2012-2013 Offseason Roster/Formation discussion

Not quite. The Rapids essentially cut positions 29 and 30 last year and turned them into allocation money (as allowed under the rules). So we only had a 28 man roster last year.

Only the top 20 players count against the cap. Teams are required to have 18 players on the roster, if they have less than that they are charged a set amount against the cap for the empty slots up to 18. Slots 19 and 20 can be left empty and slots 21-30 filled, and then you spread the cap among those 18 players.

MLS has never revealed to the public (its in the CBA) the exact method to determine who's a cap player and who's an off-cap player (except for GA and HG being off-cap) but its not as simple as the top 20 salaries. I believe there's a maximum an off-cap player can make in salary before they have to be a cap player.

 

Coincidentially I was planning my first roster analysis of the offseason tonight on my blog:

http://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2012/12/roster-analysis.html

In short: 9 spots open, 1.6 million in cap (minus Thomas, Pablo, and Wynne salaries), only 4 defenders, no need to panic yet but we need defenders, not attacking players.

 

We do need defensive players, by default. At this point it's sort of like the expansion Mets needing a catcher.

But am I the only one concerned that so far the offensive changes consist of Harris and Buddle? If he's the 2010 Buddle, that will certainly help. But even if just due to age and mileage, he probably won't quite reach those heights, and will need service.

 

No, your not alone. The thing about Buddle before there was the 2010 version there was the 2009 and the 2007 versions. He could be hot, he could be cold. His record keeps you guessing.

My thing about the defense is that there were 15 teams better at defense and of the 10 that made the playoffs all of them were better. Of the 10 teams that made the playoffs two produced fewer goals than the Rapids, one of which won its conference.

The 2011 squad struggled with injuries to Wynne, Casey, Smith, Cummings, and Mullan - as good as an injury - yet it scored as many goals. It still managed to make the playoffs because it held the opposition to 9 fewer goals than the 2012 team. That's all, nine fewer goals and they probably edge out Vancouver for the final spot.

I think with Buddle the team can squeeze out another 44 goal season. Right now I think it'll struggle to keep the goals against under 50.

 

I liked Freeman. He was a very good crosser of the ball, had good speed and fairly good tactical sense. To me he was a substantial upgrade for Kimura. Since he was not reclaimed by the Rapids in re-entry round 2, IMO, his bridge to the Rapids has likely been burned.

 

I thought Freeman was picked up by the Revolution.

 

I think the only one we've traded away is the one to Vancouver that will now continue through the Atiba Harris trade. We have a permanent one from FSL, so that would cancel out and leave us at the default of 8. Maybe I'm forgetting one, but that would still put us at 7.

Currently only 3 are in use.

 

This is not a tangible, but rather a mention in a Honduran paper from November about Peri Martinez. Maybe it's old news, but it said he had the possibility of playing on the MLS team where Hendry Thomas was playing. It might make sense in light of letting Cummings go, since he's also a player know for his speed.

http://www.latribunadeportiva.hn/2012/11/06/peri-martinez-aparece-en-marathon/

Por ahora espero seguir jugando en el extranjero, hay posibilidades en la MLS en el equipo donde juega Hendry Thomas, y en Grecia, pero en Honduras por ahora no.

 

Any news on the Calderon front?

 

I imagine everyone is enjoying a holiday right now. Wouldn't expect much of any news across MLS until the new year.

 

his contract runs through monday expect news shortly thereafter

 

link?

 

One nit, Avila is not yet signed.

 

I am fond of Avila having followed his youth career in Bradenton. However, his MLS career is undistinguished thus far. I believe that he could still blossom in the Rapids 3-3-4 system but I do not consider him a threat to signing a contract elsewhere, his recent history is not in his favor.

 

Article on Buddle joining the Rapids from the Post, with yet another factual inaccuracy, or at the very least adding instead of removing confusion. They suggest we traded a first round pick for him. Technically we did, but it was a first round pick in the Supplemental Draft, which isn't what any non-MLS fan thinks of when you hear first-round pick.

http://www.denverpost.com/rapids/ci_22281389/edson-buddle-looking-fresh-start-colorado-rapids-mls

 

Adrian Dater wrote it. I suppose he's just he's even writing about the Rapids. Remember last summer when he wrote about noticing Dave Dir was back? It was almost 2 months after Dir was hired.