I'll reserve absolute judgment until we see what they do with the SI spot, but right now I don't like it. Torres has struggled this year, but he has still been better than Jack Stewart. But the thing about Torres is that he has at least shown in the past that he can really play well. He was outstanding last year until the injury, almost up there with Talley and Cunningham. I don't like the idea of dumping a decent player having a bad year (after coming off an injury and playing behind a poor defensive midfield) instead of a player who at best has been mediocre, but has also had his very poor performances. And as I see it this year is over anyway, and next year we need another central defender to replace Pope. I would have taken my chances with Torres getting his good form back over Stewart becoming a good player. Again I realize this was probably part of a larger move to make SI and roster space, but given RSL's track record with those acquisitions (actually, I would argue that Danny Torres has been RSL's best SI ever), I can't say I'm optimistic.
Torres' injury in July 2006 may have derailed more than just a strong season last year, and returned him to the mediocre player who toiled as an average defender for Columbus in 2002 before being released in mid-2003. He was terrific for about two-fifths of the season last year (late May-early July) before the injury, and I was as optimistic as everyone that our central defense might've been the strongest in the league. But that isn't what happened at all, and at $90k, an SI, and older, it's Torres out over Stewart. But even Stewart didn't make the subs bench against KC (he played for the reserve side in the win), so who is to say that he isn't on the block as well?
Again, it all depends on what they do with it. If they cut him with a specific purpose in mind, such as a necessary SI slot for a player they are certain they will sign, then okay. But if they cut him just to save money that they don't end up using this year , it's a total waste because we don't know what's going to happen down the stretch or next year. What if Pope gets hurt, or any other central defender? Or what if it proves much harder to find a good replacement for him? Why couldn't they keep him, and cut him when they had a definite deal in place with someone else (maybe they do, we'll see)? They could do to him what they did to Williams, cut him and renegotiate. The point is that Torres has shown that he has ability, he's just not consistent. The same can't be said for Stewart. So why not keep him and try to get the best out of him until you find something better or cheaper? Of course I, like everyone else would like to think they made this move to free up the SI slot for the next superstar out of Argentina, but I think you can see why I'm cynical about that. And I think that if they did do for that reason, and they do sign 3 SI's in before the window closes, they better be VERY good. If even one is a bust this move was a mistake, because they've disrupted the team. One of the things I know for certain about soccer is that familiarity is almost if not entirely as important as talent. The best teams in the league are the ones with good talent but also the least turnaround among core players. DC, Houston, and New England have hardly changed over the last 4-5 years. And the changes have been quiet, in the offseason, and just a few players at a time. Not only does this make their core group of players better, but it makes it easier for players to step into these teams. Although I certainly recognize the need to cleanse the team of Ellinger's influence, sometimes I think Kreis makes changes for that reason alone. I think you need to keep anybody with potential unless you know for certain you are getting something better in return. Because if it doesn't work out you have set yourself back forcing the team to constantly be learning how to play together. Torres may have been playing badly, but he can play and he has been with the team. RSL seems to very impatient with certain players, like Torres, Nolly, Countess, Besagno, Watson, Cunningham, Adu, Novak, Seitz, Cabrera, and probably more while players like Kreis, Chris Brown, Atiba Harris, Clint Mathis and Scott Garlick were putting in bad performances over and over without reprimand. One mistake for the other guys and they wouldn't see the field again for weeks. The team has been losing since the beginning except for a couple months last year. And in all that time the team has nothing to show for it. The players who could have been playing, improving and learning to play together are either not with the team or not playing still. RSL might be just as well off to cut and trade every single player, because at the moment there is very little to build on. If RSL would just be patient with the guys like Torres who clearly have potential and have shown it, the team would be much better off. It's the like Atiba Harris (is he an SI?) who rarely have good games, have very limited potential yet play all the time that keep RSL down. Even if Atiba can at this moment do a little more on the field than say Besagno, I see no reason to believe that Atiba will ever become a good player. Besagno has some weaknesses, but has shown a little talent as well. Give him a shot, let him play, learn the game and his team on the field, and in two years RSL will be better for it. Same with Torres. Keep him, use him when you can, let him get out of his funk, and RSL as a team gets better, even if Torres never becomes more than a good backup. Honestly I don't think $90k is a lot for a good backup central defender, especially as the salary cap increases in upcoming years. And if he will be a backup, he won't be able to ask for that money in future contracts. So RSL shold just eat it while they have the cap room and deal with it when it actually becomes an issue.
Torres waiver made Official. RSL also waives Backup Keeper Matt Wideman Re-sassigns Atiba Harris to Youth International Roster
One of the newspaper articles mentioned that Attiba was reassigned to a YI slot from a SI one. Don't know how that works. It also lists Kipre as a SI.
MLS rules say that a Youth International is a player under the age of 24 that is not an American or that does not have a green card. Kipre is 22 = YI Atiba Harris was moved to the Senior International list last year. This year he was put back on the YI list. As of today RSL has 5 Senior Internationals on "trial" 3 Argentine players 1 Frenchman 1 Nigerian I have it on good authority that the 3 Argentines will be signed as soon as their Work permits are settled. The Nigerian and Frenchman will not be signed. So yes Danny Torres was released and Harris was shuffled to make room for the 3 Argentine players. Kipre and Harris are Youth Internationals. RSL is leaving the 4th SI spot open for a potential DP signing but at this point there are no leads on who a DP will be.
Ok, what I believe is happening is that YIs (under 25) are allowed to be counted as SIs if a team chooses to do so. RSL has 2 YI slots by my count; one was traded permanently for the rights to Adolfo Gregorio. They also traded a slot to Chivas for Jeff Stewart in 2004, and I'm uncertain how long that was for.
Not unless you are a moron... Why not keep Danny around until you do sign the DP and then release him?
I believe Jason said that he wanted to give Danny to find another team before the transfer window closes...
http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/pla...regorio_a&playerId=gre246308&statType=current See here for more on foreign player rules.
I know this is about Torres, but scaryice's links say we traded a permanent YI to the Crapids for Adolfo Gregorio. I tried finding stuff about him on the net, but he's disappeared. WTF? I don't remember him in the 6 games he played for us in 2005. could someone tell me if he was good or not, and why we made the trade?... Oh wait, he played on the U-17 team with Ellinger as coach. Thanks a ton a$$hole. That's half of my question. Was he any good in the first place?
He was decent but certainly not worth the spot. He had a history of injuries before we traded for him and he retired because of a leg injury.