Start ‘em at home
(all stats are prior to Monday’s games)
Jaime Garcia, SP, St. Louis Cardinals — 0.81 ERA at home (5.36 on road)
Congratulations are in order for Mr. Garcia as he owns the biggest discrepancy between home and road ERAs in the major leagues. I like to think that I’m very fair on this blog so I’m willing to throw out Garcia’s masterful fail of a performance at Coors Field this year (3.1 IP, 11 ER). Without that start weighing his numbers down (or up) his road ERA sits at a very reasonable 3.57. Garcia remains a guy I roll out no matter what the matchup.
Clayton Richard, SP, San Diego Padres — 2.25 ERA at home (6.33 on road)
Richard has always been one of my favorite spot starters. You start him when he’s at home and forget about him otherwise. Of course, you have to stomach his horrible K/BB ratio, which is only slightly better at home (23 K/13 BB). It’s fitting that Richard is 0-5 at home and 2-4 on the road. That’s baseball for ya.
Livan Hernandez, SP, Washington Nationals — 1.97 ERA at home (5.66 on road)
Is he going to do it? I think he is! Yes, you should start be starting Hernandez at home. I tried to find something to disprove Hernandez’s success at home and I came up with a high left on-base percentage (87.2) and an xFIP of 3.52. Still, for whatever reason Hernandez is showing ridiculous command at home with 0.89 BB/9 and a 31/5 K/BB ratio. I’ll take a mid-3 ERA from my spot starter any day of the week and he is currently rolling out with a sub-2.
Bud Norris, SP, Houston Astros — 2.10 ERA at home (5.29 on road)
It’s freakin’ Bud Norris! Just wait until he starts walking people…you’ll see. C’mon, I’m not going to get fooled by this Brandon Morrow wannabe! I’ve heard it all before and you know what I have to say to all the haters? Haters gonna hate, while Norris keeps getting them out at the plate. Norris is a must start at home and a matchup play on the road. However, if you just want the K’s roll him out there every time.
Start ‘em on the road
Erik Bedard, SP, Seattle Mariners — 2.52 ERA on road (3.70 at home)
It’s surprising to me that someone can be better when he doesn’t pitch at Safeco Field, but that’s the case with Bedard. However, he has faced much tougher competition at home and still managed a 3.70 ERA. Somehow I’m more impressed with that than his road ERA. And I’m buying this success until he succumbs to another injury. And yes, it’s going to happen.
Joel Pineiro, SP, Los Angeles Angels — 2.81 ERA on road (5.01 at home)
Pineiro is an odd fellow. Last year he was automatic at home and so-so on the road, but this year he’s switched it up. Maybe he’s trying to keep us on our toes and make sure we’re paying attention. We all know how much I love Pineiro’s new look as a pitcher so he should know that I’ve been watching him all the way.
Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Colorado Rockies — 2.06 ERA on road (6.86 at home)
Am I going to tell you not to start Jimenez everytime he’s out there? No, but Jimenez has had quite the interesting 2011 season so far. I’m a little worried, but it also would not surprise me if he was a top-10 pitcher in the second half. He has dominated Coors (field) before, but his groundball rate has been on a steady decline for three seasons now. He needs to reverse that trend and maybe his fortunes will follow.
