Post by inthestands on Sept 2, 2019 8:07:12 GMT -5
So in looking at the landscape and those that have qualified we have 5 teams out of the 6 that will play in the Games.
Japan (host)
USA (bye... given their world title last time out)
Italy (qualifier)
Mexico (qualifier)
Canada (qualifier)
Canada is already part of the NPF through the end of 2020. Their stated goal was to use the 2 seasons in the NPF to tune up for the games. Their first goal of qualifying is now out of the way. No question my mind they will be back on the field in the NPF in 2020. The question is then, will they extend beyond that?
Mexico placed a few players on the Comets but not the whole team (like Canada, Australia or China). Do we see a full Mexican entry for 2020?
Italy surprised many (not me mind you) by qualifying. Italian softball is very competitive much like Canada and the US with grass roots house, travel and school leagues. Europe has a competitive summer league but not at the level of the NPF and not one that would offer the depth of games in a compressed time frame. So given that; do we see an Italian entry in the NPF for 2020?
Australia....Their past season in the NPF was lackluster to say the least. Will they even field a team in the NPF in 2020 if they fail to qualify for the games? If they do qualify I can see them returning for 2020 but what happens beyond that?
Finally, Japan and team USA. Both have byes so the pressure of Qualifying is not an issue for either. Japan as we all know has a well developed industrial league that is typically playing late summer and into the fall. So right about now. But in terms of the Olympics its really the wrong time of year to use as a tune up or any sort of development platform. So if you were Japan and wanted to get some quality "at bats" in the spring and early summer....where would you go?......the NPF of course.....question is though will they come for a single season?
USA has a problem in that neither US Softball nor the NPF have ever got along. I can't see team USA entering the NPF if only for a single season. They will probably play the Pride/Bandits in exhibition games and use Scrapyard as a sparing partner.
Japan (host)
USA (bye... given their world title last time out)
Italy (qualifier)
Mexico (qualifier)
Canada (qualifier)
Canada is already part of the NPF through the end of 2020. Their stated goal was to use the 2 seasons in the NPF to tune up for the games. Their first goal of qualifying is now out of the way. No question my mind they will be back on the field in the NPF in 2020. The question is then, will they extend beyond that?
Mexico placed a few players on the Comets but not the whole team (like Canada, Australia or China). Do we see a full Mexican entry for 2020?
Italy surprised many (not me mind you) by qualifying. Italian softball is very competitive much like Canada and the US with grass roots house, travel and school leagues. Europe has a competitive summer league but not at the level of the NPF and not one that would offer the depth of games in a compressed time frame. So given that; do we see an Italian entry in the NPF for 2020?
Australia....Their past season in the NPF was lackluster to say the least. Will they even field a team in the NPF in 2020 if they fail to qualify for the games? If they do qualify I can see them returning for 2020 but what happens beyond that?
Finally, Japan and team USA. Both have byes so the pressure of Qualifying is not an issue for either. Japan as we all know has a well developed industrial league that is typically playing late summer and into the fall. So right about now. But in terms of the Olympics its really the wrong time of year to use as a tune up or any sort of development platform. So if you were Japan and wanted to get some quality "at bats" in the spring and early summer....where would you go?......the NPF of course.....question is though will they come for a single season?
USA has a problem in that neither US Softball nor the NPF have ever got along. I can't see team USA entering the NPF if only for a single season. They will probably play the Pride/Bandits in exhibition games and use Scrapyard as a sparing partner.