Doyle: Hernandez injury influenced list of protected players

On a day that saw Philadelphia Union claim up-and-coming midfielder Shea Salinas in the 2009 expansion draft, San Jose general manager John Doyle expressed disappointment at losing the franchise’s first ever draft choice, while at the same time sticking by his reasons for leaving him unprotected.

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So long Shea

The San Jose Earthquakes knew they were taking a calculated risk by leaving winger Shea Salinas exposed in Wednesday’s expansion draft. As it turned out, their worst fears were realized, with the Philadelphia Union selecting the Furman product, along with nine other players.

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Quakes expose Convey, Salinas to Expansion Draft

Kudos to Jeff Carlisle for identifying all the players the Earthquakes would protect, save one, in the expansion draft which will stock the Philadelphia Union with their first ten players later this week. My illustrious Center Line Soccer stablemate only missed the inclusion of defender Bobby Burling on the list, which was just released by the team this afternoon.

Off-limits to the groping hands of Philadelphia are the following:

Arturo Alvarez
Bobby Burling
Joe Cannon
Ramiro Corrales
Cornell Glen
Jason Hernandez
Ryan Johnson
Chris Leitch
Brandon McDonald
Andre Luiz Moreira
Ramón Sánchez

Shocking, isn’t it? I mean, honestly — who knew Andre Luiz had a last name?

Actually, the surprising part comes in the list of who the Earthquakes didn’t protect:

Quincy Amarikwa
Bobby Convey
Simon Elliott
Mike Graczyk
Darren Huckerby
Aaron Pitchkolan
Antonio Riberio
Jamil Roberts
Shea Salinas
Andrew Weber
Chris Wondolowski
Mike Zaher

Leaving Bobby Convey exposed is a calculated risk. It’s well known that he and Union head coach Peter Nowak just don’t like each other, so it’s unlikely that he’ll get picked in the draft unless Nowak can arrange an immediate trade to another MLS side. Convey’s high salary — his guaranteed compensation in 2009 totaled almost $250,000 — may also serve as a deterrent to bargain hunters around the league.

The team’s biggest gamble in my book is leaving Shea Salinas unprotected. While his game still has to grow before he can be considered a key player for the Quakes, he has shown a lot of progress in his two years with the club and, on top of that, has the unteachable gifts of speed and stamina that allow him to cruise the sidelines tirelessly every match.

Philadelphia makes their picks on Wednesday.  Here’s hoping the line used in the Quakes’ 2009 advertising campaign — “Where’s Salinas?” — doesn’t take on a new meaning when the team takes the field in 2010.

MLS Cup 2009 photo gallery

Enjoy Center Line Soccer’s gallery of images from MLS Cup 2009, held November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle.

MLS Cup 2009 post-game interviews
November 22, 2009

Bringing home the first professional sports championship to their city, Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night to take home the MLS Cup, outscoring the star-studded side 5-4 on penalties after 120 minutes of 1-1 soccer.

Center Line Soccer’s Robert Jonas was on hand at the match to capture a half-time interview with league commissioner Don Garber as well as post-game audio from RSL’s Kyle Beckerman and Robbie Russell as well as the Galaxy’s Bruce Arena, Landon Donovan, David Beckham, and Josh Saunders. Read more…

Ain’t nothing like the Real thing
RSL vanquishes Galaxy to win MLS Cup 2009

Kyle Beckerman celebrates Real Salt Lake’s MLS Cup victory over the L.A. Galaxy. Photo: John Todd, isiphotos.com

Center Line Soccer’s full coverage of MLS Cup 2009 includes audio interviews and a photo gallery.

SEATTLE - The big story of the 2009 MLS season was the Los Angeles Galaxy improving from worst to first in the Western Conference. The big story for the 2009 post-season is Real Salt Lake going from the lowest seeded contender to the MLS Cup Championship. Following a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes of play, Real Salt Lake beat the odds in taking out the big-name Galaxy by winning the penalty kick shootout 5-4.

Third-year head coach Jason Kreis shed his normal stoic pose for one of exaltation following the match. “I’m obviously, extremely, extremely pleased for the players first and foremost. They’ve put in so much work over the two years most of them have been together now. We started off with a dream and an idea about what this team could look like and would look like over time.” Read more…

Let the silly season begin

The MLS season is now done, which means the expansion draft lists will be released Monday. Here’s my take on who should be protected for San Jose

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For MLS Cup 2009, the advantage goes to the Galaxy

When Real Salt Lake met the Galaxy in June at Home Depot Center, forward Yura Movsisyan was able to beat LA Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts for a goal en route to a 2-0 victory. Of course, LA was without their high-priced talent, Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Photo: Michael Janosz, isiphotos.com

Before the MLS playoffs began, the consensus was that the teams in the Western Conference were more prepared than their Eastern Conference counterparts to the lift the MLS Cup in Seattle on November 22nd. Little did we know then how prophetic that sentiment was, as the peculiarities of the MLS playoff system leave us with both entries in the Final representing the West. The Los Angeles Galaxy — the top seed out of the West entering the post-season — and Real Salt Lake — vanquishers of the best the Eastern Conference had to offer — face off at Qwest Field with the 2009 MLS Championship and the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy at stake.

One of the lessons learned in this post season was how futile it was to predict the winners of the matches ahead of time. In a league that features a competitive balance among its member teams, forecasting match results may as well be done with the flip of a coin. Yet having said that, a comprehensive analysis of the qualities of both the Galaxy and RSL should indicate whether one team of the other should be considered the favorite to lift the MLS Cup. In this preview we look at the players that should impact the result, the coaches who lead their teams through the MLS playoff minefield, and those intangibles that may swing the momentum toward one team or the other. Read more…

Doyle: Quakes “more interested” in acquiring DP

 
The Earthquakes are looking to sign a Designated Player, but it won’t be Stephen Appiah of Ghana, who was recently shopped to the team. Photo: Brooks Parkenridge, isiphotos.com.

While the San Jose Earthquakes finished the 2009 season better than they started, it’s clear that to continue that trend additional reinforcements will be needed. For that reason, San Jose general manager John Doyle has indicated an increased willingness on the part of the Quakes to pursue a Designated Player.

Previously, Doyle had stated that owners Lew Wolff and John Fisher were open to the idea, but with the team headed in a more positive direction, the Quakes’ G.M. feels the team is better positioned to maximize the kind of contribution that a DP would make.

“In the past, we weren’t ready,” said Doyle. “Now I think we have a good team, a good base of players. We’re more interested in doing it.

“The salary cap is probably going to go up. Lew Wolff and John Fisher said that if we needed a DP to be successful, they’d be willing to do it. And Frank [Yallop] and I are saying we do.” Read more…

No team is a sure thing in MLS playoffs

John Wolyniec and Dane Richards of the New York Red Bulls showed the Houston Dynamo last year that being the higher seed does not necessarily mean victory. Photo: Wendy Larsen, isiphotos.com.

The second round of the MLS Cup Playoffs has the two higher seeds in each conference hosting their opponents from last week’s match-ups. In the four matches from last week, the home teams either tied or won, leaving the seeded favorites with work to do if they hope to advance to the conference finals. The paths seem more difficult in the Eastern Conference, where the Columbus Crew and the Chicago Fire each trail in their aggregate-goal series by a one-goal deficit. In the Western Conference, the higher seeds fared much better in their first matches. Both the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy earned hard-fought draws against their respective opponents Seattle Sounders FC and Chivas USA, setting up winner-take-all match-ups in their home stadiums.

On the surface, it is fair to say that the playoff results have been as anticipated. The four higher seeded teams look primed to return home and earn the victories necessary to advance to the semifinals. However, this outcome would seem very much in doubt when analyzed through the lens of history. In the years since MLS moved to an aggregate-goal home-and-home series to determine the teams that advance from the first round of the playoffs, a significant number of higher seeded teams have lost to their lower ranked opponents. Out of the 24 series in the past six years, the higher seed has advanced in just 15, only 63 percent of the time. The prospects for the higher seeds get even worse when looking at the specific circumstances of the four teams this year. Since 2003, 7 out of 12 times (58%) the higher seeded team survived after losing the first leg of the series, and 4 out of 7 times (57%) the higher team advanced after a first match draw. Read more…