For lagers I use 1L oxygenated starter with no stirplate, sat in my fermentation chest at lager fermentation temp, and pitch the whole thing at 12 hrs. Same as ales, but cooler and 4 hrs longer wait.
Edit: I am not trying to get anyone else to do it. I'm fine with being the only home brewer who does it. I will say that if you listen close to Dan Gordon interviews, you find that Gordon Biersch is made with what would be considered an under pitch of "yeast in exponential growth phase". Meaning, they do it too. I've never tried their beers though, so maybe they suck.