Suomen Pesäpallonliiga

[Samuel Vimes]

I'm by no means a regular OOTP player or indeed baseball watcher, but I like sports simulations and in particular large leagues with lots of trades. Now, I haven't managed to build my dream universe yet (it will sort of model the situation in ice hockey, where there's a big league overseas with all the money, but I will focus on what happens inside Europe) but I made a start yesterday with a league in Finland, starting in 2008, based on the Mexico set up. I may tire of this league relatively quickly - I seem to have struggled with getting financials right, as teams earned 14 times the cash maximum in profit - but I had an excellent watch last night. Now, contary to any rules of balance and fairness, I decided to have a free-agent free for all at the start of the season - this resulted in some teams with high market sizes and budgets (I also set Helsinki to 15, which I think unbalanced the league somewhat) wrapping up all the contracts reasonably quickly.

So really, this is the battle to unseat the Helsinki Tursaat - or Octopodes. The eight teams are

SPPL Teams

Turku Emeralds

The Emeralds, from Finland Proper, are from the oldest city in Finland, and are from a city likely to rival Helsinki economically. Their manager went on a pitching strategy, signing five hurlers in the first month of free agency signing. Teijo Helminen, Hiski Porthen, Taito Neuvonen and Santeri Miettinen are all top quality pitchers at this level, and they also convinced a bulky South African, Adrir Njiraini, to come to Finland on a long term deal also involving a nice work permit.

Espoo Sparrowhawks

Espoo are part of the greater Helsinki area, yet have managed to build their own identity, and stand as a decent rival to the Helsinki juggernaut. On the pitching side, they signed Liam Sjödin for a six-figure sum early on, and their infield was also acceptable. Lack of depth would cost them, however.

Helsinki Tursaat

With the biggest budget, the Tursaat (Octopodes) from Helsinki grabbed a number of big names early on in the free agent season. They signed Reko Juusten, an experienced pitcher, to head the rotation, while the backup bullpen of left-hander Arhippa Lahtela, Elliot Ronberg, and high-leverage right-hander Uuno Mäntymaa were their highest profile signings in the pitching department. In the batting, they largely signed young, talented lads, though infielder Onni Särkilahti, 31, was signed on for five years, in a deal worth nearly €800,000.

Tampere Devil Rays

Tampere got their hands of a couple of big names, but concerns were there over their depth. Catcher Seppo Vuotilain€en, with an under-rated bat but an overblown belly, was the key to their line-up, while the league's obligatory Dominican, Carlos González, at 33 has decided to earn good money playing in a low-level leagues.

Jyväskylä Immortals

A university town in central Finland, Jyväskylä lacked the financial muscle to compete with the big four, and they were forced to build their side around pitcher Karri Louramo - hardly a worldbeater despite a €90,000-a-year deal.

Lappeenranta Whites:

The side from Karelia in eastern Finland is also predicted to struggle, though they made some decent signings. It turned out not to be enough and their players was lured from them after one season.

Kotka Eagles:

Kotka were a surprise choice for a major franchise, and after recruiting closer Max Aslin there was little left. The question is whether they can keep away from being elected out of the league after the initial three-year testing period.

Vaasa Saints:

The Saints, the northernmost side in the league, Young infielder Juhani Kuikkonen is rated mainly for his slick glove, which should help Vaasa's pitchers no end whenever they arrive. One of them will be 19-year-old Mika Mannila, originally signed on a youth contract but offered a 30,000-euro deal after having pitched well during indoor trials.

2008 season

Helsinki was, as expected, the dominant team of the league. Fuelled by high profits and Reko Juusten, they were 14 games clear by the end of June; Espoo started poorly but came home well. There was always one bat willing to stand up for Juusten, who posted a 13-0 record before finally giving up six hits and a 2-3 loss to Turku. His stats normalised a bit towards the end of the season, but he still finished with a magnificent 21-2 record, an ERA of 1.49 and a WHIP of 0.72 to take the pitching triple crown. Vesa Kinnunen started poorly, but after hitting .404 in June, the outfielder finished with a .300/.380/.488 line, 15 home runs, and the batting title - while another outfielder, Juhamatti Haakana, registered 24 home runs and 99 RBI. Neither Kinnunen nor Haakana were on big wages, showing that Helsinki also had the ability to pick talent.

Espoo took the second place, fueled by another brilliant pitcher, Liam Sjödin, and a twenty-game hit streak by Veijo Hannula; Hannula got injured down the stretch, but Espoo still finished nine wins clear of Turku, whose pitching army was underutilised.

Standings

Helsinki 88-38
Espoo 74-52
Turku 65-61
Jyväskylä 64-62
Lappeenranta 58-68
Tampere 53-73
Vaasa 51-75
Kotka 51-75

In the finals series, Espoo began the series spectacularly, earning a 4-2 lead through eight before Ilmari Nurminen was sent to earn the save. Instead, hits by Juho Lae and Uoti Lind sent the score to 4-3, but Hautala flew out and Helsinki needed a run with two outs and only a man at first. Then came Kinnunen and Haakana - and they were simply too good. Kinnunen hit a single before Haakana drove home the winning score - a blemish on Nurminen's 42-save season.

The second match was little different. In a low scoring tussle, both pitchers were lucky on occasion, but with singles given up to Kinnunen and Haakana, there was no hope for Espoo. The third game, however, was not friendly to pitchers; even Juusten gave up eleven hits, but Josh Burke and poor plate discipline from the Espoo lower order saved him. A sweep, and Helsinki took the expected the first title.

Offseason

After the season, free agency reared its head. Haakana was the main name on offer, eventually going to Vaasa for nearly 400,000, while Helsinki sold reliever Lahtela to Tampere for outfielder Johannes Louramo. There were few other big moves, as contracts were simply jacked up for those who had signed 1-year deals.

2009 season

Turku pushed Helsinki this year, as their pitching staff really began to fire. Teijo Helminen had a little more luck than last year, and was pitcher of the month in May, while Okko Hirschovits had a resurgence, and Ukko Eloranta surprised everyone with a fine June. Without Vesa Kinnunen, who struggled with injuries for most of April and May, Louramo and Uto Lind, as well as the inimitable Juusten, kept Helsinki in a deserved lead. Vaasa had little coming out of Haakana's bat - though he did draw a lot of walks - and in June the redbearded money-earner withdrew with a torn abdominal muscle. It remains to be seen whether anyone will take the risk for 2010. At the end of June, Turku led by two games over Helsinki and three over Tampere.

A highly anticipated clash thus beckoned in the second weekend of July. Both Turku and Tampere had 45 wins, but Helsinki began with the unproven Kauto Pöyhtäri, who has been a little less lucky this year and has been hit around as a result. Turku played veteran South African Njiraini, who is only 7-7 despite a 2.89 ERA, and indeed Njiraini came out on top. After allowing Laitila to walk and then steal all the way home in the first inning, he shut up shop, and Turku won 3-1 in the first clash. However, things were equalled in the next game as Taito Neuvonen gave up 13 hits, and the series came down to Helminen. Or so they though. But instead Turku managed four singles with two outs, went to 3-1 after the first inning, and after a barrage of singles in the third they led 9-1. Helminen pitched out well and Turku take the series, as well as a one-game lead.

At the three-day break in the middle of July, things had got even closer. Helsinki and Turku had 51 wins each, Tampere a game behind, and even Espoo had a chance with their 47-win season and Ilmo Hirvonen's .647 average that week. However, Helsinki came back from a game down to take the series against Tampere, while Turku tossed away a game against Kotka with anemic hitting.

The next Turku-Helsinki series came in the first weekend of August. Hiski Porthen, a starter turned closer after early injuries, held his nerve in the first game against a partizan crowd as the Emeralds won 3-2 to go a game up; the second match went to 13 innings, in which Tomek Kuitunen hit a solo homer to see the Emeralds take a 2-1 lead, only for poor Voitto Hostikka to give up two runs and lose the game - on an error in the outfield, no less. With new recruit Ilmo Hannula keeping a clean sheet before Lind and Louramo got the Tursaat into the lead, Helsinki were back in control of the league.

This evidently ruined Turku's form, as they managed to lose successive games to Lappeenranta and a swept defeat in Jyväskylä, and suddenly Helsinki were five games ahead and Turku needed to look behind them - especially considering Espoo, who were boosted by Ilmo Hirvonen's .394 form in the past six weeks. In another widely anticipated head-to-head clash, Espoo managed a 2-1 win, and Turku lost outfielder Kuitunen to injury. The teams were thus tied at 60 wins each with 13 games to go, seven games behind Helsinki. In good news, however, the Emeralds managed to find 250,000 euros per year to sign Teijo Helminen for a couple of seasons, and then came up with a 2-1 win over Tampere to open up a game's gap. The home series with Helsinki at the end of August would decide plenty.

Turku got the first win, but remarkably, their ageing second baseman Isto Häppölä - glove wizard last year - tore a cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of this as well as most of the next season. It is not known whether Häppölä will ever return to baseball. Without Häppölä, Turku lost both the next games, and Espoo and Turku were tied again at the end of August. Another pyrrhic victory followed for Turku, as a 4-3 win over Jyväskylä sidelined Porthen with a back injury. Espoo, on their hand, won two of their three games against Tampere, the final one a legendary 11-inning scrap with five home runs, 33 hits, very tired and inexperienced pitchers, and five hits for Niko Jutila. With Turku losing their final game of the series, the teams were tied at 65, now with just four games to go.

Espoo, however, faced Helsinki, while Turku played Lappeenranta. It should have been easy, but after a long season Helminen gave up three hits and four runs in the eighth, and the Emeralds lost 3-4. Still tied, and now Santeri Miettinen was called into action for Turku. It worked, as Turku prevailed 7-1 and gained a one-game lead, while Espoo fell 2-9 to Helsinki. A final 5-2 effort sealed Turku's final place, and thus it was ready for best of five between Helsinki and Turku.

Final standings

Helsinki 76-50
Turku 67-59
Espoo 66-60
Tampere 64-62
Jyväskyla 64-62
Vaasa 62-64
Kotka 55-71
Lappeenranta 50-76

The two southeastern sides need to get their act together.

What kept me up last night was this match, however - the first final of the Finnish Championship 2009. The league season had shown that Helsinki had come back to the back, would it hold true in the finals?

Turku began the match with a line drive by CF Jehan Johnsson and a big skier from 2B Ilkka Mäyrä, which helped Johnsson to get home after just three batters, and the Emeralds had got a perfect start to their opening match in Helsinki. Yet, after hitting a double, Mäyrä was caught stealing, rescinding the advantage.

Turku pitcher Teijo Helminen began his postseason career by striking out 1B Teemu Paakkarinen - an excellent start. The test, however, would be the middle order, where he struck out SS Valio Hautala and had 3B Uoti Lind caught at second. C Pellervo Mainila reached first with a broken bat, but it was a good start for Turku nevertheless.

The second inning was hitless for both sides, though P Ilmo Hannula had less trouble than Helminen, a sign of the batting strength of Helsinki. However, both RF Urpo Parviainen and SS Raimo Kyllonen got on base for Turku in the third, and Johnsson smacked a gigantic shot only for CF Vesa Kinnunen to hold it at center. C Petter Blackberg struck out, leaving young Mäyrä with the responsibility of a man on third and 2 outs; a skier was sent to RF Tarvo Lipponen, and another opportunity went begging.

Double plays from either side followed, while Helsinki's fourth inning was eminently stopped by Helminen. In the fifth he hit LF Johannes Louramo with a pitch; however, Louramo attempted a steal and was thrown out by Blackberg, so Turku survived with an out. Laitila, up next, managed to hit out to short center for a sweet single, before two easy outs saw Turku take a 1-0 lead at the half-game stretch.

Turku manufactured more runs at the top of the sixth. A line drive by Johnsson went into the corner for a double, and Johnsson then stole on Hannula's first ball - down to third with no outs. Blackberg hit out to right center, before Mäyrä was somewhat inexplicably walked; DH Okko Hirschovits said many thanks, hit out to left, and allowed Johnsson to come home for a 2-0 advantage. Turku then had a fine running catch, a third base groundball error, and a double play in the same half-inning - that makes for three outs, so Helsinki got nowhere again, and the Emeralds began to think this feasible.

3B Jalmari Jokela got to first in the middle of the seventh, but a pinch hitting ploy with Niiranen failed and Helminen was forced to rely on strikeouts in inning seven. Instead, he allowed a thumping line drive for a Lind double, and the in-form Louramo was up next. A perfect time for a K, and Helminen delivered; however, 1B Jami Suomalainen was not quite up to the next grounder from DH Aki Laitila, and Lind managed to get home for Helsinki's first run. Lipponen was not so lucky with his thump to left though, as Niiranen did a fine job at shortstop and prevented the Helsinki score.

2-1 at the top of the eighth, and Helsinki brought on a new pitcher, Riku Tuores. The reliever had a not-frightening 4.05 ERA this season, and was facing the hot Jehan Johnsson, but struck him out easily. Blackberg then earned a walk, but was out at second following Mäyrä's weak drive, which left Turku in a rather hopeless position. Lipponen held a line drive from Hirschovits and the inning was over.

Helminen set himself steady for an eighth inning, having already thrown 106 pitches and presumably remembering the Lappeenranta debacle. No such problems; three easy outs at first, and Turku had the chance to bat against a tired reliever, but only managed a similar result.

In came the closer. Voitto Hostikka has a lot to do with his control before he is the finished article, but has improved this season already, and is better than a tired Helminen who would potentially be needed for game four or five. Timo Väinöla was also sent on in a defensive ploy, but nearly messed up a simple throw at short; Suomalainen cleaned up for him, however. Hostikka then walked Hautala, but Niiranen was responsible for a double play, as Turku won 2-1 and became the first side to beat Helsinki in the postseason.

Turku 2 Helsinki 1
Hits: Johnsson 2 (1 double), Mäyrä (double), Jokela, Parviainen, Kyllonen; Laitila 2, Mainila, Lind (double), Hakkarainen
Win: Helminen 8 I, 5 H, 6 K; Loss: Hannula 7 I, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Save: Hostikka 1 I, 1 BB

[Loeffle]

Hyvää Suomi!

Did you fix the weather file as well or are there many rain-/snowouts?

I just remember Finland in april ...

[Samuel Vimes]

Originally Posted by Loeffle

Hyvää Suomi!

Did you fix the weather file as well or are there many rain-/snowouts?

I just remember Finland in april ...

Forgot that bit! As said, my universe lacks in realism for a while. Helsinki seem to have realistic weather (11 degrees Fahrenheit during "spring" training), yet it doesn't have much impact on the results (it seems)

[Loeffle]

Originally Posted by Samuel Vimes

Forgot that bit! As said, my universe lacks in realism for a while. Helsinki seem to have realistic weather (11 degrees Fahrenheit during "spring" training), yet it doesn't have much impact on the results (it seems)

Sounds good
For my minor affiliate in Yellowknife (Canada) I had some really nasty weather conditions. The game was rather accurate on that.

Lykke til for din dynasty