Next Sunday, the squad of current Rapids will be watching Adin Brown, Wolde Harris, Tyrone Marshall and Craig Waibel duke it out at the Razor for the Cup. Still more players who manage to find more success under their current managers than they did while they were Rapids. (OK, so Wolde did make the Cup in 1997 with the Rapids) Come Sunday night, two of those players will join Henderson, McKeon, and Vermes in having hoisted the Cup in victory for their team... after they left the Rapids. Throw in Corrales and Zavagnin if you consider players that the Rapids traded away before they even played for us. sigh. On a positive note, at least there aren't any players on the Crew roster that we gave away.
the question remains when will "current" rapids be in MLS cup? i have the answer... 97 is a distant memory and will continue to get further away. knowing my luck, after i said that, you guys will be MLS cup 2003 champs.
The premise of this thread is that there are Rapids who were not part of the 1997 finalist team, i.e. non-finalists with the Rapids, who nonetheless are finalists with either the Revs or Galaxy. The implication is that these players were able to do something in a better coaching environment. Let us compare with other teams. Columbus Crew - Juergen Sommer goes with the Revs. DC United - Dauda Kante in his first year was traded to the Revs. Also, three former finalists, Chris Albright, Brian Kamler, and Carlos Llamosa are now in the finals with new teams. San Jose Earthquakes - Adam Frye with the Gals and Braeden Cloutier with the Revs. Tampa Bay Mutiny - Adam Frye with the Gals and Steve Ralston, Adin Brown, and Daniel Hernandez with the Revs. Miami Fusion - seven with Tyrone Marshall, Shaker Asad, Brian Kamler, Carlos Llamosa, Alex Pineda Chacon, Jim Rooney, and Diego Serna. Colorado Rapids - Craig Waibel, Tyrone Marshall, and Adin Brown. Also, one former finalist in Wolde Harris. Kansas City Wizards - Alexi Lalas New York MetroStars - Alexi Lalas, Ezra Hendrickson, Jim Rooney, Diego Serna, Braeden Cloutier, and Daniel Hernandez, along with first year player Winston Griffiths. New England Revolution - ironically provided Alexi Lalas for the Gals. Los Angeles Galaxy - ironically provided Daniel Hernandez Also, former finalist Joe Franchino is also with the Revs. Chicago Fire - no former players Dallas Burn - no former players Players in their first year with MLS LA - Carlos Ruiz, Gavin Glinton, Jesus Ochoa, and Alejandro Moreno NE - Taylor Twellman, Dauda Kante, Winston Griffiths, Tony Frias, Ian Fuller, and Marshall Leonard. I don't think the Rapids history is too poor here. The Metros, Mutiny, and Fusion fans might have more regrets with the teams heading into the finals.
My implication is that here are four specific players who are regular starters and contributors to teams that are squaring off in MLS Cup 2002. It makes no implication that the Rapids are the only team in this boat, nor that they have the worst record of losing future contenders/champions. However, that is certainly a strong consideration. While Hanki's analysis of the full pool of players is extremely thorough and accurate (as always), there are a number of points worth considering: Harris, Brown, Marshall and Waibel have all been major contributors to the Revolution and the Galaxy, especially during the playoffs. Each of these players played very strong roles throughout the 2002 playoffs; Wolde, Adin and Tyrone started every game for their clubs, while Waibel got the starting nod and was part of the defense that shut out the Rapids in Game 2. A large number of the players in Hanki's list are little more than practice dummies. Harris, Brown, Marshall and Waibel were low-salaried players voluntarily traded away by the Rapids. Not one of these players were cast to the winds by the dispersal draft; they weren't cut because they were pushing against the salary cap; and they weren't sent packing by the league in order to grant the Rapids a "major foreign talent." These players were cast to the winds because the Rapids coaching and/or management did not feel they were worth keeping. Waibel was a midseason callup who spent over a month with the club before being sent home, Marshall was traded to Miami along with Jason Boyce in exchange for David Vaudreuil, and Brown was traded to the Revs in exchange for the #3 overall draft pick, ironically used to acquire Adin Brown. Admittedly, Brown was part of a massive trade that brought in Garlick, Valderrama and Kotschau. Brown, Marshall and Waibel's performances and careers have improved dramatically since leaving the Rapids. Having watched a good number of Galaxy and Revolution games this year -- not to mention Mutiny and Fusion games last year -- there's been a clear progression in the on-field skills displayed by these three players. They've grown and matured into solid, dependable players for their clubs, the minimum level of player required for a club to challenge for a championship. The kind of players that the Rapids continue to lack. The kind of players that the Rapids were not able to develop. The Rapids have yet to win any sort of trophy. When discussing a club's former players now competing for a championship, it's hard to put the Rapids in the same boat as DC, Chicago, KC, San Jose, Dallas or LA. Can't really compare to Supporter's Shield winners Miami and Tampa, either (not that it did a lot of good for them). Point is that trading away talent and maintaining a consistent side is a very different proposition once you've actually won something significant; I don't think that the Quakes (or their fans) are losing too much sleep over the fact that Adam Frye and Braeden Cloutier will be on the bench this Sunday. Summary Do I think the Rapids would have been better off with each of these four players in the lineup today? Not really. When the players were traded or released, did I think the team made the right move? Absolutely. But I'm not the coach. Not the GM. Despite all the time I spend yapping on this board in in email, my job doesn't revolve around judging a player's current talent and future potential or working out a successful roster of players. What has become clear to me over the years is that a number of teams, including the 1997 and 1999 Rapids, have managed to challenge for trophies while not fielding a team of outstanding players from top to bottom. It is also clear that the Rapids did very well (for them, anyway) in 2002 in bringing in not just Henderson and Chung but also Stewart and Kingsley. What is unclear is whether the Rapids will continue to make the mistakes of the past, or if they will attempt to hold on to the bulk of the players that got them to the semifinals.