Monday, January 21, 2019
Missing Comments
So I just found out that Blogger hasn't been notifying me of all comments, some of them going back close to a year. I've verified all of them at this point. My apologies to everyone, I have not intentionally been ignoring you.
Welcome To Preseason 2019!
Its official, preseason opened today out in Commerce City. The team reported for physicals and such which will be conducted over the next couple of days, then the team will head to Bradenton, FL for a week of training and a scrimmage against Cincinnati FC. As is traditional I'm going to track our roster and the trialists in camp over preseason, and the initial list is below. Major credit to the Front Office for starting camp with 26 signed players and a rumor of a 27th, which might be an all time high for this team.
That 27th player, Kofi Opare, hasn't been announced but it heavily rumored. He's a central defender originally from Ghana but who is now an American citizen. After 4 years at Michigan he was drafted by the Galaxy and after a season and a half he was traded to DC. He was a sometimes starter in Dc, making 65 appearances in 4.5 years, including 25 in 2017, but had his season cut short last year due to foot surgery. He probably won't be 100% at the start of the season, but by the end of April he's expected to be fully recovered. He'll be a good solid depth signing behind Ford, Smith, and Sjoberg if we do sign him.
Two interesting notes, the updated roster on the Rapids site no longer show Boateng or Shinyashiki as internationals which would get us down to 7 internationals, which matches the number of slots we have.
EDIT: Looks like I got confused, Boateng got his green card last year (he missed the second leg of the CCL because he couldn't travel to Canada) so that's not a new change. And we only have 6 international slots, not 7. I keep thinking we traded for another one for this year but we haven't yet. So we're one over even without Shinyashiki.
Roster as of 1/21/19
Goalkeepers:
Tim Howard - Designated Player
Clint Irwin
Andre Rawls
Defenders:
Kortne Ford - Homegrown Player
Sam Raben - Homegrown Player
Keegan Rosenberry
Axel Sjoberg
Tommy Smith - International
Sam Vines - Homegrown Player
Danny Wilson - International
Deklan Wynne
Midfielders:
Kellyn Acosta
Nana Boateng
Cole Bassett - Homegrown Player
Johan Blomberg - International
Benny Feilhaber
Shkelzen Gashi - Designated Player, International
Nicolas Mezquida - International
Sam Nicholson - International
Jack Price - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Forwards:
Matt Hundley - Homegrown Player
Niki Jackson
Kei Kamara
Diego Rubio
Andre Shinyashiki
Trialists:
Marcello Borges - Defender
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey - Defender
Robbie Mertz - Midfielder
Friday, January 18, 2019
A Talk With GM Padraig Smith, and schedule updates
Tonight Burgundy Wave posted a great article about a conversation Abbie Mood had with GM Padraig Smith. I encourage every Rapids fan to go read it. In fact go read it now, then come back and finish reading this.
Back? Great. One of the reasons I highlight the article is that I had the same one on one talk with Smith the week before Christmas. We agreed at the start that it was all technically off-the-record, which is why I didn't mention it at all here, but I've used some of the information I've gotten to help round out articles about the Rapids moves in the last month. Everything Abbie writes about tracks exactly with the conversation I had with him.
First of all I want to say personally that he's a great person to talk to and somebody who's passionate about the sport in a way some prior Rapids leadership has not been. When I got the invite I figured it was just a courtesy, in fact being the week before Christmas I was too busy to trek out to Commerce City after work (or to take a couple our off in the middle of the day) but Smith went out of his way to agree to meet after work hours and to drive over to Olde Town Arvada to make it easier for me to meet with him. Even then I figured it would be a 30-45 minute discussion over a drink, instead it turned into 3 hours of discussion where he answered every question I asked and didn't try to duck anything.
Also, fun note, he completed the Edgar Castillo-Kellyn Rowe trade while he was sitting at the table with me. He told me not to get excited about Rowe though as we weren't planning to keep him. Sure enough the next day we announced the Castillo-Rowe-Rubio 3-team deal.
I came out of the meeting believing, for the first time in a long time, that the Rapids had a clear logical plan they were working towards. Now having a plan and executing to that plan are two different things. I have yet to believe they can do the latter. But given some of the discussions I've had over the year with people like Tim Hinchey and Paul Bravo (and going all the way back to Jeff Plush) there was a different feel about what Smith laid out and his explanations for the failures of last season. I have one question I always like to ask when I meet with Rapids leadership (since its usually after another poor season) either publicly or privately. Essentially its "what did we learn from our failures last season and what are we doing different to avoid them again?". This is the really the first time I've ever got a concrete answer to the question. You see some of it in the discussion on BW, his talk about getting players already acclimated to the league. I think you also see a difference in getting the roster set before camp opens on Monday instead of things like meeting Mason for the first time in the Boston airport the day before the season opener.
I'm not going to say everything was sunshine and rainbows though. I don't fully agree with his comments about there being standards and playing players that meet those standards over better players who didn't. While I understand the logic, you're asking a hell of a lot out of a fanbase that suffered through the Pablo years to watch Jack McBean get start after start when there were clearly better options on the bench. Obviously situations like Aigner can't be rewarded but it is possible to take that too far and I think they may have done so last season. But if it pays off this year and into next year maybe it will have been worth it. In the end he and I both agreed on one thing. Talk is fine, but the proof is in the pudding. All these plans and standards and learned lessons are for not if the results don't improve this season.
Anyway, if you didn't read the article yet, go read it now. Its good information and it will be important to understand their viewpoint as we go through the 2019 season, and judge their results accordingly.
Unrelated to this discussion, the Rapids announced two schedule changes today.
Back? Great. One of the reasons I highlight the article is that I had the same one on one talk with Smith the week before Christmas. We agreed at the start that it was all technically off-the-record, which is why I didn't mention it at all here, but I've used some of the information I've gotten to help round out articles about the Rapids moves in the last month. Everything Abbie writes about tracks exactly with the conversation I had with him.
First of all I want to say personally that he's a great person to talk to and somebody who's passionate about the sport in a way some prior Rapids leadership has not been. When I got the invite I figured it was just a courtesy, in fact being the week before Christmas I was too busy to trek out to Commerce City after work (or to take a couple our off in the middle of the day) but Smith went out of his way to agree to meet after work hours and to drive over to Olde Town Arvada to make it easier for me to meet with him. Even then I figured it would be a 30-45 minute discussion over a drink, instead it turned into 3 hours of discussion where he answered every question I asked and didn't try to duck anything.
Also, fun note, he completed the Edgar Castillo-Kellyn Rowe trade while he was sitting at the table with me. He told me not to get excited about Rowe though as we weren't planning to keep him. Sure enough the next day we announced the Castillo-Rowe-Rubio 3-team deal.
I came out of the meeting believing, for the first time in a long time, that the Rapids had a clear logical plan they were working towards. Now having a plan and executing to that plan are two different things. I have yet to believe they can do the latter. But given some of the discussions I've had over the year with people like Tim Hinchey and Paul Bravo (and going all the way back to Jeff Plush) there was a different feel about what Smith laid out and his explanations for the failures of last season. I have one question I always like to ask when I meet with Rapids leadership (since its usually after another poor season) either publicly or privately. Essentially its "what did we learn from our failures last season and what are we doing different to avoid them again?". This is the really the first time I've ever got a concrete answer to the question. You see some of it in the discussion on BW, his talk about getting players already acclimated to the league. I think you also see a difference in getting the roster set before camp opens on Monday instead of things like meeting Mason for the first time in the Boston airport the day before the season opener.
I'm not going to say everything was sunshine and rainbows though. I don't fully agree with his comments about there being standards and playing players that meet those standards over better players who didn't. While I understand the logic, you're asking a hell of a lot out of a fanbase that suffered through the Pablo years to watch Jack McBean get start after start when there were clearly better options on the bench. Obviously situations like Aigner can't be rewarded but it is possible to take that too far and I think they may have done so last season. But if it pays off this year and into next year maybe it will have been worth it. In the end he and I both agreed on one thing. Talk is fine, but the proof is in the pudding. All these plans and standards and learned lessons are for not if the results don't improve this season.
Anyway, if you didn't read the article yet, go read it now. Its good information and it will be important to understand their viewpoint as we go through the 2019 season, and judge their results accordingly.
Unrelated to this discussion, the Rapids announced two schedule changes today.
- Sat. Mar. 23 @ Dallas will now be at 2:30pm (was 1:30pm)
- The home game against the Galaxy will now be Wed. Sept. 11th at 7pm (was Thurs Sept. 12th at 7pm)
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Rapids Sign Homegrowns Matt Hundley and Sam Raben
Today Colorado announced the signings of homegrown players M/F Matt Hundley out of UCLA and D Sam Raben out of Wake Forest.
Hundley is 19 years old and has an outside chance of being named to the U-2 World Cup roster this summer, depending on how many players are prevented by their clubs from joining the team (the tournament does not take place in a FIFA window so teams are not required to release players for it). He started 14 games for UCLA this year and lead the team in scoring with 5 goals. He signed a 4 year contract today.
Raben is 22 years old and finished his senior season at Wake Forest this year. He's played for the Rapids U-23 PDL team the last two years along side his time at Wake Forest. He made 91 starts in college, tied for 3rd most in Demon Deacons history.
They were joined at today's press conference by first round (and #5 overall) draft pick Andre Shinyashiki, who has also signed a contract with the league. The three of them will join the ranks of younger players with the Rapids, including the likes of Nikki Jackson, Sam Vines, Cole Bassett, and the relatively speaking grizzled veteran Kortne Ford when camp opens on Monday.
I would expect Raben to be a candidate for a loan to Colorado Springs. On a one year deal the team is going to want to see him get as much playing time as possible to evaluate him for the future. Hundley could bounce between the two teams depending on the needs of the Rapids. His positions is currently somewhat cluttered, with Mezquida, Feilhaber, Gashi, Nicholson, and Shinyashiki all playing somewhat in that in-between position. I expect, of the young guys, Shinyashiki to get the first look and the most playing time with the first-team to start the season.
Hundley is 19 years old and has an outside chance of being named to the U-2 World Cup roster this summer, depending on how many players are prevented by their clubs from joining the team (the tournament does not take place in a FIFA window so teams are not required to release players for it). He started 14 games for UCLA this year and lead the team in scoring with 5 goals. He signed a 4 year contract today.
Raben is 22 years old and finished his senior season at Wake Forest this year. He's played for the Rapids U-23 PDL team the last two years along side his time at Wake Forest. He made 91 starts in college, tied for 3rd most in Demon Deacons history.
They were joined at today's press conference by first round (and #5 overall) draft pick Andre Shinyashiki, who has also signed a contract with the league. The three of them will join the ranks of younger players with the Rapids, including the likes of Nikki Jackson, Sam Vines, Cole Bassett, and the relatively speaking grizzled veteran Kortne Ford when camp opens on Monday.
I would expect Raben to be a candidate for a loan to Colorado Springs. On a one year deal the team is going to want to see him get as much playing time as possible to evaluate him for the future. Hundley could bounce between the two teams depending on the needs of the Rapids. His positions is currently somewhat cluttered, with Mezquida, Feilhaber, Gashi, Nicholson, and Shinyashiki all playing somewhat in that in-between position. I expect, of the young guys, Shinyashiki to get the first look and the most playing time with the first-team to start the season.
Monday, January 14, 2019
Draftee Today, Homegrowns Tomorrow
The 3rd and 4th round of the draft was held today, by teleconference. Enjoy it while its here because if today was any indication, those rounds won't be along much longer. Of the 48 picks, 21 of them were PASS. The Rapids had one pick, the 4th in the 4th round, and took midfielder Robbie Mertz out of Michigan, teammate of one of our 2nd round picks Marcello Borges. Our four draft picks will join the team at training camp when it opens a week from today.
They're going to be joined by two new homegrown signings who will be announced at a press conference at 11am tomorrow. One of them is expected to be midfielder Matt Hundley out of UCLA, there have been rumors of his signing for a week or so. The second signing is kind of up in the air, nobody is real sure who its going to be.
Regardless, with their signings and the fact that Shinyashiki signed a contract before the draft the Rapids will enter camp with 26 signed players. That might be an all time high.
They're going to be joined by two new homegrown signings who will be announced at a press conference at 11am tomorrow. One of them is expected to be midfielder Matt Hundley out of UCLA, there have been rumors of his signing for a week or so. The second signing is kind of up in the air, nobody is real sure who its going to be.
Regardless, with their signings and the fact that Shinyashiki signed a contract before the draft the Rapids will enter camp with 26 signed players. That might be an all time high.
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