The Monday Morning Midfielder: Stumbling towards the finish

Now that everyone has taken a swing at the piñata that is Abby Okulaja, it’s time to take a look at what is really ailing the Quakes: the play of the team’s midfield.

Simply put, the San Jose midfield has been underwhelming in the last two games, highlighting just how much the team misses Ramiro Corrales. Certainly Ned Grabavoy hasn’t covered himself in glory the last two games, but he is what he is: A smaller, occasionally skillful player who can’t really match up physically with some of the more athletic midfielders in the league. The guy I’ve really been disappointed in has been Francisco Lima. He may be the fittest 37-year-old on the planet, and he may be able to kick the snot out of people, but his passing has been unimpressive the last couple of weeks. Even his defense, thought to be his strength, hasn’t been as sharp. I’m beginning to wonder if he hasn’t already been sussed out by the league.

That said, Ronnie O’Brien hasn’t been much better. It looked like there were times against Dallas where he seemed confused about which team he was playing on. I’m also wondering if the physical toll of the season is beginning to add up for ROB. I remember asking him after the Houston game if is knee was bothering him at all. He responded, “That’s about the only thing that doesn’t hurt at the moment.”

Chivas - who seem to be peaking right now - certainly have the right combination of skill and nasty in midfield to make life difficult for the Quakes this Saturday. Jesse Marsch is the resident enforcer, leaving the likes of Sacha Kljestan, Sasha Victorine, and Francisco Mendoza to provide the skill. It means that the team can’t rely solely on Darren Huckerby to perform miracles every week. Lima, O’Brien, and Grabavoy will all need to raise their respective games in order for San Jose to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

Speaking of which, it now appears that the race for the last two playoff spots will be contested by four teams: Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Colorado, and San Jose. Here are the team’s respective schedules:

Real Salt Lake: New York, FC Dallas, @Colorado

FC Dallas: Toronto, @Real Salt Lake, @Los Angeles

Colorado: @Los Angeles, @Chivas USA, Real Salt Lake

San Jose: Chivas USA, @Houston, @Kansas City, Toronto

RSL, with two home games on the docket appear to have the inside track, but their home matches will be coming at their brand new Rio Tinto Stadium, meaning that the venue will be just as unfamiliar to them as it will their opponents. That said, I think just getting four points from those two games should be enough to see them through.

FC Dallas also appears to be in decent shape, since they have a home game and a final road match against what is likely to be a highly disinterested L.A. side. With Colorado’s defense looking more like the Maginot Line these days, their chances don’t look as good, and their one remaining home game is against an RSL outfit that would like nothing better than to ruin the Rapids’ postseason hopes for the second year running.

The Quakes? It’s looking like nine points is the absolute minimum they’ll need. That requires FCD and Colorado to go 1-1-1 at best.  If any of those teams get’s two wins, it’s over.