Talvisuper, which starts on Saturday, replaces the previous Halli-SM. Jani Komulainen, game manager of Manse PP, is satisfied when the high-stakes games increase.
The new baseball season kicks off exceptionally early, when the new Talvisuper indoor series starts on Saturday in Tampere with the meeting between the men of Manse PP and Vimpelin Veto. Talvisuper replaces the previous winter series Halli-SM, and the most significant thing is that the number of high-stakes games increases already in winter.
In the Winter Super, the men’s and women’s teams are divided into A and B groups, and the Main Series is played as a simple one. The women’s team includes all Superpesis teams, and the men’s team includes Puijon Pesis from Ykköspesis in addition to the main series.
The women’s first match will be played on January 7, when Joensuun Maila meets Kirittäret in their home hall.
As in the Halli-SM concept, also in the Talvisuper, the championships are decided in the final tournaments of four teams, where the two best teams of the groups play cross-over semi-finals on Saturday. On Sunday, it’s the turn of the medal games.
The final tournament of the Women’s Winter Super will be played on March 23-24. In Seinäjoki, and the men’s final tournament is scheduled for April 6–7. in Joensuu.
“Very happy with the decision”
Manse PP’s game manager Jani Komulainen sees as positive the idea of making baseball an even more year-round sport. The training season has traditionally been long, and the playing season only lasts through the summer months.
– I am very satisfied with the decision. I see this as an opportunity not only for Superpesis, but also for the teams. We get tough games, where we get to test the way we play or our own players. That way, you also get more value for your training.
Teams are likely to rotate their lineups during the winter, and Talvisuper offers the opportunity to give younger players exposure in high-stakes matches. The Winter Games will also give the first taste of the top teams in the new coaching, as five of the seven top-ranked teams in the men’s Super have changed managers.
Komulainen, who has celebrated the WC gold 12 times as a player and once as a manager, says that Manse is serious about winning the series.
– Of course we recycle, but we go out to win every game and take the series seriously. Conversely, there can be no better place for juniors to gain experience than stakes games. There, coaching sees game situations that cannot always be built in practice.
Question marks have also been attached to the expanding winter series due to, among other things, rising costs. The teams are in an unequal position, because not everyone has their own hall. In addition, some of the matches are played at an inconvenient time, and for example Manse plays one of its first group matches from 11 o’clock.
– Then you have to be really careful in how you use the morning so that you are ready for the game. That way, I don’t see any problems or risks with regard to the load on the players, because we would be playing practice games anyway.
– At least our players have sensed that they want to play. Games are those holidays, and in that sense, this is only positive.
Individuals’ performance security above
Hallipesis does not excite all fans of the national game, because the rules of playing are very different, the ball does not travel like in the summer months and, for example, the threat of a breakthrough is not at all the same as when playing outside.
Komulainen says that Mansen’s most important game goal at the beginning is to develop the basic performance of individuals.
– When we go into the months of the beginning of the year, we have had time to refine, plan and test the joint game. Now let’s start from the performance reliability and level of the individuals. Those are key things at this point.
The last winter of the 2021 Finnish champion was turbulent, when Komulainen jumped with a shock Toni Kohonen replaced as game director only in March. The season ended with the loss of the decisive bronze match in Kempele.
Now Tampere has been able to prepare in a much calmer atmosphere.
– The first joint training sessions were on October 16. Now we are in a completely different situation, and now the basics have been put in order in terms of physics and playing. A prerequisite has been created for game development since January, says Komulainen.
In the winter super, we will also see a new rule change in practice, because next season the super round will no longer be played, but if the periods are tied, we will go directly to the home run competition.