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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart September 2.pdf

Top 10 by position for 2011

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Davis @ Romero

Guthrie @
Scherzer

Davies @ Jackson

Blackburn @
Carrasco

Burnett @ Hunter – too risky for
either

Lackey @
Anderson

King Felix @ Big
Erv – overall Big Erv has been solid
this year if a little erratic

An.
Sanchez @
Marquis

Kendrick @
Pelfrey

Bumgarner @
Stauffer

Westbrook @
Hanson

Ely @ Wandy

Dempster @ Wolf – Dempster very
risky, only if chasing K’s and wins

Morton @
Harang

R. Lopez @ Jimenez

 

ZACH’S PICKS

SUNDAY

 

Tillman @
Verlander

Slowey @
Talbot – Not a Slowey fan but this is a decent matchup for him if you need wins

Niemann @
Marcum – Niemann absolutely awful of late

O’Sullivan @ F.
Garcia – Favorable spot for Freddy but let’s take the conservative route

Moseley @
Lee – Lee no sure thing vs. Yanks but how can you bench him?

Vargas @
Haren – Vargas slumping lately and much better at home (2.58 ERA) than on the road (5.27 ERA)

Beckett @
Braden – Still don’t trust Beckett but this is a great matchup

Oswalt @
Niese – Niese = high-risk medium-reward…ditch

Burres @
Cueto

Volstad @
Zimmermann – Zim not a bad gamble if you’re willing to roll the dice

Padilla @
Figueroa – Figueroa a decent option in deeper formats vs. erratic Dodgers lineup

Coleman @
Gallardo

Kennedy @
Chacin – Kennedy on a roll but I’m passing on the HR prone pitcher at Coors

Lincecum @ Latos

Lohse @ T.
Hudson

 

MONDAY

 

Gonzalez @
Bannister

Rzepczynski @
Matusz – Matusz pitching well but he’s a risky play here

Sabathia @
Price – Cy Young showdown!

Lester @
Fister - Fister great at home but I’d be careful here

Maya @
Lowe – Lowe extremely inconsistent this year and offers little upside

Enright @
Arroyo - Enright coming off his worst start of the year

McDonald @ TBD - McDonald an OK option in deeper formats

Blanton @
Miller – Blanton locked in right now but too erratic to trust

Narveson @
Myers – Narveson worth using here

Silva @ J.
Garcia – I’m willing to give Garcia another chance

Luebke @ Francis

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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart September 2.pdf

Top 10 by position for 2011

CORY’S PICKS

Floyd @ Porcello -
Porcello OK if risking ratios to chase wins

Lewis @ S. Hill -
Lewis should bounce back but play it safe here

Wood @ Hammel – see
Porcello… high-risk, high reward on both, Hammel in
particular

Wainwright @
Jurrjens – hang with
‘em

Lilly @ Norris – can’t
risk Bud right now

Cain @
Garland – Garland fine at
home

 

***Siano says “Agree
on all. CS says it so smoothly I can’t make it any better.”

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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart September 2.pdf

Top 10 by position for 2011

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Rzepczynski @ Vazquez
- not risking Vazquez in his rotation return

Weaver @
Cahill

Lewis @
Pavano

Shields @ Guthrie -
both present plenty of risk and reward… gamble accordingly

Floyd @
Lackey – Siano-style
gut-check on Lackey… strong finisher

Porcello @
Chen

Talbot @
Pauley

Mejia @
Coleman

Wood @
Wainwright – conservatism dictates “ditch” on Wood

Hammel @ Garland -
Johnny Sinkers worth using at home

Bush @
Halladay

Lannan @
Maholm

Jurrjens @
Johnson – Jair coming off terrible start and struggles on the
road

Norris @ R. Lopez – Norris
risky in Arizona but big upside here

Cain @
Lilly

 

SUNDAY

Cecil @ Hughes -
high-risk,
high-reward on both

Buehrle @
Beckett

Davis @ Matusz
- Matusz is on a roll, go with it

Galarraga @ Davies – Galarraga
hot and Royals not

Wilson @
Blackburn

Big
Erv
@ Mazzaro – don’t trust Erv but it’s the A’s

Masterson @ King
Felix

Minor @
Sanabia

Wolf @
Kendrick

Marquis @
Morton

Bailey @
Carpenter

Niese @ Zambrano -
don’t trust Zambrano AT ALL

De La Rosa @
Richard

Happ @ Saunders – Happ
risky but has been red hot with Astros

J. Sanchez @
Kuroda

 

MONDAY

Jackson @
Scherzer -
awesome

Arrieta @ Burnett -
don’t trust A.J. just yet

Hunter @
Romero – don’t trust Hunter vs. homer-happy Jays

O’Sullivan @
Liriano

Vargas @
Anderson

Niemann @
Lester

Carrasco @
Haren – Carrasco sharp his first time, let’s see it
again

Pelfrey @ Zimmermann
- both risky but Zimmermann has upside

An. Sanchez @
Oswalt

Hanson
@
Karstens – hope you didn’t give up on Hanson!

Westbrook @
Gallardo – Gallardo should be
OK, hang with ‘em

Wandy @
Dempster

Harang @
Jimenez

Bumgarner @
Kennedy

Volstad @
TBD

Monasterios @ LeBlanc
- LeBlanc too homer-prone right now, even at home

***Siano says:

SAT:
Pitch Shields (red hot), ditch Norris (don’t trust enough here). Agree on
rest.

 

SUN:
Wade Davis looks like he has his feet back under him. I’d trot him out there.
Agree on all, even Big Z.

 

MON:
I’m sticking with AJ coming off season high 8 Ks. Agree on
rest.

***Zach says “Pitch Shields (on a roll), ditch Norris (don’t trust him), pitch Big Z (I like picking on the Mets lineup). Agree on the rest of Cory’s picks.”

 

Top 10 by position for 2011

Hey guys,

Hot off the press, here’s our updated Pitch or Ditch category chart:

PoD chart September 2.pdf

Notice that we’re becoming stricter graders as the season winds down. As Cory likes to say, now is the time to be conservative since many of you are rapidly approaching innings limits.

Just a reminder as to how the chart 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. In all likelihood, we’ll be making one more update to the chart before the 2010 campaign comes to a close.

Agree? Disagree? Let’s hear from you!

-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 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart August 10.pdf     UPDATED CHART COMING SOON!

Top 10 by position for 2011

CORY’S PICKS

Morrow @ Nova – go with
Morrow in his final start

Garza @
Millwood

Danks @
Buchholz – did you know
Buchholz leads the MAJORS in ERA?!

Bonderman @
Greinke

Holland @
Blackburn

Kazmir @ G.
Gonzalez

Carmona @
Pauley

Dickey @ Wells
-
Wells erratic but good matchup.

Capuano @
Hamels

Livan @ Duke -
Livan’s ERA at a season high… finally going pumpkin?

Kawakami @
Miller

Arroyo @ J.
Garcia

Myers @ D.
Hudson

Cook @
Luebke

Zito @
Billingsley

 

 ***Siano says:

Ditch
on Morrow. Yanks have given him some decent beatings in NY.

 Yes
I did know Clay led MLB in ERA.

 Pitch Carmona. Mariners literally can’t hit.

 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 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart August 10.pdf     UPDATED CHART COMING SOON!

 

ZACH’S PICKS

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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart August 10.pdf     UPDATED CHART COMING SOON! 

CORY’S PICKS
 

F.
Garcia @ Tomlin – good
matchup for the Chief to get back on track

Lester @
Arrieta

Anderson @ Burnett – A.J. is
no longer trustworthy

Marcum @
Price

Scherzer @
Liriano

Hunter
@
Bullington – Hunter very risky but K.C. is a weak matchup

Bell @ Vargas
- gotta take Vargas at home

Suppan @
Figueroa

McDonald @ Gorzelanny
- both worth gambling if chasing K’s and willing to risk the ratios

Oswalt @
Kershaw

Latos @
Enright – Enright >
Ely

Narveson @
Cueto

Pelfrey @
Hanson

Olsen @
Volstad

Jimenez @
Lincecum – Lincecum was
probably the 1st or 2nd SP drafted in most leagues so I’m sticking with
him

***Siano says:

-Anderson
showed up on 911, ditch.                                                                                                       

-I’m OK with AJ even though it’s probably
a dumb move.

-My
sleeper pick of the year = Trevor Bell.

-I
like McDonald here but definitely risky, last start was not his fault, blame
Milledge.

-Pelfrey
hot hand and risky so quite the conundrum, I’m leaning towards
ditch.

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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart August 10.pdf 

ZACH’S PICKS   

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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart August 10.pdf 

CORY’S PICKS

SATURDAY

Bonderman
@ Morrow

Blackburn @
Fister

Greinke @
Gomez

Sabathia
@ Danks

Buchholz
@ Garza

Braden
@ Harden

Millwood
@ Kazmir

Blanton
@ Garland

Lohse @
Livan

Wells @
Arroyo

Nolasco
@ T. Hudson

Myers @
J. Santana

Duke @
Capuano

Billingsley @
Chacin

D.
Hudson @ Zito

SUNDAY

 

Chen @
Carmona

Porcello @
Rzepczynski – Porcello still too erratic to trust

Nova @
Floyd

G. Gonzalez @
Lewis

Guthrie @
Weaver – Guthrie OK if chasing wins/K’s while risking
ERA/WHIP

Pavano @
Fister

Lackey @
Shields – I don’t trust either, but if you are in gambling mode, gamble
here

Coleman @
Volquez

Norris @
Dickey – Bud Norris
baby!

Johnson @
Lowe

Wainwright @
Lannan

Ohlendorf @
Bush

Lilly @ Hammel – Hammel a
decent gamble here if you must

R. Lopez @
Cain

Hamels @ Richard -
Richard still getting
it done at home

 

MONDAY

 

Buehrle @ Talbot – good
matchup for Buehrle

Cahill @ Moseley -
have to trust Cahill’s results, and gamble on Moseley vs. the
A’s

Cecil @ Davis – have to
trust Cecil’s results

Wilson @ Davies – Wilson
surprising me by lasting this late into the season

Big Erv @ King
Felix – I don’t trust Big
Erv, but it’s the M’s

Misch @
Jurrjens

Wolf @
Wood

Marquis @
Sanabia

Maholm @ Zambrano -
do you trust Zambrano? Not me

Westbrook @ Happ – Westbrook
loving life in the NL so far

LeBlanc @ Saunders -
not using LeBlanc on the road

Halladay @
Kuroda

De La Rosa @ J.
Sanchez

 

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.
__________________________________________________________________________________

PoD chart August 10.pdf 

 

CORY’S PICKS

Bullington @
Tomlin

Verlander @
Marcum

Lester @
Price

Anderson @
Hunter – bounceback for
Hunter last time makes him safe vs. A’s

Burnett @ F. Garcia -
cover up the names; Burnett’s inconsistency makes him
untrustworthy

Bergesen @
Bell

Baker @ Vargas -
see above, then substitute “Baker” for “Burnett”

J.
Garcia @
Olsen

Gorzelanny @
Cueto – Gorzo OK for those who can risk ERA/WHIP to chase K’s and
wins

Figueroa @
Pelfrey – not sure Pelfrey is “back” but 3 straight QS earn this
one

Volstad @
Hanson

McDonald @
Narveson

Kershaw @
Jimenez

Oswalt @
Latos – enjoy Latos while
he lasts!

Enright @
Lincecum – I’ll take my
chances with Lincecum to the end

 

***Zach says “I might gamble on Baker in a very favorable matchup @ SEA, but then again he’s burned me so many times this year that I wouldn’t blame you for ditching him. Agree on rest.”