USSoccer

Who took that position? I've seen it here and there by people rationalizing how missing out on Pujols or Fielder could be mitigated, or even a good thing because it would allow us to build for the future or something.

But they're also complete unknowns with regards to their ability to be any good at the major league level. Why piss away money on two question marks at all? They are just as likely to be completely useless as they are decent, and if they are useless, where are you at? This argument isn't just about Ramirez, either. It's about being turned off by paying Fielder $150m but being totally willing to roll the dice with $150m on those two. Where have you seen TT argue against paying Fielder / Pujols? I haven't. I'm just arguing 100000% against going after Darvish, Cespedes, and the logic that states we can just pay those two, trot out some platoons and other people's trash and turn that into a contender.

You realize that's actually an argument for *not* signing either of these guys. Finishing 79-83 rather than 72-90 is kinda pointless. You sign a guy like this when you've got a team that's 82-80 (or better) without them. The question, how far away are the Cubs from having that 82-80 team? And what will be the impact-player alternatives at that time? I realize nobody wants to suck. But let's think about this objectively. So again, we're totally cool with gambling $150m on the two guys with zero MLB experience but investing that money in a cornerstone player would be a waste?

But they're also complete unknowns with regards to their ability to be any good at the major league level. Why piss away money on two question marks at all? They are just as likely to be completely useless as they are decent, and if they are useless, where are you at? This argument isn't just about Ramirez, either. It's about being turned off by paying Fielder $150m but being totally willing to roll the dice with $150m on those two.

So there was less risk in paying Ramirez, lets say $50m over 4 years than paying over $90m for a Japanese import and $40m for a Cuban defector? (yes in retrospect it doesn't sound like Aramis was even interested in coming back) Your logic of Ramirez's asking price being too much seems to me to be immediately contradicted by being so willing to drop giant money on two complete unknowns.

Actually, what I'm saying is that platoons intended to match the production of one actually good player never work out the way you'd think they would simply looking at paper and projecting.

I agree, one position you can get away with it as long as you have good offensive players at other positions. You can't count on it for multiple positions and expect to be any good. Also, people keep citing the 2010 Giants as some example of how you can suck offensively and still win, but ignore that we have no one at the Lincecum/Cain level and that even then it was by and large kind of flukish. Garza's the closest, but that pitching staff was completely dominant in a way we can't hope to be.

Platoons, reclamation projects, and bounceback seasons from Soto and Soriano. Right. You mineaswell have just said "we're going to all blow out birthday candles before every game and hope our wishes for offensive competency come true". I'm going to draw an analogy here: for like eleventy billion years, about 90% of US Soccer fans wanted us to just straight up imitate Europe. They hate MLS, thety hate US coaches, they hate players that don't play in Europe, even if it's in the Bulgarian 3rd division. So finally they got their wish and we hired some German snake oil salesman, and he used all the Eurospeak that got these guys all wet and peaked. And we sucked. Because the bs he touted didn't translate into results. Instead of integrating the best of our system with the best of Europe, he demolished ours and tried to force his in. I feel like the hiring of Epstein and Hoyer have allowed people to run completely amok with their platoon and WAR fantasies, as if simply taking two guys with platoon splits and certain WAR numbers and putting them together would result into a fully functional offense capable of winning. I can't think of a single winning team that was built around reclamations projects and discarded parts with platoon splits. It makes sense in theory; after all, if you have a LH and a RH, who each bring 1 WAR based on platoon splits and defense and baserunning, have them both play 3B, and voila, you've completely replaced Aramis Ramirez with a 2 WAR player for $3m. As much as I completely believe in stat analysis and SABR and all that jazz, I don't think tossing WAR sums around is the way for a major market team to build a winner.

I'd do $90 million total for Darvish. If it gets to nine figures I start to flinch. I think you are underselling them. Last year's team had a fair bit more talent than its record showed. I don't expect .500 to require any extraordinary effort this offseason. Where's the offense going to come from?

Sort of. I'm really not sure about Cespedes, but I'm totally sold on Darvish. A 25-year-old who throws in the mid-90s with movement? I'll take my chances. Stuff plays, and he's got the stuff. I don't think the roster we have right now is that bad, and I absolutely have faith in the brain trust to build a competitive team immediately, with or without Pujielder. Are you that sold on Darvish that you're willing to drop upwards of $90m on the guy? For the record, I think the logic I posted sucks. If we miss out on both Pujols and Fielder, we're going to suck. And hard. We can trot out all the platoons and reclamation projects we want, but we're going to be like 72-90.

Not important, but do you mean Yi Jianlian? Did they both post up folding chairs?

Are we all about to start rationalizing why letting Ramirez walk, passing on Pujols and Fielder and trying to build around Castro, a Cuban defector who's workout video was only missing Yao Ming's folding chair, and gambling that Yu Darvish won't suck like every other Japanese import is the best offseason route because we can then go sign Matt Kem...er, build around the draft and compete in 3 years? Because that's a recipe for bad.

Amazing what happens when you: -Structure your formation around your talent -Play players in positions they should be played in -Put your most talented guys (READ: BRADLEY) on the field. Mikey is just such a class above Edu, it's not even funny. Beckerman got exposed as unable to really effectively shield without another 6 out there. Goodson needs to not start games anymore for us; he's cover. Johnson was approx. 100000x better than Williams.

Jose Torres: Useful piece to have on the bench, or THE AMERICAN XAVI??? Danny Williams/Fabian Johnson: IRREPLACEABLE Maurice Edu: Scottish Rec League legend. The American Essien. Joe Corona: The answer to our goal scoring issues Zombie Beasley: Playing in the Primera=Playing in La Liga.

Yeah, he's part of our best eleven. No question. This isn't a case of the typical US Soccer fan reaction where players that don't play or aren't called up are a magic elixir that would have put us over the top. Usually those players are equally mediocre. Mikey is not. The difference is that usually the US Soccer fan is clamoring for "grass-is-greener" unknowns like Danny Williams (who sucks and every time I type his name I'll point this out) while utterly tearing down the good players that are already there. EXAMPLE: Big Soccer seems to think Clint sucks because he moves the ball too slowly, and that Danny Williams should be a lock starter in the #8 spot.

Also, Michael Bradley not getting on the field is asinine. He didn't all of a sudden become useless after a coaching change.

He really does, doesn't he? We have like 9 (9!) central mids with equal talent but slightly different skills who are essentially the same player. It sucks. Torres, Kljestan, Williams, Jones, Bradley, Edu, Mixx, Beckerman, Johnson. You could make an argument to put Feilhaber on that list too. Ridiculous. Holden is our only true central mid who distinguishes himself and he's a gimp. Anyway, Tim Chandler is good. Really talented etc. He isn't a left back though. He did Shea zero favors who had to track back too much to do what he does best, run at and off people in the final third. Howard was great, Jozy was good and Clint did his damnedest, but everything else sucked. There's no offensive quality around Clint and Jozy. None. We're a really bad team right now, and it's equal parts talent and roster construction. If you want an effective attack, you don't play what amounts to a 5-4-1 with Beckerman playing basically a sweeper. Edu is an offensive cipher. Those two have to be the engine room of the attack, and they both are offensively inept. We're going to really struggle in qualifying if Klinsmann continues to structure his lineup and roster in the least efficient manner possible.

What a shock, once Edu and Beckerman left we looked competent. Williams sucks. No left at all. I watched every single touch he had and it was with his right. Useless. Johnson looked useless. Clint and Jozy need help.

Williams has no ability to use his left foot.

I don't rate him, but I'd have a hard time rating the guys ahead of him that German Tony Robbins does. Donovan being out for the France/Slovenia games isn't really going to help our offense...

Verbeek scares me. Like he's going to leap out of the gif and beat me senseless.

RSL is incredibly fun to watch, though. This has been a great game. 3 posts, great saves...unfortunately the HDC crowd sucks.

Jesus red roaring Christ. Do we have enough D mids on there? Orozco and Rogers again? Really? F this guy. He's like a German Tony Robbins and I've had it. We're going to suck this cycle because of this asshat. EDIT: Alfredo Morales has 51 career Bundesliga minutes, and 2 whole games in 2Bund! 51 minutes! That's barely more 1st team play than I have. He's never even seen him play. And he's called into our national team camp in 2011. Unreal. This is horseshit of the highest order.

Was RSL down a man? I only saw the second half and it was really entertaining, especially once they got the 2nd goal. No, but they were playing with their 3rd and 4th choice CB's due to injury and the turf at C-Link is so terrible that it murders their possession game. Beckerman was basically sitting 3 yards in front of them for most of the game, and they couldn't string more than 3 passes together all night. Seattle just ran out of gas. The Fucito sub was questionable...not sure why you wouldn't pull out a defender instead of the guy who's caused havoc and hustled all over the place all night when you're more likely to score on a scrappy plan than anything else.

So the SEA-RSL tie last night was ridiculous. Basically a 99 minute power play for SEA, and they ran out of gas down 2-3 on aggregate. Tony Beltran's goal line clearance in the 1st half was the best save I've seen in a very very long time.