Welcome back to another installment of Pitching Ideas, our newest weekly column that will cover all things related to pitching. Starters, closers and everyone in between will be appropriate subjects for this new column.  Each and every week, SportsGrumblings.com hopes to offer the best advice possible when it comes to the upkeep and maintenance of your fantasy pitching staff.  By examining the who, the when, the why and the WTF of what’s happening on select mounds around the Major Leagues (and occasionally the minors).  Here’s a look at this week’s heralded hurlers:

Starting Pitchers

Full Tank:  The best pitcher in the AL East over the past two weeks is… Care to guess?  He’s actually been the best starter in baseball over that span.  Still nothing?  Well, it’s Ricky Romero of the Blue Jays.  Actually, it goes back further that two weeks.  You have to go all the way back to July 21 when Romero was even hittable (a 4 ER outing vs. Seattle).  Since then he’s pitched 40.1 innings, surrendering just 14 hits and 4 earned runs and watched his ERA on the year drop from 3.27 to 2.73.  The key to his success has been A. not pitching to contact (or the hitters inability to make any) and limiting walks (always a sticking point for Romero).  He’s a walking illustration off the notion that limiting baseruners can only result in good things.  It’s been quite good too, with Romero winning his past five starts to put his record at 12-9 on the year.  No one yet considers Romero an “elite” starter, but for those that A. want to ride the hot streak, and B. look for players with strong second halves for 2012 and beyond, well, here’s your guy.

Running on Empty:  It seemed like just weeks ago, C.C. Sabathia was pitching his way to the front of the American League Cy Young conversation.  However, over his past three starts, something has gone terribly awry.  In his past 21 innings pitched, Sabathia has surrendered 29 hits, 15 earned runs, and six home runs.  Sure he won one of those starts, but it was hardly a Cy Young-worth performance.  It’s clear the real fly in the ointment has been the long ball.  Sabathia even served up five in a single game against the Rays on August 12—a career worst.  Overall in August, Sabathia has pitched to a 5.28 ERA and 1.41 WHIP and many are asking whether all the innings he’s pitched in his Major League career are finally adding up.  In reality, it’s probably just a slump, seeing as how he’s still managing almost a K per inning and isn’t walking anyone (2 BB in 29 August IP).  Hopefully for Sabathia owners, the worst is now behind him, and they can use him with total confidence moving forward---hopefully.

Check Engine:  When the success of a team is built around its pitching and they have arms like Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee to rely upon, it’s a bit easier to see why they’d take a conservative approach with another of their staff aces, Cole Hamels.  Hamels is having his start skipped this week due to concerns over pain in the pitcher’s rotator cuff.  On the year, Hamels is 13-7 with a 2.62 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP, and in a nutshell, he’s been at least as good as advertised.  In order to allow him to continue his dominant run, the Phillies thought it best to give Hamels a short rest.  Now, any time there’s an elbow or a shoulder (as in Hamels’ case) in the mix, fantasy owners can do nothing but hold their collective breath and hope for the best.  The best, in this scenario is for Hamels to miss just one start (as planned), but if he has to miss more, well, fantasy owners should be prepared to find a short-term, stop-gap solution.

Relief Pitchers

Full Tank: Following a rocky July that had many wondering if he was long for the closer’s job in Cleveland, Chris Perez has really turned things around.  No, he didn’t suddenly turn into an elite strikeout pitcher (something he’ll never do), but he did seem to correct whatever mechanical flaws that were contributing to the 5.68 ERA and 1.58 WHIP he posted in June.  Sadly, for the month of June, Perez actually had as many blown saves (3) as he had strikeouts.  How’s that for bad?  August has been better.   In 10 games, he’s pitched to a 3.48 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and has converted five saves.  Perez now has 27 saves on the year, and seems capable of at least a few more.  The Indians are still in a pennant race in the AL Central, and they’ll need an effective closer to help them secure a playoff spot.

Running on Empty: No, this isn’t the first time Carlos Marmol’s name has appeared in this very section in 2011, and that fact alone should tell you that something’s up (hint: it’s not something good).  By every statistical measurement, be it K/9, BB/9, or something more conventional like ERA or WHIP, Marmol has been the source of fantasy frustration.  Sure, his 28 saves have been helpful, but he’s blown eight other chances, and some in grandiose fashion (galactic meltdowns).  He’s been especially bad in the second half.  Since the All-Star break, Marmol has pitched to an 8.22 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and doesn’t even have a 2-1 K/BB.  Simply stated, he’s been downright dreadful.  His most recent debacle came on August 16 versus the Astros (against whom he has a 13.50 ERA on the year): 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 HR.  His ERA jumped more than half a run in the process, a fact that could not have escaped the gaze of H2H owners.  He’s still the closer, but you cannot start Marmol unless you’re desperate for saves and saves alone.

Check Engine:  Fear the beard?  Maybe it’s time to develop healthy fear of needles, because that’s where Brian Wilson is headed—to the doctor’s office, Dr. James Andrews’ office to be precise.  Apparently, beset by elbow issues, Wilson will take the next few days resting and being evaluated by the world’s most renowned Tommy John surgery specialist.  This is not good news—not at all.  At least there may finally be an answer to a question fantasy owners have been asking all year: what’s ailing Brian Wilson?  For the year, he has 35 saves and a 3.19 ERA, numbers that make him a must-start in virtually all formats.  However, his 2011 has been largely a disappointment.  His K/9 is down to 8.72 (from 11.21), his BB/9 is up 5.20 (from 3.13) and his WHIP is way up (1.49 from 1.18).  Sure, the beard is still there to fear, but the man behind the beard doesn’t seem to be living up to his reputation.