Does anybody know which 12 players we protected from the expansion draft?? The deadline was yesterday, but I cannot find any lists published anywhere...
I believe the list will be released on mlsnet.com on Weds. I didn't see any leaks in the news articles of the day thread. Tony
Apparently no one in San Jose cares, but we RSL fans sure do. If none of these guys' status is changing, then this is how I would do it if I were SJ staff: INELIGIBLE TO BE DRAFTED (p-40, developmental, transitional international) Alvarez Cochrane Cronin Dombrowski Levesque 12 PROTECTED PLAYERS Agoos Ching Onstad Corrales Dayak De Rosario Donovan (in hopes he might stay/in order to protect big allocation) Ekelund Dunivant Mullan Mulrooney Waibel EXPOSED Brown Russell Hart Conway Robinson Walker At least that's what I would guess. I really hope they leave Walker exposed too, and that RSL is smart enough to pick him up. Wait a minute. I'm just now reading the Lalas interview. He says DeRosario is out of contract. Damn. That must mean they don't need to protect him, and they're more likely to protect Walker. Son of a.
Is there any point in protecting Dayak? Hasn't he declared several times that he will only play in San Jose? Correct me if I'm wrong...
Fixed to match my wishes.....but Dom will protect Corrales if he is allowed to....and yes, I still have faith that Robinson will get healthy.
Got this from Goodsie's other thread...thought i belonged here. I'm surprised aboout Goose and Ronnie-wowser! I wonder how Jeff is feeling about all this? Sad to see Chris will probably be going. Not as if he has contriuted anything in this last season, but I like the guy a lot. If it wasn't for him and that header, we would only have one cup under our belts......... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/17/SPGO49SJF01.DTL
So if true you guys are exposing: Goos Eklund Roner Walker Conway Brown Hart From a DCU fan's standpoint this is a good list for you guys. No way are either Agoos or Eklund gonna be picked. Walker may be the biggest risk here. But you guys have nore informed opinions than me so what do you think?
I think it is a good list, too. It is highly doubtful that Goos and Ronnie will be selected by the other clubs because of age/$$$. I doubt there are any hurt feelings for either one of them by their inclusion because they understand those facts from a business standpoint. Even if they didn't, I would suspect Dom or someone from the FO would have sat them down and forewarned them, just so there were no misunderstandings. The most intriguing name on the list to me is Conway. I am wondering if this comes about because Dom has seen evidence that Cronin is ready to become #2 behind Onstad or if Conway has expressed a desire to move on or if there is some other reason. Mainly, I am interested to see if this is a hint toward Cronin's improvement/status for next season. I'm anxious to see who was protected by the other teams.
Agoos and Ekelund are not a surprise, given their age and salary, though the latter can still be used for spot play. Ronerwas an injury risk, and Walker didn't get any PT or wasn't a fit for DK. Hart and Brown were just there for role duty--fill in when a player is out or injured. Corrales protected? Team must have thought he has value, and could be dangled as bait. DeRo might be off to greener pastures, and Waibel is a very versitile player who could play mostly on the back but has shown he could push the ball forward. I would think that he wants to remain here. Interesting to see who will get picked for RSL.
I have a hunch that Agoos will be picked up. If you want to build a good defense with a good captian-material, this is a good guy to have (even if he can only play for another 1-2 years max).
I think they put Conway on the list because they don't think he will get picked up...same with Ekelund and Agoos. Although, I agree with the previous post that Agoos is still a good pick to build a team around...especially if you are looking for a proven leader. My thinking is that they protected Corrales for a couple of reason. First, I think it will be interesting to see who Chivas USA picks up. They will more than likely pick up a few off the list which will simply be used as trade bait. The Quakes could very well trade Corrales to Chivas for a top player. You may even see Alvarez involved in a trade as well. It all depends on who Chivas picks up. But, the Quakes could position themselves very well using Corrales and Alvarez as trade bait for Chivas. I wouldn't really look into this list all that much to be honest. It's all positioning. It becomes interesting when you start seeing how the 2 expansion teams start working the list. I think you'll start to see some interesting picks that set up a few teams for trades, and not really picks to build a team around. So, I think you will see RSL and Chivas going in totally different directions. I think it's more important for RSL to have a young and exciting team in order to keep the attention of fans. Chivas will more than likely already have a solid fan base.
I disagree. Both new teams will need keeping, preferably w/experience. I think Cronin's upside was greater, and that the SJ management is looking at him for the future. I don't understand this feeling that Corrales is Chivas-bound. Yeah, it's neato that his parents like Chivas, but he's playing for his hometown side here, has won two titles, and has no great reason to leave (other than the perceived Hispanic-ness of Chivas USA). Today's Chronicle reports that Corrales is out of contract, and could theoretically negotiate his own deal with another side. (DeRo and Waibs are also out of contract.) If the Quakes were really afraid that Corrales was leaning towards leaving, wouldn't they expose him? That's what typically happens in any sport's expansion drafts. Several of the players the Sharks drafted in their initial expansion draft (i.e., Shane Churla) were simply to be dealt back to their former teams for packages of players and draft picks.
Regarding Goose, I remember saying this at the CQ tailgate party and people thought I was crazy: sure, exposing him was likely due to age/salary, but I'm not sure one of the expansion teams wouldn't mind selecting Goose and then trading him to FC Dallas, so he can end his career at home. Probably unlikely, but just a thought.
I am really surprised at seeing Jon Conway’s name on the list. This guy had his best ever Season and he just keeps getting better and better. He proved himself against MLS Competition. No disrespect to the young guy but Big Jon got the playing time and he did well. Having three good goalies is a good position to be in and unless we have an awesome kid lined up in the college draft who is ready to fight for the #1spot we need Jon Conway. Jon has the tools to be an outstanding keeper in MLS and I hope that we don’t lose him. I never like to comment on playing personnel as I realize that there are guys who are closer to it than I am but as a fan I hope we have calculated this one well enough
With Johnny Walker and Tony Meola both left unprotected, I don't think Conway will be selected. Chicago's Henry Ring is unprotected too.
Did you notice all the team captains left open to the draft? And did you further notice all the serviceable GK's left open to the draft? I think we're fine with most of the players left out there...because we'll also be able to pull back after the first pick (and with the likes of Walker, Brown, and Ring out there, would you draft Conway first?).
I presume with Johnny Walker and Meola, there are considerable salary issues, although I'd certainly understand SLC taking Meola for name recognition/marketing. And Walker wasn't really that impressive this past season. He was next to last in GAA (1.61), and allowed the most goals (45). Now picture him with an expansion defense in front of him; potential for disaster. I'd guess keepers like Conway and Ring will be on the draft radar for SLC and Chivas.
If this is what you want, you pick up Ryan Nelson not Agoos. He's a terrific defender, good leader, and quite a bit younger if I remember correctly.
I can't imagine Chivas wanting Agoos and/or Ekelund an I also don't see Real SL forking out that kind of $ for two older players......I also think the Quakes are banking on that or at least explained it that way to Agoos and Ekelund so as not to hurt feelings.
You know, I was thinking along those lines, but... The way to go, for these new teams (in my opinion, at least) is to develop a lot of younger players, create a new style, maybe get a couple of incredible players, from luck of the draw. But if you do manage that, then presumably you aren't spending a whole lot on these younger guys, so you might be able to afford someone like Goose, just for a year or two (how much longer can he play?) to be the backbone of the team, help develop a strong defense. Just, someone who knows the system. Well, we'll see regardless, in two days.