Colorado Trades For Mwanga

The Rapids made what will probably be their final move of the preseason today, sending their first round pick in 2015 to Portland for forward Danny Mwanga.  The Congolese forward was the #1 pick of the 2010 draft by the expansion Philadelphia Union and had 12 goals in 61 appearances for the club before he was traded to Portland in the middle of last season.  He appeared 18 times with 3 goals for the Timbers and signed a re-worked contract with the team in December.  He has his green card and is working towards his citizenship (he hopes to play for the U.S. at some point) so will not take an international slot.

The cost of a first-round pick in two years is a decent price for the Rapids to pay.  Next year's pick will probably be fairly high (unfortunately), but the hope is that 2014 is the year the youth movement pays off and we make a deep run, making that first round pick less valuable.  Last season Mwanga's baseline salary was 250K, and his guaranteed number was 356K.  The expectation is that his re-worked contract brought those numbers down somewhat, but they're still going to be significant.  That's the real cost to this move, reducing the flexibility in the salary cap.

News over the last 24 hours explains this move though.  Buddle will miss this week's game to fly to NY for a 3rd opinion on his injured knee, with the possibility of having further investigative surgery.  Also today, some news from a good source that Castrillon's knee injury is actually the result of some sort of degenerative disease in the knee that puts his career in jeopardy (but thankfully, not his life) and the outlook is about 50/50 if he comes back at all.  Obviously that's a lot of firepower with question marks on it, so the Rapids felt like they needed to find some MLS experience up front.

Mwanga's addition gives the team 30 signed players, right at the roster limit.  Only 6 international spots, so they have two open.  With Castrillon starting the season on the DL Colorado could sign another player in his spot, so another move could be coming, but I'm going to assume for now that the opening day roster is set.

Final(?) Roster:

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Clint Irwin
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player
Diego Calderon - International
Kory Kindle
Chris Klute (Atlanta loan through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon - International - On Disabled List
Nick LaBrocca
Pablo Mastroeni
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (Rosario Central loan through 2013) - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Jamie Smith
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas - International

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International
Edson Buddle
Charles Eloundou - International
Kevin Harbottle - International
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill
Danny Mwanga

Player Update, Preview, and Predictions

Today the Denver Post revealed that trialist Cesar Romero and Supplemental Draft picks Stefano Pinho and Machael David have been released from camp.  That leaves defenders Marcello Castro and Brenton Griffiths and forwards David Cortes, Matthew Dunn, and Marcos Pirchio still in camp trying for the final 2 spots.

That leads me into my planned Season Preview.  normally I go through the roster by position but this year its fairly difficult to do that.  The team has signed so many players who can play multiple positions that I couldn't tell you with any certainty where anyone will line up come Saturday.  The players I am fairly confident of, like Pickens and Buddle, are likely to miss the game due to injury.  I will attempt to break it down in basic terms though.

Goalkeeper: There's Pickens and then there's the other two.  We're probably going to live and die in the early season on Matt's (and Travis'!) health.  Ceus had a poor preseason and Irwin is untested at this level.

Defense: Strong but thin.  I think we'll see our best 4 on the field in some format early.  That being Mullan, Moor, Wynne, and Calderon.  Yes, Mullan has officially moved to outside back at this point apparently.  Any injuries are quickly going to reveal our weakness though.  Kindle, Klute, O'Neill, Armstrong, and anyone else we may throw in all have minimal MLS experience and Wallace is coming back from missing almost all of the last two seasons.

Midfield: This is where is gets really foggy.  Thomas will probably be the defensive backbone, but after that?  Pablo is going to reclaim his spot early, but I don't expect he'll keep it if the midfield isn't working.  Rivero's injured with Hill or Powers likely to take his spot.  LaBrocca is just waiting to grab a starting spot from somebody.  Lots of possibilities on the bench in Serna, Smith, and Sturgis, plus whatever attacking midfielders aren't being used as forwards.

Forward: The key to the whole season.  If this group can't figure out how to find the back of the net its going to be a very long year.  The big offseason move, Buddle, is likely to miss opening day with rookie DeShorn Brown looking like the replacement.  Attiba Harris is likely to be the Edu/Folan of 2013, unfortunately.  Castrillon would be the other starter but he's out until at least mid-year, so Cascio, Harbottle, and Akpan will all be challenging for his spot.  Eloundou is a wild card, nobody's seen him yet due to visa issues.

If the back 5 can stay healthy early they can provide a stable base to build on.  The midfield is probably the strongest position as there seems to be  a good amount of quality, but a lot of question marks about everybody's role.  IMO the season is going to hinge on the forwards finding their finishing boots.  I don't think we're going to be able to win many 1-0 games, this squad is built to attack more than defend.

So, its prediction time.  I went 2 for 6 last year, not great.

• The team will struggle early as players figure out their roles.  With 3 tough road games in the first 4 we'll be lucky to have more than 4 points.  Even after that we've got tough games against Seattle, Houston, and FSL in April.
• Due to this tough start we'll be near the playoff positions most of the season but fall out of the running before the final push, much like last year.
• We will, however, win the Rocky Mountain Cup back, finally
• More than one new-to-MLS player will claim a starting position this year and will be expected to be a starter going into 2014.
• The USOC will be a moderate success, with the team doing well enough to finally host a game before being eliminated by another MLS side.
• Buddle doesn't live up to his bidding, but does well enough to continue to start.
• As mentioned above, Harris will be the WTF signing of 2013.
• Pablo retires at season's end, possibly announcing it before the final home game.
• Despite missing the playoffs Bravo & Pareja will keep their jobs.

New Jersey Revealed

The Rapids new road/alternate kit

The Rapids new jersey was unveiled on 9News tonight.  It was...underwhelming.  I love the idea of doing something different and basing it on the Colorado state flag, but this didn't live up to my hopes.  WAY too much yellow and the watermark of the logo in the middle really should have been a full color logo.  The red/blue badge isn't great but had they made the other changes it would probably work.  Right now all you would have to do is take the watermark and state flag off and swap the badges and FaKe SaLt LaKe could wear this jersey with nobody noticing.

On the flip side, the new home/primary jersey is great.  I got mine at the C38 party on Saturday and love it.  My name is almost dead center in the 4th group of names on the front.  The only down side is that they're a very athletic fit, I'm working on exchanging mine for the next size up.

Rapids Sign Three

Time to get caught up with this week's roster moves as Colorado added two and re-signed a third.

Yesterday they signed 2nd round Superdraft pick LB Kory Kindle and free agent GK Clint Irwin.  Kindle will compete for the starting LB spot while Irwin will be expected to fill the 3rd goalkeeper spot.

Then today they announced the re-signing of Jaime Castrillon.  A bit surprising as nobody realized Castrillon was out of contract.  Apparently, due to the injury found in post-season fitness tests, the Rapids declined Castrillon's option and has finally came to terms on a new contract.  This will allow Castrillon to get the necessary surgery on his knee.  Castrillon will start the season on the DL for a couple of months, so that will free up his roster spot.

Updated camp roster:

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Clint Irwin
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Diego Calderon - International
Marcello Castro - Unsigned draftee, International
Brenton Griffiths - Unsigned draftee, International
Kory Kindle
Chris Klute (Atlanta loan through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon - International - On Disabled List
Machael David - Unsigned draftee
Kevin Harbottle - International
Nick LaBrocca
Pablo Mastroeni
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (Rosario Central loan through 2013) - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Jamie Smith
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas - International

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International
Edson Buddle
Charles Eloundou - International
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill
Stefano Souza Pinho - Unsigned draftee, International
David Cortes Armero -  Unsigned trialist, International
Matthew Dunn-  Unsigned trialist
Marcos Pirchio -  Unsigned trialist, International
Cesar Romero - Unsigned trialist

This puts the Rapids at 29 signed players and 2 open slots with Castrillon's injury.  They have two open international spots, so there's no limits on who can fill those roles.

Two New Trialists Head To California

The team left for Santa Barbara today with two new trialists, forwards David Cortes Armero and Matthew Dunn.  Both are former members of their national U-20 teams, Colombian and American respectively.

As expected, Rivero and Castrillon didn't travel, and Serna and O'Neill are with the U.S. U-20s.  Otherwise the only player not to travel is Charles Eloundou.  That's a bit disconcerting given that he didn't travel to Vegas either.

Updated camp roster:

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Matt Pickens
Clint Irwin - Unsigned trialist

Defenders:
Diego Calderon - International
Marcello Castro - Unsigned draftee, International
Brenton Griffiths - Unsigned draftee, International
Kory Kindle - Unsigned draftee
Chris Klute (Atlanta loan through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon - International
Machael David - Unsigned draftee
Kevin Harbottle - International
Nick LaBrocca
Pablo Mastroeni
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (Rosario Central loan through 2013) - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Jamie Smith
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas - International

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International
Edson Buddle
Charles Eloundou - International
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill
Stefano Souza Pinho - Unsigned draftee, International
David Cortes Armero -  Unsigned trialist, International
Matthew Dunn-  Unsigned trialist
Marcos Pirchio -  Unsigned trialist, International
Cesar Romero - Unsigned trialist

Rapids Close To Signing Two

One of my sources at the Rapids has told me that the team is close to signing their 2nd round draft pick LB Kory Kindle and trialist Clint Irwin as the 3rd GK.  I would expect official word sometime this week.

That would put the team at 29 signed players against a roster limit of 30, with two international spots still available.  If Rivero and/or Castrillon start the season on the DL both their roster spot and international spot would open up until they come off of injury, which gives the team a bit of flexibility.

All of this is to distract you from the ugly game Friday night where the Rapids got kicked up and down the field in Vegas by Chivas USA.  A 3-0 loss where the team looked disorganized and without a plan.  Its only preseason but not a good omen.  The only trialist to play was Cesar Romero.

The night before the Rapids beat UNLV 4-0.  Irwin got the start in goal and saved a PK (given up by Kindle), and the 4 goals were scored by trialists Pinho, Castro, Pirchio, and Romero.  Only 3 players from the 2010  Rapids, Klute, Smith, and Akpan, played in the game.  8 of the 15 players were trialists.

Vegas Roster Announced

The Rapids left for Vegas today before their preseason friendly Friday night against Chivas USA.  The Rapids took almost every player in camp.  The exceptions are:

• Rivero and Castrillon are both recovering from surgery and stayed behind.
• Dillon Serna departed for Mexico to join Shane O'Neill and the U.S. U-20 team in World Cup Qualifying.  Serna's addition to the roster means that the Rapids are the only MLS team with multiple players on the U-20 team.
• Trialist David Giraldo was not on the travel roster, presumably he's left camp.
• The only other missing players are Davy Armstrong and Charles Eloundou.  Armstrong missed the Arizona trip with injury, perhaps he's still dealing with that.  Eloundou joined the team over the weekend after being a 2nd half sub in Cameroon's loss to Tanzania last Wednesday, so its possible they're just letting him get settled in Denver instead of putting him right back on the road.

A total of 30 players are in Vegas for the match.

Also today Colorado announced an additional friendly next Friday in Santa Barbara.  They'll play the Galaxy at UCSB, preceded by the Rapids Reserves playing UCSB.

New Supporter Group Name, New Jerseys

This weekend the long-discussed merger between Class VI, the Pid Army, and the Bulldog Supporters Group became official with a new name, Centennial 38, quickly becoming C-38 as an abbreviation.  Named after the fact that Colorado was the 38th state in the union, joining in 1876, making Colorado the Centennial State.  I'll admit that my first reaction to the name wasn't positive, but its growing on me.  Especially when combined with this:

That's the sneak peak of the new Rapids away kit on MLSGear.com.  It appears to be confirmation of the rumor that our new away kit will be based on the Colorado state flag.

The home kit was already sneak previewed at the season ticket holder party in August but if you need a reminder:

The kits will be officially unveiled as part of MLS's Jersey Week on Feb. 25th-26th.  The 25th will be an exclusive VIP event at the Brown Palace wile the 26th will be on a caravan from the mountains to Denver (Breckenridge/Evergreen/Red Rocks/Confluence Park) ending at a public event at LoDo's Bar and Grill in Denver.

Those of us who pre-ordered a home jersey are expected to receive them before the unveiling.

News and Notes - Feb. 8th

Heads up, long post ahead.  Time to catch up on some stuff from the week.

• The big news is that the Rapids re-signed Jamie Smith today.  Actually, based on the scrimmage report from Wednesday, it appears to have happened earlier this week but it was announced today.  Good move from the team.  The knock on Jamie has never been his quality, its been his fragility.  The number of games missed due to injury versus the salary paid was getting more and more out of alignment as the seasons went by.  It will be interesting to see what his new salary is.
• An article was published in Paraguay yesterday that Eeduardo Echeverria was hoping to sign a contract with Colorado yesterday.  That's the first time his name was ever mentioned and we haven't heard anything since.  Bad info?  Contract leverage in Paraguay?  New player in Colorado?  Who knows.  He's a speedy left winger that could add to our attack.
• The August 21st home game against New England has been moved to July 17th.  As regular readers know this is the Jamesons Night game.  Moving it to a midweek in July, the same month as the Gold Cup is over at Sports Authority Field, makes me wonder if we'll see a "use your Gold Cup ticket to get into the Rapids game" promotion.
• The league appears to be using the week before the season starts (Feb. 25-Mar. 1st) as jersey week, with NY, Columbus, and Philly all scheduling unveilings and a Sports Business Journal Article today says that the Rapids will unveil their alternate jersey later this month.
• The Rapids announced that they are fully funding their U-18, U-16, and newly added U-14 teams going forward, which will make it easier to attract the top players in a competitive Denver market with Rush and Real.
• Castrillon is set to have surgery on his injured knee.  Time frame for recovery is not announced but I'm assuming ti won't be quick.
• The Rapids reserves and backups won a scrimmage against the Foxes on Wednesday 2-0.  Here's the starting XI: Irwin, Klute, Griffiths, Castro, Wallace, Powers, Sturgis, Hill, Smith, Serna, Akpan and the second half lineup: Maurer, Klute, Griffiths, Castro, Wallace, Powers, David, LaBrocca, Giraldo, Serna, Romero.  Academy players Martinez and Perez replaced Wallace and Powers in the 65th minute.
• Since the game Jim Maurer has left camp.
• Argentine forward Marcos Pirchio joined camp today.

Updated camp roster:

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Matt Pickens
Clint Irwin - Unsigned trialist

Defenders:
Diego Calderon - International
Marcello Castro - Unsigned draftee, International
Brenton Griffiths - Unsigned draftee, International
Kory Kindle - Unsigned draftee
Chris Klute (Atlanta loan through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon - International
Machael David - Unsigned draftee
Kevin Harbottle - International
Nick LaBrocca
Pablo Mastroeni
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (Rosario Central loan through 2013) - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Jamie Smith
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas - International

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International
Edson Buddle
Charles Eloundou - International
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill
Stefano Souza Pinho - Unsigned draftee, International
David Giraldo -  Unsigned trialist, International
Marcos Pirchio -  Unsigned trialist, International
Cesar Romero - Unsigned trialist

That leaves 11 international players in camp, 6 already signed to a deal. The remaining 5 are our Supplemental Draft picks Castro, Griffiths, and Pinho and newcomers Giraldo and Pirchio.

Laying out the position battle:
(in camp/signed)
GK: 3/2
DF: 8/5
MF: 15/14
FW: 10/6

36 total for 30 spots, 27 already signed. Assuming a 3rd GK that leaves 33 field players battling for 27 spots, with 25 already signed. Barring cuts/trades Kindle, Castro, Griffiths, David, Romero, Giraldo, Pirchio, and Pinho are battling for 2 spots (both of which could be internationals). Based on play in AZ, I think Kindle has the inside line on one of the open non-GK spots.  With Castrillon and possibly Rivero likely to start the year on IR though, that frees up 1-2 international spots, so the Rapids could carry 31 or 32 players into the regular season (9-10 of them being internationals) and give a couple of players and extended trial before having to make a decision when everyone is healthy.

Trialist In And Out

Just a quick roster update.  Pery Martinez did not come back to Colorado with the team, but Colombian forward David Giraldo has joined the team in Commerce City.

Updated camp roster:

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Matt Pickens
Clint Irwin - Unsigned trialist
Jim Mauer - Unsigned trialist

Defenders:
Diego Calderon - International
Marcello Castro - Unsigned draftee, International
Brenton Griffiths - Unsigned draftee, International
Kory Kindle - Unsigned draftee
Chris Klute (Atlanta loan through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon - International
Machael David - Unsigned draftee
Kevin Harbottle - International
Nick LaBrocca
Pablo Mastroeni
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (Rosario Central loan through 2013) - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas - International
Jamie Smith - Unsigned trialist

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International
Edson Buddle
Charles Eloundou - International
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill
Stefano Souza Pinho - Unsigned draftee, International
David Giraldo -  Unsigned trialist, International
Cesar Romero - Unsigned trialist

That leaves 10 international players in camp, 6 already signed to a deal. The remaining 3 are our Supplemental Draft picks Castro, Griffiths, and Pinho and newcomer Giraldo.

Laying out the position battle:
(in camp/signed)
GK: 4/2
DF: 8/5
MF: 15/13
FW: 8/6

36 total for 30 spots, 26 already signed. Assuming a 3rd GK that leaves 32 field players battling for 27 spots, with 24 already signed. Barring cuts/trades Kindle, Smith, Castro, Griffiths, David, Romero, Giraldo, and Pinho are battling for 3 spots (two of which could be internationals). Based on play in AZ and rumors, I think Kindle and Smith have the inside line on two of the open non-GK spots.

Rapids Get Win In Arizona

Colorado played their final game in Arizona on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately my schedule didn't allow me to watch the game, but the Rapids did finally get a win by the score of 1-0.  Colorado started with a close to starting XI:

 

Calderon has been solid at center back, but the weakness of the left backs may force him outside to start.  Good to see Brown our first round pick, getting time with the first team.  He had the best chance of the half, putting a header just wide in the 17th minute.  The game was scoreless at half, and as has been the pattern the Rapids made wholesale changes.

Serna swapped out for Romero in the 79th minute.  Obviously Klute is getting an extended run at left back, being the only player to go a full 90 in Arizona.  In the 65th minute he found Akpan down the left side, who drove in a cross to an on-rushing Jaime Smith.   Smith finished it for the 1-0 lead in Smith's first action of the season.

Afterwards the team returned to Commerce City for the next week before heading to Vegas for games against UNLV on the 14th and Chivas USA on the 15th.

Rapids Lose 2nd Preseason Game

Last night Colorado played the 2nd of 3 preseason games in Arizona, facing the Houston Dynamo.  Alas the Rapids started playing about 3 minutes after Houston, by which time they were already down a goal.  Here was their starting XI:

Due to work I wasn't able to watch the game.  According to reports, much like in the Portland game, after an early flurry by the Dynamo (including their goal) the Rapids controlled play in the half but couldn't convert.  Once again they made a full lineup change at halftime, going with this group in the second half:

In the 61st minute Wallace had to hobble off and be replaced by Chris Klute.  Not good news with his injury history the last two years.  The only other sub was Martinez for Akpan in the 83rd, which was not injury related.  Again the Rapids reportedly controlled most of the play but couldn't convert, eventually losing 1-0.

One interesting note came from the commentary team on this match.  According to them they were told that Walter Martinez has a green card and would not count as an international.  Of course the information for informal games like this is sometimes sketchy so I'm trying to get confirmation.

The final game in AZ is tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 11am Denver time against San Jose.