[MAW] 5th Annual Opening Day Tournament Preview

No matter how much anyone tries to dress it up, the offseason for any team sport is a miserable, miserable time for players and fans. A big signing or trade might provide a momentary thrill, but that is fleeting and you are quickly left with nothing but anticipation. The best you can do during any offseason is fill the time and look ahead.

To make the best of the just-concluded Wiffle®Ball offseason, we jumped head-first into podcasting here at The Drop. That meant – among other things – a series of 2021 MAW team previews. As far as offseason filler goes, the podcasts were not only a lot of fun but ended up being rather informative. We learned the thought process behind the moves teams made over the winter. We received insight into team’s plans for the season — pitching rotations, potential lineups — and got to pick player’s brains on Wiffle®Ball strategy.

As it goes with most offseason chatter, we took in a lot of information, but I am not sure any of us — those of us on the podcast and those listening — truly learned all that much about the upcoming season. The learning happens during the season when the games are played and the offseason theories and speculation are put to the test. Sometimes the major offseason talking points do end up playing themselves out in a significant manner. Sometimes they do not.

As we finally — at long last! — begin another tournament season here in Mid Atlantic, we take a quick look back at the big talking points of the winter as discussed both on and off The Drop podcast. What winter storylines will bear fruit on Opening Day? Which offseason predictions will prove prescient, and which will be duds? What haven’t we talked about that we should have? On Saturday, we will finally [start to] get some answers to the questions and topics discussed all winter long.

TEAM PREVIEW PODCASTS

RELIEVER FEVER

Earlier in the year we spoke with New York Meats captain, Jimmy Cole. Naturally — given our podcast’s borderline obsession with the topic — we asked Jimmy about the Meats’ usage of relief pitchers.

During their two-year tenure as a team — and even going all the way back to 2018 before they adopted the current moniker — the Meats have become known for their willingness to mix and match pitchers during a single game. Sometimes the in-game rotation is pre-determined with one pitcher scheduled for the first half and another scheduled for the back end. Sometimes the Meats play it closer to baseball strategy and make the switch to a reliever or closer (usually Ryan Bush) if the in-game situation dictates it. It has become the team’s on-the-field signature element.

Jimmy confirmed that swapping pitcher’s in and out was something his team planned to continue, talked some about why he adapted the strategy in the first place, and dropped a bit of new information in that Bush only wants to close this season. While nothing Cole said about his team’s reliever strategy was all that surprising to hear, what we did not expect was just how often the subject of relievers — and how interested teams are in implementing it — arose during our subsequent interviews.

There is no doubt about it. Reliever fever is sweeping the nation (or at least the Mid Atlantic).

On the team preview podcasts alone, it was a hot topic. Jordan Robles revealed that Voodoo teammate Sean Steffy has brought up the concept frequently during the offseason. East Coast Elite’s Kenny Stengel said he is obsessed with the idea, adding that he is intrigued with going even further and changing pitchers every batter in some situations. Even teams with very traditional roster builds — like the Juggernauts, as one example — indicated a willingness to pull the reliever card out when appropriate.

Does this mean we will see an influx in pitching substitutions this year in MAW? That remains to be seen. The benefits of throwing a brand-new look at an opponent in the 4th or 5th inning of a close game are obvious. So are the downsides. When the game is on the line it can be difficult to remove the starting pitcher that you already trusted for three or four or five innings in favor of another pitcher who may or may not have his stuff working for the one-inning you need it to be working. Nobody wants to Blake Snell the situation. East Coast Elite captain Devin Torres seemed open to the idea on his team’s preview podcast, but you could also sense some level of hesitancy to adapt a strategy that could be construed as overmanaging.

Like any developing concept, there will probably need to be a few clear instances of a reliever entering with his team ahead and that paying off for the concept to really take off. The Meats have had success with relievers, including in some big situations — most notably the 2020 Winter Classic when Bush replaced K-Von with bases loaded and nobody out in the quarterfinals and struck out Robles, Ryan McElrath, and Connor Young to preserve the victory. That might not yet be enough to convince enough teams to go down that route. It may take a few more big-time examples in critical moments for regular use of relievers and closers in MAW to move from intriguing concept to everyday strategy.

THE HUNTED

One line of questioning that came up frequently on the on the team preview podcasts had to do with what teams and players people are most looking forward to facing and what teams they consider the preemptive favorites.

Not surprisingly, the team whose name came up the most was Voodoo. From a pure talent — and name value — standpoint, Jordan Robles’ new team is tough to beat. And in the pre-season, that is the main thing any of us can go off of — projection of talent, often heavily based on prior performance. The talent and experience on Voodoo is essentially unmatched which is why so many of their peers picked them as the team to beat. It is also why so many picked Voodoo as the team — and Sean Steffy specifically as a player — they are most looking forward to competing against.

Naturally, that also means that any team facing Voodoo is going to be extra-incentivized to bring their A-games. Nobody is taking a team with that level of name-talent lightly. Voodoo will likely experience the exact opposite and receive a healthy serving of team’s best pitchers and lineups. They will be the hunted, at least to start the season. Most of the Voodoo roster has experience playing with a target on their backs — Steffy and Ed Packer, specifically — so while nobody expects that to rattle them, taking a team’s best shot is still something they will have to deal with.

Robles himself admitted that it might take getting punched in the mouth once or twice for his team to realize their full potential. We saw that happen in 2019 when the Juggernauts came into the Opening Day tournament with a tremendous amount of hype and anticipation, only to take it on the chin from the Shortballs’ in their first game of the day and eventually exit the tournament 0-3. Odds are that Voodoo will fare better in their much-ballyhooed debut, but it doesn’t alter the fact that it is always a little more challenging to play up to expectations when you have the rest of the field gunning for you.

ANY BALL, ANY STYLE

When it comes to the discourse on ball alteration, everything that could possibly be said probably already has. A good pitcher is an effective one and we have definitive proof that pitchers can be effective with any sort of altered or unaltered ball, other rules be damned. There is not much left to debate or discuss to that end.

What remains to be fully understood, however, is the impact clean ball pitching will have over time on a legal ball alteration environment such as MAW. We already know the ability to throw clean at a high-level is an effective weapon against hitters who are not used to seeing it. But surely over time hitters will adjust – we have seen evidence of that in Mid Atlantic already – which would render any advantage clean ball hurlers may currently hold irrelevant over time. If that were to occur, then any push some pitchers may feel right now to have a quality clean ball arsenal in their back pocket might subside.

About a year and a half ago, I had a conversation with an MAW player who predicted that clean ball pitching – or at least the ability to go clean for a game or a few innings when needed – was the wave of the future. That hasn’t occurred yet, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t. Not enough time has passed and not enough games have been played to know whether hitters will adapt sufficiently.

We will not find the definitive result to that prediction on Saturday, but the Opening Day tournament should provide some valuable, additional data.

For one, the pool of players that haven’t had at least some significant, recent experience facing clean ball pitching is shrinking in MAW but will get a bit of a resupply on Opening Day. There are maybe eight or a dozen experienced players – including most of the Unleashed roster – making their MAW debuts who I imagine have seen little to no top-level clean ball pitching in a competitive situation. Just how well those hitters perform if they do run into a pitcher or two who is throwing clean will be interesting to track. It will be even more interesting to track how those hitters adjust (or don’t adjust) after several games and tournaments.

Likewise, there is likely to be more pitchers going clean at this tournament than most (if not all) prior MAW tournament. Conservatively, there are a handful of debuting pitchers who should get in a decent number of innings on Saturday and are likely to throw all clean. These pitchers all have unique pitching styles, different levels of experience, and varying degrees of stuff. That variety should provide a little more insight into the general effectiveness of clean ball pitcher versus hitters who are unfamiliar with it.

Lastly, that prediction from a year-and-a-half ago that some traditional cut ball pitchers would start throwing clean with more regularity has yet to take hold. In MAW, we have seen Ryan McElrath go that route in specific situations, Devin Torres pulled it out a few times last year (most notably at the Winter Classic) and Noah Silverman threw several games using a new ball in the build-up to last year’s NWLA Tournament. After another winter of throwing around the benefits of having the clean ball as a potential weapon, will any of those players throw a game clean on Opening Day? Will any others join them? Another tournament of the status-quo will make it increasingly less likely that a clean-ball revolution is going to sweep this version of the game anytime soon.

+1

Four teams this winter opted against making wholesale changes to their roster, instead making a single impact addition. While it is likely that at least some of these teams will make another one-off or even permanent add as the summer progresses, each of these teams begin the season with one official acquisition.

The reasoning behind that differs depending on the individual team circumstances.

The Juggernauts, as one example, clearly did not need to makeover their entire roster. Any team that wins back-to-back regular season titles does not need to tear down and start over. At the same time, that pull to do *something* to get over the post-season hump is impossible to ignore. To an extent, the team was caught between a rock & a hard place of not wanting to disrupt a successful regular season recipe with wanting to add a piece that would make them that much tougher come late in the year. The club believes that they found the right solution with the addition of Brian DiNapoli.

DiNap has two fast pitch national titles to his name (2011, 2012 with Doom), sandwiched by two runner-up finishers twelve years apart (2008 with Remember the Name and 2020 with Black Dog Country Club). The Juggs love that about DiNapoli, but they also love the fact that he is a two-way player and therefore will not necessarily upset the delicate balance the team has built. The Juggernauts plan on hitting for the pitcher and batting four throughout the tournament. DiNapoli is an ideal addition for that strategy given his veteran bat and ability to handle a game or two at any time during the tournament.

The NY Meats were in a similar situation to the Juggernauts in that they had a productive core four that did not need to be torn apart so they simply added a player. Unlike the Juggs, the Meats are planning on batting five after adding 3x NWLA POTY Caleb Jonkman to their roster this year. In opting to bat five, the Meats are playing the long-game relative to the Juggernauts, which reflects their respective positions coming into the 2021 tournament season (the Juggernauts have won regular season tournaments, the Meats are still chasing their first). The Meats seem willing to potentially sacrifice instant success for regular at-bats for their all five players which they hope will pay dividends as the season wears on.

Then there are a pair of teams who — even after making a significant offseason signing — are still unlikely to contend each and every tournament, but have nonetheless greatly improved themselves via their lone acquisiton.

In terms of filling an obvious need with a quality player, there was potentially no bigger addition this winter than the OG Goon Squad picking up Colin Prentiss. An accomplished Yard player, Prentiss did not have much major fast pitch experience success prior to 2020, save for 15 innings of 5-run ball during 2019 Golden Stick Pro tournaments. Then Black Dog Country Club made Colin a late addition to their 2020 United Wiffle®Ball roster, tasked him with throwing their preliminary round games, and were rewarded with victories over the 603 All-Stars, Wiffaholics, and C4. Following his fast pitch coming out party in October, Colin threw his name into the free agent pile for the 2021 MAW season and the Goon Squad quickly snatched him up. The fit looks to be a good one for both player and team, especially since the Goon Squad is likely to have TJ Kish around infrequently this summer after Kish relocated to the southwest in the offseason.

While the New School Risers’ pick-up of veteran Brian Adam *may* not have the same impact on the team as the Goon Squad’s addition of Prentiss is likely to have, it is nonetheless a major move for a team that has struggled to get quality pitching behind their veteran ace, Dave Capobianco. The Risers somewhat desperately needed another arm — and ideally someone who also would not be a liability at the plate — and they believe they have gotten that in the Golden Stick veteran. A fellow lefty, Adam should take some of the pressure off Cap and allow the Risers to pick & choose the spots where they throw Chris Owen (as well as Dave’s brother Jason when he is available). The addition turns the NSR’s into a full, well-rounded team for perhaps the first time during their four years in MAW.

FLYING UNDER THE RADAR

Heading into the Opening Day tournament there are some teams that stand out more for what has not been said about them than what has. In an event with so many competitive teams, inevitably a few are going to get lost in the pre-tournament shuffle.

We have been quiet on the Wiffaholics in the lead up to the Opening Day tournament. It has not been intentional. The team — despite being loaded with talent and having the advantage of being an unfamiliar opponent to a decent portion of the field — just has not come up much in the offseason podcasts, articles, and general discussion for whatever reasons. Let’s rectify that right now.

The Wiffaholics have a strong and balanced roster with veterans (Ryan Patnode, Troy Parks, Rob Sutton), young but very experienced players (Dan Haverty, Mike Touhy), and one talented up-and-comer (Dillon Koster). The ‘holics have as much pitching depth as any team in the field and may not even need to dip into it if things break right for them. They also hold the advantage of unfamiliarity. A good chunk of the opposition they will face on Opening Day have little to no experience facing them and an even bigger portion of the opposition has little to no recent fast pitch experience against the Wiffaholics’ roster. While unfamiliarity can swing both ways, given the level of experience on the Wiffaholics roster, the unknown-element is likely to benefit them more than the other way around.

There might not have been much talk about the Wiffaholics this winter, but it would not be much of a surprise at all if they are still playing deep into the day on Saturday. If they reach the quarterfinals with a couple of fresh arms and with their bats heating up, they are going to be difficult to knock out.

If you are looking for another team to bet on for Opening Day who — for whatever reason(s) — have not been discussed much this offseason, the Aces are another solid pick.

Perhaps because the team lost two of their projected starting pitchers (Noah Silverman, Gino Joseph) before a pitch was even thrown in 2021, there has not been much chatter about this now all-Ridley Park team. However, they still go three pitchers deep with Cam Farro, Teddy Drecher, and Zane Johnston. Cam & Teddy at the top-of-the-rotation is particularly intriguing because of the flexibility it will provide the Aces. If they need a big win in pool play, the Aces can feel comfortable going to Cam early knowing that Teddy is perfectly capable of pitching (and winning) elimination round games. If the Aces can get a pool play win or even two out of Zane on Opening Day or any other tournament, that will be a very good sign for their chances that day. The question mark for this team is their offense, but they might not need to score a ton or runs to win, because their pitching is unlikely to allow very many. The Aces have a manageable pool play schedule on Saturday and it would not be a shock at all to see them still playing late into the afternoon.

HERE AND THERE

Barring any last minute or unknown roster addition/subtractions, eight players (spread out over five teams) with a fast pitch national title to their name will be in action on Saturday – Anthony Balacich (2004), Joe Nord (2005), Brian DiNapoli (2011-2012), Kevin Norris (2013-2014, 2017-2019), Ty Wegrzyn (2013-2014, 2017-2019), Ed Packer (2013-2014, 2017-2019), Sean Steffy (2017-2019), and Johnny Costa (2020) . . . The Longballs intentionally cut-down their roster from six to four players this offseason, but they might be even leaner than that on Opening Day. The team will be without last year’s Opening Day hero, Dylan Harshaw, who will miss the tournament due to a prior personal commitment . . . The York Yaks will also be down a man not only on Opening Day, but likely for the entire summer. 2020 United Wiffle®Ball Iron Man award recipient Chris Scipione tore his labrum in a work-related accident and is likely out for the entire Mid Atlantic season as a result . . . The York Yaks reportedly offered Jarod Bull – a Yak for the prior four years – a spot on their roster to replace Skip, but the 2017 MAW Rookie of the Year declined, opting to stick with his new Y2B squad instead . . . The pool for 2021 MAW Rookie of the Year is rather thin at the onset of the season (only players without prior, major fast pitch tournament/league experience are eligible) but one rookie to watch for on Saturday is Unleashed’s Shayne Herold. Shayne is the nephew of former Toadkiller Dog and In the Box star, Mickey Hyde . . . The Stompers have been very quiet publicly during the offseason but have been hard at work behind the scenes. Not only did first-year MAW captain Brice Clark assemble a very interesting and experienced squad, but the players have been hard at work behind the scenes prepping the season.