The draw for the Fast Plastic Texas Open is over and the pools are set for round robin action. Some news and notes from the Friday Night team get together at "Wild Pitch" where ten plus teams showed up for the live draw:
* The talk going around the Wild Pitch after the draw is that pool 3 is the toughest round robin draw. Numerous players commented that this is the strongest group of teams and will be grind to advance through.
* The biggest upset may come out of Pool 2 with the Master Blasters as the four seed. Drew Marshall, Blaster's Will Marshall's father, got a look at the FP trophy and jokingly said, "Where do we put Will's name on this?" That's confidence.
* MAW talked to Jordan Robles earlier in the night to check in on his arm two weeks after the MAW Championship.
"All well and rested," Robles said. "Ready to go for tomorrow. Going to be a great day with a lot of great teams."
* Pool 1 on paper looks like the most wide open bracket and we'll see how that plays out tomorrow.
Some questions:
* Will GSW's later plane arrival have any effect on their tough round robin schedule? These guys have been through the ringer but have also had a seven year lay off from competitive wiffle.
* Several players haven't played in several years. Will there be rust or will it feel completely natural come first pitch at 8:30 tomorrow morning?
* Sean Steffy and his Cloud 9 teammates are early favorites. An FP participant told MAW, "Steffy is legit but what has he played in and won?"
* At least one prominent player said Josh Pagano is the player to watch tomorrow. We'll keep a close eye on that storyline.
* Jonathan King talked openly about his team in Pool 3. "I may have to throw our ace in round robin just to get to the final 8." That could be the sentiment for the other four teams in Pool 3 as well.
* Will Fast Plastic's stance on knifed balls have any effect on tomorrow's competition? Some players are saying that sandpapered balls are better for pitchers than knifed balls. Just talk or is there something more to that?
The draw aired live on periscope and can be viewed in full.