Tuesday news day

Welcome to today’s edition of the world’s finest solar-powered Earthquakes-related blog, where we come on a mission of mercy. The vast majority of the news today  is negative — Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America has gone so far to write a story headlined, “RSL exposes bleak San Jose future” — but we’re going to do our best to balance out the bad with the good (or at least balance the bad with the not-so-bad) so that Quakes fans don’t become despondent in the early days of what promises to be a beautiful California summer.

Yes, summer is here and, if you’re a San Jose fan, the chances are good that you live in California. Aren’t you feeling better already?

Well, you’re certainly feeling better than the Earthquakes Reserves, who were crushed 4-0 on Sunday by the Real Salt Lake Reserves. This may seem like pretty bad news, but let’s be realistic: the first-string Quakes were shorthanded on Saturday and the Reserves were likely playing with many of their own reserves in the starting lineup. Sure, it was a 4-0 loss, but it was really the RSL Reserves playing the Earthquakes Reserves’ reserves, so the result isn’t that important. What really matters is that the Reserves’ reserves got valuable experience that they would not have received otherwise, thanks to the chain reaction caused by the absence of some Earthquakes starters due to international duties. Over time, this will make the Earthquakes Reserves’ reserves much stronger players, and that will benefit the Earthquakes Reserves (and maybe even the Earthquakes) in the future.

Speaking of those international call-ups, there’s some good news there. Granted, the results were not particularly good — Venezuela came from behind to tie Ivan Guerrero and Honduras, 1-1, and Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone were blanked 2-0 at Equatorial Guinea — but Guerrero is reported to have played well and Kamara went the full 90 minutes at forward for Sierra Leone. Honduras begins their World Cup qualifying run tomorrow against Puerto Rico in San Pedro Sula, while Sierra Leone hosts the formidable Nigeria on Saturday as their qualifiers continue.

Next, we note that Real Salt Lake forward Robbie Findley was named MLS Player of the Week after his performance against San Jose. This marks the third time in nine weeks that an Earthquakes’ opponent has gone on to win the honor, with Findley following in the footsteps of David Beckham (week 2) and Robbie Rogers (week 7). If the trend continues, that would mean that one out of every three players of the week would have earned that distinction through their play against San Jose. On the bright side, by helping young American players like Findley and Rogers succeed, we may see improvements to the U.S. men’s national team in the years to come.

Next, we have what may be genuinely good news. Today, England’s Daily Telegraph newspaper gives us more information on the potential transfer of out-of-contract defender Gary Doherty to the Quakes. Doherty, 28, is a former Ireland international who most recently played with Norwich City, and Canaries manager Glenn Roeder has repeatedly referred to him as “a rock” in defense for the club. The paper also notes that Roeder said, “We have no reason to be thinking negatively,” regarding Doherty’s signing. “You’ll have to wait; it’s a matter of time,” he went on. “But we’re very positive that the players that we want to re-sign, will sign.” Since we’re balancing out things today, we will note that there’s a chance that Doherty’s agent could just be using San Jose’s interest as a way of securing higher wages from his English club, but let’s not underestimate the appeal of California sun when compared to the gray skies of East Anglia.

Finally, we have to address the Soccer America story about San Jose’s “bleak future.” The Quakes are in the basement and it is likely that they will still have the worst record in MLS even if they beat Columbus on Saturday. Yes, that does sound pretty bleak, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

For one thing, there’s still a ton of soccer left to play. Saturday’s match will be the team’s 10th, leaving us with exactly two-thirds of the season remaining. After tonight’s match between Houston and DC United, the Quakes will have three games in hand on DC, the team immediately above them in the standings. In fact, the Quakes have played at least one fewer game than 10 of their MLS foes. So, not only is there time, but San Jose will also have more opportunities to make up ground than almost any team in the league. This is a good thing.

It could get even better, but the team’s next move is critical. If the Quakes make a significant mid-summer signing, he’d be likely to join the team on July 1. As of that date, San Jose will still have 16 games to play overall, with a whopping 10 of them at home. Considering how good the team has looked when playing at Buck Shaw Stadium and how badly they’ve played on the road, this could be huge.

In any case, it’s premature to bury the Quakes so early in the season. The playoffs aren’t even out of the question yet.