Strategy question for the experts & veterans

[BeautifulBrunette]

Ok, I'm trying to shore up my team for the stretch and doing some reading on various sites. In a nutshell, one particular article advised that when looking at waiver wire pickups, you should look not only at your guy's past stats but also the stats of his upcoming opponents. For example, if you need wins and/or boost in ERA, you should look at anyone playing Detroit, TB, LA, SD, NYM, and the Indians. Simple enough. If you're looking for favorable matchups for your hitters, you should look for guys facing the Tigers, Reds, Rangers and KC. Again, easy enough.

My question -- and bear with me if it's a dumb one, I'm a rookie -- say you have TB playing KC, like I do tomorrow. I have Darrell May scheduled to pitch. He's a marginal pitcher at best, but then at the same time, the Rays are not exactly sluggers. Which direction do you go when you have a crappy pitcher facing weak hitters?

Thanks again. BTW, this season has been a blast and the Cafe might be the best source I've found for novices such as myself.

[pkarr5000]

I would still bench him, if tampa can score 2 runs off of mulder, then they rip apart may,

[stevelabny]

the better question is:

if youre not gonna start him against TAMPA BAY why is he on your team?

if you are afraid to start a pitcher against the 5 weekeast teams in their league then just dont bother owning them.

[SteveJeltz]

Steve makes a good point. I usually go combing the wire almost daily looking for pitchers playing the Tigers or possibly the Indians. The D Rays have a very good offense and I would not put them in the league of Doormats. Tampa has also won 6 of 8 now and is playin good ball. SO don't take them too lightly.

[Madison]

I've taken Tampa off my list of weakest teams. They are still near the bottom, but not down there with Detroit or LA anymore. As far as May against TB, I'd probably go ahead and take a shot at that one. May has pitched pretty well and KC is winning. It's worth the risk to me.

[crazybob60]

Yeah, I would pitch May against TB. TB has been riding a pretty good offensive streak here of late, but that still doesn't change the fact that they are still not very good. Go with May!!!!