The roundup 12th August 2019


The roundup
5th to 12th August 2019

The big stories
Rule changes for Superpesis 2020
The Pesis association has decided on several rule changes for next season. When the rule book is updated these rules will be explained further on this blog. The changes (translated via google, so some of them I haven’t quite understood how they will work yet) will include:
  • Leaving strikers free between strokes when striking;
  • The team has one timeout throughout the match;
  • The home team has the opportunity to decide the length of the break between 12-20 minutes;
  • Reviewing practices regarding shift duration and missions; and
  • Identifying ways to activate players. 

Possible changes to the rules for further preparation 
  • Further investigating the effects of the three-run rule (requirement of three runs in the batting round to continue the inning as opposed to the current 2 run requirement) on the game;
  • Find out the facts about scrapping the Supervuoro and games going straight to the scoring competition (kotiutuskilpailu).



Post season picture
With the season all but over, save for the final day on 13th August, the playoff picture is still unclear. Their is still 1 spot available for the post season and several of the teams could change position and face different opponents. An “elimination number” has been calculated for each team outside of the top 8, which represents the margin the team has to make a playoff spot before they are eliminated, i.e. a team with an elimination number of 6 could drop 5 points from their remaining games and still make the playoffs IF the 8th place team does not win any more points from their remaining games. If, in this example, the 8th place team scored 7 points in their remaining games, the other team would be eliminated irrespective of their results. 

Guaranteed postseason places
As the season is drawing to its climax, the following teams have secured their place in the top 8:
Vimpelin Veto - won the league and will play 8th place (home field advantage in playoffs) 
Sotkamon Jymy - guaranteed 2nd place and will play Raahe (home field advantage in playoffs)
KPL - guaranteed top 4 (home field advantage in playoffs) 
Joensuun Maila - guaranteed top 4 (home field advantage in playoffs)
Hyvinkään Tahko - may finish 5th or 6th
Seinajoen JymyJussit - may finish 5th or 6th
Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe - guaranteed 7th place, will play Sotkamo

Who’s in the hunt
As things stand, the following teams are all vying for the final playoff spot:

8th: IPV
Likelihood: very good
Points behind: n/a
Elimination number: n/a 
Summary: IPV have retained 8th place from last week; however Kitee are tied on points. Due to tie breaking rules IPV have the edge and if they can score the same amount of points as Kitee they will make the playoffs. IPV’s last game is against KPL who have slipped in the last few games, going 3-2 compared to IPV’s 4-1. 

9th: Kiteen Pallo -90
Likelihood: very good
Points behind: 0
Elimination number: 3
Summary: Despite dropping points to Kankaanpää, Kitee has kept pace with IPV and are level on points with their final game left to play. Given IPV’s better 3 point win total, Kitee will have to go 1 point better than IPV to make the playoffs. Kitee’s last game is against Hyvinkään Tahko who have only won 2 of their last 5 games.

10th Kankaanpään Maila
Likelihood: highly unlikely
Points behind: 2
Elimination number: 1
Summary: Kankaanpää won their game against Kitee 2-1s but have fallen back in the standings. Their final game is against Vimpeli and given their poor 3point win record, they would need to take all 3 points against them and need IPV and Kitee to lose in order to make the playoffs.

Who’s eliminated from the playoff race
Despite their efforts the following teams cannot make a playoff spot:

11th Kempeleen Kiri
12th Koskenkorvan Urheilijat
13th Siilinjärven Pesis
14th Alajärven Ankkurit

Under the spotlight
The spotlight moves this week to Siilinjärvi, who have fallen to 13th in the table with 5 straight losses. Last week’s spotlight was on Alajärvi; however they are now resigned to last place in the table. In contrast, Siilinjärvi have a chance to lift themselves back into 12th place, but that would depend on them beating Joensuu and Koskenkorva losing to Kempele.
The table

With playoffs and relegation games are only one game away, but things are not all set in stone. Here is a rundown of the league table:

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