Bumgarner @
Dempster
An. Sanchez @
Gallardo
Francis @
Kennedy – Kennedy on a serious finishing kick
Latos @
Kuroda – hang with
‘em!
2010 All-Fantasy Team + Final Grades
ALL-FANTASY TEAM 
C Joe Mauer
1B Miguel Cabrera
2B Robinson Cano
3B Jose Bautista
SS Hanley Ramirez
OF Josh Hamilton
OF Hunter Pence
OF Carlos Gonzalez
SP Roy Halladay
SP Adam Wainwright
RP Billy Wagner
FINAL GRADES
Overrated-underrated 092010.xls
Pitch or Ditch for Wednesday, September 22
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 day. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
CORY’S PICKS
Carrasco @
Blackburn
Jackson @
Anderson
Davies @
Scherzer
Davis @ Burnett -
Burnett unsafe at any speed
Pauley @
Drabek
Millwood @
Lackey – giving Lackey one more shot
Wilson @
Haren
Hanson @
Oswalt
Wandy
@
Marquis
Lohse @
Morton
Niese @ Sanabia -
Niese has faded badly
J.
Sanchez @ Wells – wish I
could trust Wells. Maybe next year.
Cueto @
Wolf
- Wolf is finishing with a flourish
Jimenez @
Lopez
Stauffer @ Lilly
-
the Dodgers can’t score, so roll with Stauffer
2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment Teams
Hey everyone,
It’s that time of year again! Time to unveil the 2010 All-Surprise and All-Disappointment teams. Be sure to watch today’s 411 to get in-depth analysis from Siano and Schwartz but here are the rosters. On tomorrow’s show we’ll reveal the All-Fantasy team and grade Mike and Cory on their preseason underrated and overrated picks.
-Zach
ALL-SURPRISE TEAM 
C John Buck
1B Aubrey Huff
2B Martin Prado
3B Jose Bautista
SS Alex Gonzalez
OF Carlos Gonzales
OF Chris Young
OF Andres Torres
SP C.J. Wilson
SP Brett Myers
RP John Axford
ALL-DISAPPOINTMENT TEAM 
C Chris Iannetta
1B Lance Berkman
2B Gordon Beckham
3B Pablo Sandoval
SS Yunel Escobar
OF Grady Sizemore
OF Nate McLouth
OF Matt Kemp
SP Javier Vazquez
SP A.J. Burnett
RP Chad Qualls
mlbtstufantasy411
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