I have a much harder time throwing reactives, and have found that more often than not, a plastic ball will walk right into the pocket for me. I know it sounds odd, but I think the carry is the real issue. If you tug a reactive, sometimes it'll beak if it's a strong enough ball, but if it gets to the pocket, it'll still have some movement at the end and give you a better chance to carry. If you tug plastic, it'll either slide too far and not come up enough, or hit very weak. However, if you miss right, plastic holds better. I've been throwing plastic a lot lefthanded, and have found that a nice easy shot results in a strike a lot more often than having to fight with reactives to get them down the lane.
In any case, I think if most people could average more with a plastic ball than with a resin ball, that would be saying something. I still don't think 180 would be a real 180, but it'd be a lot closer to a real 180 than that same average with a resin ball would be.
--------------------
No, really, I like you. Now, by all means, feel free to go fornicate yourself with a sharp object.