Part of Gordon R. Dickson's Childe Cycle is the story Lost Dorsai. It involves a young military musician from a warrior caste who has chosen not to kill. During the climax of the story he is part of a small force besieged by a much larger army. The larger force comes from a Hidalgo culture. Just prior to the battle he marches out of the besieged city and straight toward the attacking army playing a military taunt called Su Madre (Your Mother) on a set of Gallician bagpipes. He is cut down, but his act of gallant defiance strikes a chord within the attacking army and the siege breaks. The Hildalgo attitude embedded in his martial act is what the 2012 Sounders lack.

At their heart, professional sports serve our society as ritualized combat. The 2012 Sounders have forgotten this fact. My wife's comment from Wednesday night haunts me. She's right. The Sounders as a team need a subtle shift in their attitude. Their biggest problem right now isn't their injuries, lack of cohesion or specific personnel. Their problem is that as a team they are prissy and the rest of the league knows it. Bullying the Sounders works.

All great sports stars play with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. You don't have to take it to the level of Ty Cobb. But when you find yourself in a sword fight, you better remember to bury the pointy end in your opponent or cleave them in two with the edge. When the god of War comes calling, you tell him, "Not today." Or you end up a silly, dead, little boy and you leave your fans as widows and orphans. Because at their core, sports are training for combat. The 2012 Sounders don't miss Kasey Keller's leadership as much as they miss his fire. Many of their problems are symptomatic of the fact that there doesn't appear to be any blood lust in this team.

Blood lust isn't precise enough. There is term from Flamenco that is more accurate: Duende. Duende is an elusive quality that speaks to the soul a great performance. It involves an attitude that stakes ownership in the piece and commands the emotions the piece embodies. Great teams exhibit duende. The Sounders don't have it yet. There are glimpses of precision in their play. But the precision is sterile. It lacks a smoldering core that demonstrates the inferno being kept in check by force of will.

Athletic intensity is a tricky commodity. The Sounders should not resort to thuggery. There are other ways to stand up to the bullying. The Sounders need Eddie Johnson to be the bayonet at the end of their offense. They need him to drive the ball into the chest of the opposition until he feels it grind against the bones of their spine. Right now he's playing like a first year Charms student flicking his wand and trying to get the right intonation on Wingardium Leviosa. The Sounders need Mauro Rosales and Alvaro Fernandez to remember the knife fight embedded in the spirit of the Tango. They need the Hildalgo. Ozzie Alonso understands. He needs to teach the Sounders what it means to be Hildalgo. They need fire along with precision. They need to rub the velvet off their antlers and truly take on the opposition in the battle of wills.

The Sounders have chosen a tactical style of soccer more akin to the rapier than the claymore. Fine. Watch Tim Roth's character in Rob Roy wield a rapier. Watch the movie, Captain Alatriste. Then drive the point home. All the fancy footwork in the world fails if you forget to finish the duel.

I love watching the Sounders play. I am excited by the possibilities this team and their approach embody. But the simple truth is that their petulance grows stale. Yes, the Sounders are getting hacked down. But until they learn to consistently play through the hacks, wipe their bloody nose on their sleeve and ram the ball down the opposition's throat, it won't stop. The Sounders will continue to get bullied. Time to win the battle of wills. Time to stand up and say, "Su Madre."

Bumped to get it out of the gameday clutter.

Every day in London, tourists flock to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. From the outside, the event creates a certain pomp and spectacle. Yet, for most guard shifts it represents the only real event and the only complex series of actions the soldiers perform. (Any soldier will tell you, their relief is the only 'event' they want to experience on guard duty.) The rest of a guard shift purrs along in a series of basic routines. All industries have similar changes. For some professions, like medicine, these shift changes occur a few times each day. In other endeavors, the changes may only happen every few years. Each time the guard changes, a certain level of disruption occurs. Watching the Sounders play their past two games I was reminded of this fact.

This offseason was marked by the Sounders changing the guard. This involved four distinct facets. The Sounders handed over the reigns of leadership to their young skilled core. They brought in Michael Gspurning, Adam Johansson, Eddie Johnson and Marc Burch. Four players who should be at the peak of their playing careers relative to the balance of their physical skills and mental understanding of the game. The Sounders also raised the standard of their bench by relying more on players they have been grooming and bringing in a group of skilled rookies. This gives the team a more balanced bench that has seen an improved quality level.

As with any changing of the guard, the Sounders are experiencing a certain level of disruption. Players like Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso will not lead like their predecessor, Kasey Keller. They must learn what works for them. The existing roster must finesse their timing with both the new veterans and the rookies. The final steps of this process must occur during game play. Players like David Estrada must find their place in the mix as the coaches tinker with lineups. The hope would have been for this disruption to shake out over the first two months of the season. But the Sounder's injury woes and devoting preseason to the CCL quarterfinals meant that a portion of the upheaval still lingers. We've seen it over the past two games.

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Since I last wrote about our intrepid team, they have played three games in short succession; all wins. The Sounders' congested May schedule is helping the team play catch up with the rest of the league in terms of games played. By this Saturday's game against Real Salt Lake, the Sounders will have played as many games as Sporting Kansas City. With games against FC Dallas and RSL, we should have an even better picture of where the Sounders sit in the overall MLS power structure this season.

This week's Power Rankings see the Sounders sitting atop both the MLS and Soccer By Ives polls and in second place in the SB Nation rankings. Yet, for the most part, the quality of the Sounder's 2012 side continues to fly under the conciousness of the national media and league fan base. Their advancement up the rankings apprears to be as much by default as by admiration. Losses by San Jose and KC being as responsible for their position as any Sounders' accomplishments. Dismissals of the Seattle side litter the internet and even the MLS rankings don't really speak to the quality of the team as much as the internet presence of the Seattle fan base. Fredy Montero's wonder strike is being conceded as the Goal of the Week in many corners because of the perception that Seattle's fan base will stuff the ballot box. Blog commenters chalk the Sounders' record up to the weakness of their opponents and the fact that the team has played 75% of their games at CenturyLink Field. The San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United, Sporting KC, RSL and even the New York Red Bulls seem to be getting more attention in many circles.

Yet, the Sounders have the best Points Per Game average in the league. They have only conceded three goals all season; two GTWs and a soft PK taken by the league's leading scorer. All of this while being decimated by injuries to key players and starting 8 different lineups and 21 of the 30 players they have on their roster. Think about that for a moment. They have started 21 different players in 8 games, have a 6-1-1 record and have only given up one goal in the run of play. Clearly this is a side that deserves recognition. Something squirrelly is going on here. How can a team with these stats be getting the Rodney Dangerfield treatment?

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Let's play a little game, since it's a bye week. Imagine for a moment that it's July and the Sounders are healthy and their new players have been integrated into the fold. One way of gauging the strength of a team is to look at its potential for growth and improvement using just the players it currently has on the roster. If we look at Sporting KC, how much better can they be using the players they currently have? What happens if we ask the same question of the Sounders? Just how good are they potentially?

What do we know right now?

A number of Seattle players are currently playing as well as they ever have for the team and a few players have significantly elevated their game play in 2012.

Fredy Montero, Version 4 is a beast. He has improved his hold up play, distribution and leadership, while maintaining the same creativity and goal potential. He may not have scored yet, but his play says that it's only a matter of time before he goes on a tear. Once some of the other players return to the lineup and start absorbing pressure, spaces will open around him and this will unleash the new version to wreak havoc.

David Estrada has elevated his game this season with the move to forward and the Sounders now have a player whose work rate matches that of Sebastian LeToux. He also has a nose for goal and makes timely runs. If he continues to evolve through the season the Sounders have found a diamond on their existing roster.

Patrick Ianni and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado have both returned to starting caliber form. With Jeff Parke, the three players give Seattle a solid core at CB. They also anchor the defense and stabilize Seattle's back line, working off of each other and absorbing or diverting pressure. This bodes well.

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Early season injuries within the MLS rosters create unique challenges when handicapping the relative caliber of the individual teams. Injuries do not exist in a vacuum. Home field advantage, strength of opposition, number of games played, interleague competitions and the overall development arc of teams also play significant roles. But injuries and their unique impact on the strength of MLS franchises deserves scrutiny.

Part of a Bigger Problem: Injuries and MLS

Professional athletes get injured. This is a fact of sports. But the MLS roster rules include injury management as a component of roster building strategy and heavily weighted consequences. The MLS roster rules place an intense premium on teams remaining healthy. A nine month, 34 game season with the travel component of MLS tests every team's fitness. But additional pressure is applied because of the tight salary cap and very restrictive injured reserve rules within the league.

The salary cap forces each team to make compromises within their depth both in terms of numbers and quality of replacement players. Some teams opt to spend the lion's share of their budget on their Starting 11 and limit the quality of their remaining reserves. This creates a very powerful but shallow team. If anyone goes down, the team is left with very limited resources to shore up the gap. Other teams opt for more balance. They spread the talent base more evenly across their rosters. This makes them more resilient but not necessarily as skilled as the team that invests in a few high caliber players. But even these teams experience significant quality variation within their rosters. There simply isn't enough money within the budget or slots on the roster to overcome all contingencies.

The Injured Reserve rules further compound the problem. Placing a player on the injured reserve in MLS frees up a roster spot but not any cap space. If a team loses a 3 million dollar a year DP, they may only be able to replace that player with a player making $45 K depending on the team's position relative to the cap. This generally represents a quantum step off in quality. Furthermore, teams can only buy out the contract of a single player per year. This can make it very difficult for a team to overcome the impact of devastating injuries that take longer than a year to heal.

This combination of rules means that the quality of an MLS team usually degrades immediately when faced with injuries. This degradation can last for more than a season. Toronto FC, LA Galaxy, FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders all have key long term injuries that impact their current competitiveness by varying degrees. By contrast, Sporting Kansas City is currently healthy. The overall season-long performance of each team and their relative strength will dynamically change as the injury status of each team evolves.

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Saturday the Sounders did exactly what the coaching staff asked them to do. They won a road point. The result and the gameplan were as cold and calculated as a professional foul. Sigi Schmid's roster choices, substitution pattern and tactical approach to the game were consciously designed to earn a point and potentially steal a win. The Sounders' efforts epitomized a hard-nosed, blue-collar, conservative approach to the sport. D.C. United could have been forgiven if they checked the schedule at half time to insure that they were indeed playing Seattle and not Houston. If the Sounders had taken the field for the second half sporting Dynamo Orange would the D.C. United players really have been surprised?

But DC wasn't as unsettled as Seattle's fan base. All around the Emerald City Sunday morning, Sounders fans woke with emotional hangovers attempting to wrap their minds around what they saw Saturday night. This performance didn't measure up to our expectations of the Sounders as a dynamic team that plays attacking football. Where were the team's creative options off the bench? Where is the vaunted depth? Why did Sigi play so conservatively? Things could have been worse. They could have lost. But this tie left many fans feeling as if they had to settle for kissing their sister. Please pass the mouthwash.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Seattle's vaunted depth was on full display Saturday. It just wasn't what many fans expected. Seattle did not spend the offseason retooling its offense. The team focused on a defensive overhaul and balance. The fruits of that labor sparkled Saturday night under the Capital lights. Osvaldo Alonso and company smothered the DC lineup that had hung a four spot on FC Dallas just the week before. Time and again, Seattle defenders delayed, harried and redirected DC United into ineffective positions and choked off their options. Frustration etched Dwayne De Rosario's face by the end of the game. Nick DeLeon disappeared for long stretches. Maicon Santos was exasperated.

No one will mistake Seattle's defenders for stone pillars repelling a besieging army. The Sounders' defense isn't an Iron Curtain. It's a cold Northwest rain. Drizzle that seeps under your clothes and wraps around your psyche like a miserable wet blanket. A lead sky that presses down. Endless grey winter that saps the opposition's concentration and resolve. A little taste of Seattle sunlight to darken their day.

And it works. Seattle may have only generated three solid opportunities to score on the evening, but they were better opportunities than anything DC was able to muster. There are nights when Seattle will bury those opportunities.

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Yes. I was impressed by the Sounders' performance last Saturday against San Jose. Fielding a starting lineup cobbled together out of spare parts and held together by bubble gum and bailing wire, Sigi Schmid and the Sounders put in a noteworthy effort against San Jose's first team Starting Eleven. When Jhon Kennedy Hurtado went down at halftime, the Sounders were without the services of 11 men on their 30 man roster. Six of their opening day eleven players were not on the pitch. Five games into a new season, over one-third of their team was unavailable. A lesser quality side could have been decimated. Yet, if not for an extremely soft penalty call, the Sounders would have earned a draw. At no point during the evening were the Sounders ever out of the game or outclassed. They remained dangerous, defensively sound and generated offensive opportunities up to the final whistle.

Contrary to many opinions, the Sounders did not look ugly -- they appeared disjointed. Those are very different things. The LA Galaxy's 3-1 loss at home to the New England Revolution was ugly. The second half performance in Torreon was ugly. Saturday's gutsy performance was not ugly. It demonstrated the quality of the Sounders' depth and character. The mistakes the Sounders made on Saturday can be rectified with time and subtle adjustments. Good teams have off nights. The LA Galaxy are a mess, but the lineup the Sounders fielded last week can work with a bit more time together.

The Sounders should not be content. They lost the game. But they should not cower in shame, either. Saturday's performance has the hallmarks of a champion's loss; no MLS team was ever going to finish the 2012 season with a 34-0-0 record. There is too much parity, particularly within the Western Conference. Expectations that the Sounders will ride roughshod over any team in this league are unrealistic. Expectations that the Sounders will control the run of play for 90 minutes every game are naive. Their opponents are proud professionals with quality skills, and a hard fought 1-0 loss allows for learning and growth. It is a coachable moment. Break it down and the caliber of this team shines.

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Three home games. Three very different opponents. Three wins.

On a superficial level this is an impressive statistic in its own right. Historically MLS squads do not feature tactical flexibility. But reviewed in the context of the injury report, this result takes on a different significance. The Sounders currently have eight injured players and two players away from the team on International duty. One third of their roster was not available last Saturday night. Four of the missing players were potential All-Star-caliber players, including their opening-day Captain. Three of the Sounders' first four draft picks are injured. They had to bring in Academy players and invitees to round out their roster for Monday's Reserve League match. Yet, the Sounders were still able to defeat the most defensive team in the league, the Houston Dynamo. At the time, the Dynamo had been undefeated, winning their first two games on the road. The Sounders featured a roster and a tactical approach that differed markedly from their first two home games. They still had other tactical options on the bench. And they still won.

Compare these results to the impact that injuries have had to the LA Galaxy and Toronto FC. The Galaxy lost Omar Gonzalez to an off-season injury and their defensive strength has suffered considerably. They have managed just one win in four starts even with their vaunted offensive weapons. Since the start of the season, Toronto has lost their defensive lynch pin, DP Torsten Frings and their starting GK, Stephan Frei. Their team is currently in tactical shambles and is free falling through the MLS power rankings after opening their season by knocking LA out of the CCL quarterfinals.

The Sounders' 2012 depth generated a great deal of off-season discussion. Many people looked at the roster and argued that the team was deeper and more balanced than previous editions of the roster had been. But with the loss of 12 players from the 2011 roster (Mike Fucito, Lamar Neagle, Kasey Keller, Erik Friberg, Terry Boss, James Riley, Tyson Wahl, O'Brian White, Nate Jaqua, Pat Noonan, Taylor Graham and Miguel Montano), questions lingered about the team's depth and whether the new players would be able to offer the team the same kinds of options that defined their 2011 success. The season is still young, but the first three games provide a very encouraging answer to the question.

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The top MLS teams in 2012 will be the ones that do the best job of balancing defense and converting their chances on offense.

How's that for a bold prediction and 'Well, Duh." statement? On one level it could be applied to any league during any season. It is the reason that the NFL keeps statistics on things like turn over rates and converting within the Red Zone. But this year's MLS season is liable to put a unique spin on the concept that warrants investigation.

Every MLS roster is a compromise. The salary cap structure and roster rules insure that every team has to make choices about where to bet on quality and where to bet on being adequate. Some teams have historically bet on putting all of their eggs into their Starting 11 and sacrificed quality depth. Some teams focused on a particular tactical approach and sacrificed flexibility. Other teams focused on offense at the expense of defense and vice versa. In any given year, rosters around the league represented a plethora of different compromises and half the fun of the league was watching how the various compromises stacked up against each other.

2012 is shaping up to be an anomaly. Few teams appear to have emphasized defense and those teams don't appear to be very strong at the outset of the season. Meanwhile a number of clubs appear to have sacrificed defensive prowess for offensive fire power. Sporting KC, LA, Portland, Vancouver and Toronto have all rolled the dice in favor of their offenses. Granted, the injury to Omar Gonzalez forced LA's hand, but their team for most of this season will live and die with their offense. Seattle, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas are a bit more balanced, but Seattle could easily be described as a hybrid between balance and offense. Of the top teams in the league, only Houston appears in the early going to be based on a more defensive mentality. The question with Houston is how will they stack up against the league's more offensively structured teams. Neither of their wins came against any of the scoring oriented teams. This Friday's contest against Seattle will be a benchmark game for how they will fare.

Which brings us to the premise of this column. Converting opportunities and defense are going to carry a premium in 2012.

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No team will win or lose either the Supporters' Shield or the MLS Cup on the opening week of the season. That is not the joy of First Kick. An opening weekend is all about hope. Every team's fans can celebrate at the start of opening weekend. It's the only point in a season when the entire league has the same record. We can all dream.

But once the games are in the books, we should step back and take an objective look at what transpired. We can begin the process of seeing how each team's front office dealt with the offseason and whether those moves appear to be fruitful. We gain a valuable first impression. Of course, first impressions are not everything. Last year the Sporks started a road odyssey that left their mid season record a wreck, yet, by the end of the season they were one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference. Two years ago, the Seattle Sounders started slowly and built to a late season flurry.

But first impressions can be surprisingly germane. At the start of 2011, the Sounders looked like a team that simply needed time to gel. That impression bore out over the course of the season, even with the devestating injuries to Steve Zakuani and O'Brian White. At this point every team but Chicago has played a meaningful game. What did this past week reveal?

Works in Progress

Most of the teams can simply be described as works in progress. Teams like Columbus, Colorado, DC, San Jose, and Houston looked respectable but didn't light anyone's hair on fire. It was a first game and it looked like a first game. Even some of the weaker teams like New England and Montreal simply looked like they need time together to become a team. Neither team was embarrassing, but neither looked ready for prime time just yet. Their coaches need time to try multiple combinations and build team chemistry. They both need time to build quality depth. But this was expected.

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There are moments during the tornado season when the air turns green. Suddenly you find yourself swimming through air the color of an antique glass bottle. The world turns still, anticipating the tempest on the horizon. You taste the ozone and your skin tingles. Overhead the clouds swirl, an inky shale blue grey. Your heart races just a touch faster in your chest. You hear the rush of blood in your ears. The scent of grass and lingering leaves wafts through your brain. Greenage reminds you that you are alive and that in a moment you will be will soaked to the skin. Soon you will be bathed in sound and fury. Sitting at my computer this morning, I am reminded of the green days of my youth.

Every once in a while in sports, two quality teams meet in a game that matters. The teams are evenly matched and both enter the game expecting a battle and expecting to win. Neither team is cocky. Neither team is fearful. Both are confident and calm. Both swagger. As the game approaches, everyone can taste the build up.

Today is part of the promise of Champion's League play. Two of the best soccer teams from the Northern half of our Hemisphere are going to take the pitch tonight at CenturyLink Field. These are the games that define a player's or coach's career. These are the games that take the measure of a man. Tonight's game has the potential to define careers. The players know it. The coaches know it. They want to be measured.

Santos Laguna enters tonight's game backed by the strength of tradition. Mexican teams have owned this tournament and Santos is considered by many to be the top Mexican team competing this year. They are worthy of the accolades. They are a deep, attacking team that plays soccer with skill and daring. The core of their team has been playing together for a number of years. Their style is to play on the front foot and use their prowess to bury opponents. They are not liable to hunker down and try to win through defense. It isn't their way.

The Seattle Sounders enter the game with a technical attacking style of their own. The Sounders are as deep and balanced as any MLS squad. Their defense is solid. Their crowd will be in full voice. Their season is about to unfold and it holds all of the promise of their new FieldTurf. Their time is now.

This is the feast of Champion's League play. You can taste it in the air. Savor the moments of this day. Days like this are rare in sport. It is a day that must first be earned. As fans we should hold them close and embrace the spectacle. Gather the tightness in your chest, the lump in your throat, the tingling of your skin and let the anticipation build. Hold it in and carry it with you to the stands. Then when the game begins, cry havoc! Unleash the feeling in a torrent of Sounder fury and let it sweep the field. Turn the air Rave Green.

Savor the moment. This is the feast of Champion's League. Can you taste it?

Tonight's game against Jaguares essentially marks the end of the Sounders' 2012 preseason. The team's roster for the start of the season is basically set. Yesterday Sigi stated that tonight's game will be about focusing on preparing for next week's match against Santos Laguna. Time to stop focusing on which players the Sounders will choose and start looking at how the pieces they have fit together. Everyone is antsy for the season to start. You hear it in the players comments and throughout the net. But with a week to go, we still have to wait a bit longer. The lull provides an opportunity to look at three of the big roster questions facing the 2012 Sounders.

Question 1: How will the Sounders use their bench?

In 2011, the Sounders bench became a tactical arsenal. Players rolled into and out of the lineup as the situation warranted and Sigi was able to create tactical mismatches across the various competitions. Expectation led to performance and the team excelled. Key injuries and the team's unbalanced depth necessitated the moves. But the result was joyous to behold.

The 2012 Sounders appear to have a more balanced roster positionally. The only real question mark in terms of positional depth lies at the more forward central midfield position. After Brad Evans the team will need to move a player out of position, rely on two more defensive center mids or rely on Mike Seamon. Yes, there is still angst over the starting forwards, but that has more to do with injury and fear than depth. Not including Roger Levesque, the 2012 Sounders are 6 deep at forward with Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson, David Estrada, Sammy Ochoa, Cordell Cato and Babayele Sodade. The team has multiple options in the wide midfield and this area again looks to be a core strength of the team. The team is 3 deep at defensive central midfield, two deep at right fullback, three deep on the left and has five solid options at CB. There are still four goal keepers on the roster though Josh Ford will certainly begin the season on the Injured Reserve since he had to be shut down for at least 6-8 weeks.

On paper the 2012 Sounders appear more stratified than the 2011 version of the team. There appears to be a reasonably clear first team and second team. With the Sounders' multiple competitions more evenly spread throughout the season, it doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to see the team fielding one squad for MLS and CCCL Quarterfinal matches, a second squad for the USOC and CCCL Group stage matches and then a third squad for the Reserve Schedule. Which brings us full circle to the question of how the Sounders will use their bench.

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What a difference a week makes. A week ago I wrote about the young heart of the Sounders and this week, two of those players are now Impactioneers. (Hey, it sounds better than Impacters.) Much has been said in the aftermath of The Trade. But one comment in particular struck a chord for me. Arbeck77 made a strong analogy about grading the trade using poker terminology. Any move in a poker game can be assessed through statistical analysis. But there is another side to professional poker that is equally apropos. In addition to the element of chance, poker is a psychological contest. At the end of the day, all players are subject to the same odds within poker. Yet not all poker players win consistently. Professional players know the odds, but play their opponents. A lowly pair of twos is a winning hand if your opponent has a busted flush and you know it. Reading your opponent is often more important than knowing the odds.

It all comes down to betting on yourself and not just the odds. Making it in the world of professional sports is a long shot. Lamar Neagle wasn't drafted and Mike Fucito was a 4th Round pick out of Harvard. Both men defied the odds and are now solid professional soccer players. Their professional life fulfills a childhood dream. How many of us would have bet our livelihood on their success three years ago reading the odds? These men bet on themselves and worked until their dream became reality. Part of our attachment to them as fans lies in this aspect of their success. I will miss seeing both of them on the pitch wearing Rave Green. But a part of me knows that they have a better chance to grow this year in Montreal. They are apt to get more time on the field playing in the roles that suit them. I hope they flourish.

One year ago Mauro Rosales bet on himself. He signed a contract to play in a league he didn't know and in spite of his pedigree, he agreed to play for the MLS league minimum salary. His performance earned him $42,000 and the MLS Newcomer of the Year award for 2011. It also earned him a DP caliber contract for 2012.

Betting on yourself as a player is easy to understand. Betting on yourself as a coach or sports administrator carries a different level of risk. Creating a tactical system or locating talent both depend on whether the talent actually performs. The MLS salary cap creates a situation akin to the odds in poker. All of the teams are subject to the same basic odds. Statistically this should result in no team building a dynasty. But dynastic aspirations are alive and well in the world of MLS because not all coaching staffs and front offices make intelligent decisions when they bet on themselves.

Sometimes the job is easy. A player like Steve Zakuani or Andrew Wenger is a relatively safe pick as a first round draft choice. Using your spot in the allocation order to bring in Kasey Keller to finish his career in front of his hometown fans constitutes a reasonably sure bet. But administrators who only get the easy decisions right do not succeed overall. They are paid to make the tricky decisions and they must rely on more than just the odds. They are paid to see the gems that everyone else thinks are merely coprolites.

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Early in the classic baseball movie Bull Durham, there is a scene where the veteran catcher, Crash Davis, ends up out back of a bar with the pitching protégé he's supposed to be helping to develop. Ebby Calvin ‘Nuke' LaLoosh wants to fight, but Crash hands Ebby a baseball instead and goads him into throwing the ball at Crash's chest.

"C'mon Rook. Show us that million dollar arm, cause I've got, ooh, I've got a good idea about that 5 cent head of yours."

All the physical ability in the world is worthless in professional sports unless it's backed by understanding. The entire plot of the movie is driven by the relationships that surround this rookie phenom's professional development. But what the movie doesn't show is what happens three years down the line when Nuke is no longer a rookie phenomenon, but is instead a veteran pitcher entering the prime of his career. How does the investment in his future that was promised in the movie pan out?

In many respects this will be the plot of the Sounders' 2012 season. Fredy Montero, Alvaro Fernandez, Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans are now seasoned veterans. The Sounders' Front Office took off the training wheels and has handed the helm of the ship to these young men. The administration and coaches trust that these men will rise to the challenge. It isn't an unreasonable expectation.

Maturity matters in soccer. Experience matters. Understanding matters. These men have a clearer idea of what to expect on and off the pitch. They know what to expect from each other. The game has slowed down and they can now see nuances and opportunities they missed two years ago. They are ready to handle the reins. You can see it in their drive and actions in the preseason. Their focus and relaxed confidence cuts through every interview and highlight tape. The 2012 Sounders belong to them.

The Sounders Front Office didn't make any flashy offseason moves to bolster the team's offense. The team secured Mauro Rosales's services. They found replacements for Kasey Keller, James Riley and Tyson Wahl. None of these moves titillates the Sounders' fan base. They were all critical moves, but not overly sexy. In fact, most of the offseason moves ended up being about converting the Sounders' young core into the team's heart. This team will sink or thrive on their performance and leadership.

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I woke up this morning to Josh Mayers of the Seattle Times reporting that the LA Galaxy had managed to secure Leonardo on a free transfer and they got Juninho back on a free loan. Suffice it to say that my initial response was not fit to print.

The top of the LA Galaxy roster boggles the mind. They have 3 DPs; Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane. Edson Buddle returns to the squad after a year in Europe. Leonardo and Juninho are now both back. They also still have the player they brought in when they thought that Juninho would not return, Marcelo Sarvas.

Which brings us to the issue of the salary cap. How did LA manage to secure this level of talent and stay within the MLS salary cap? The answer is, mostly, Allocation Money.

It's easy to overlook all of the little things that LA has done this off-season that brought in Allocation Money. They earned Allocation Money by advancing to the Group Stage of the 2012 CONCACAF Champions league and the Knock Stage of the 2011 CONCACAF Champions league. (The Sounders also earned the same Allocation Money.) LA earned Allocation Money when they traded Donovan Ricketts to Montreal. Expansion clubs are given large amounts of Allocation Money and I imagine that Montreal dropped a chunk of theirs to obtain the services of a veteran Goal Keeper with Rickett's pedigree. (Editor's note: We've also been informed that every MLS team gets allocation to account for talent dilution whenever a new team joins the league.) The Galaxy also likely earned Allocation Money when they loaned Donovan, Omar Gonzales and Keane to teams in Europe (Editor's Note: It's come to our attention that allocation money from loans is not quite this straight-forward, more later). Yes, the loan of Gonzales came with a high price tag when he was injured, but his loan fee likely still applies.

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A few weeks ago while watching the MLS Player Combine I was struck by a strange realization; what happens in the Seattle Sounders FO is a spectator sport and that for me it is one of my favorite aspects of the game.

The internet broadcasts for the Combine were sponsored by a video game called Football Manager 2012 by Sports Interactive and marketed Sega. I've never played the game or even seen how it works, but just the idea that a video game has been created where fans get to manage a team rather than play the sport fascinates me. It speaks to a core element of fan culture; we are as interested in the decisions as the play.

This week the Sounders are in Arizona bonding as a team and continuing the process of preseason roster construction. The practices are open to the fans and on the first day, one vacationing couple showed up because they were already in the area. It isn't that the fans aren't interested. We're just too far away. Even the media that covers the Sounders isn't able to attend due to costs. The team knows this and staged a conference call between Sigi and the media yesterday. The team has also been blogging about camp, writing daily articles and producing a series of videos interviewing players and giving the fans a programmed look 'behind' the scenes. Why?

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One of the most hotly debated roster topics this off season has been whether the Seattle Sounders need to upgrade or add tactical depth to the roster at the more attack-oriented central midfield position. The discussion has often gotten bogged down in traditional soccer semantics. Many of us have expressed our desire for a more creative player by suggesting that perhaps the team needs to find a CAM. Unfortunately, a CAM or true No. 10, is a specific type of player in soccer nomenclature, that does not work simply with the Sounders' current tactical formation. Montero plays a type of Withdrawn Forward called a Trequartista. A Trequartista and a CAM utilize similar tactical space on the pitch and would get in each other's way. In blunt terms, the team does not need a CAM. But there is more to this discussion than a simple misunderstanding of traditional tactical positions. I want to take a deeper look at the issues underlying this desire and how the Sounders may address the issue coming out of training camp.

The Root of the Problem

The Sounders have been eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs for three years in a row. They have not won a Supporters' Shield. For a three-year-old franchise, neither of these things is a tragedy. But winning one of these accolades is a good goal for the team. When you look at why the Sounders have not been successful, the central midfield stands out as a potential weakness.

During the Sounders' first two seasons, the team had limited offensive weapons and the good MLS teams were able to shut down the Sounders by focusing on key players. In their third season, the Sounders were not as easy to shut down, but a combination of injuries and the particular weaknesses of the 2011 team resulted in another playoff loss.

The 2011 Sounders broke down in a very specific way. The team was able to compensate for the loss of Zakuani and O'Brian White tactically but not without cost. Zakuani and OBW constituted much of the 2011 Sounders' speed. Without them in the lineup, opposing teams were able to cheat their defensive players farther up the pitch. The Sounders were able to overcome this shift through tactical creativity, particularly in the wide areas of the field. But when Mauro went down, the Sounders floundered.

Teams were able to shut down the team by funneling the play into the central midfield and denying the Sounders the wings. The central midfield was good at holding and defensive play, but couldn't compensate creatively. They were also outmanned because of the team's lack of a speed threat. This resulted in the run of play being compressed toward the Sounders' end of the field. When the team turned the ball over in the central midfield, this compounded their vulnerability to the counter attack. On the surface, this appears to be a failure of the tactical abilities of the players used in the CM, particularly the more advanced attacking CM. But is this really the case?

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Update: 20 JAN 12 Camp opened today and as expected there were more players invited. Particularly notable were two additional GKs, Andrew Weber formerly of San Jose and free agent Tyrel Lacey. This increases the competition at GK but shouldn't impact the remaining roster.

Thursday morning marks the beginning of training camp for the Seattle Sounders. Training camp is the MLS version of musical chairs. While the music is playing every one at the party gets to play. But once the music stops, some of these men are going to find themselves without a seat. The current roster of 28 players will be augmented in camp by 7 draftees and a collection of trialists. Competition just to make the roster is going to be fierce. Before camp starts, I want to take a look at how this competition is shaping up and explore some of the options that may exist for a player to make this team.

Core 25

The simplest way to make a roster is to demonstrate to the coaching staff that you are one of the two most skilled players on the team at a given position. This will account for 22 spots on the roster. In reality, due to the injuries to Steve Zakuani and O'Brian White, this will account for 24 spots on the Sounders' roster. The mandatory 3^rd GK is going to take one of the remaining spots bringing the total roster to 25. This leaves 4-5 spots for the team to add developmental depth and take a chance on a player.

If we look at the returning players and the off season acquisitions, a few areas of competition become obvious. After the jump, we'll look at the Core team position by position.

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Lost in the Supplemental Draft news was a post draft trade. The Seattle Sounders traded the rights to Leone Cruz for the rights to UCLA MF Andy Rose. Rose was selected by RSL as the 6th overall pick in today's Supplemental Draft.

Dave's note: Abbott will be joining the Sounder at Heart crew with a nearly weekly column. His FanPosts opened our eyes to the idea of adding someone with a different voice who could provide regular columns about roster construction, lineup management and other stuff. He's our second off-season addition, as you may have noticed Timm joining the ranks to help us cover some news and other stuff. If you haven't guessed we're looking at having an even better site in 2012. Teams that win trophies deserve the best.

Prospecting

The term conjures up images from the birth of Seattle as a city. Seattle became the jump off point for many men seeking their fortunes in the Yukon and in the process the money this generated laid the foundations for a modern day city. When you strip away all the hype and hyperbole; the MLS Player Combine, SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft create the same type of foundation for the future of this league that we all love. At their core, the objective is for teams to sift through all of the potential players available and find the gems that will become the future of their team. This activity carries risk. It is after all, prospecting. But there is also the prospect of reward. Contained within these events are men who will be a key component of the MLS for years to come.

Prospect

These young men are skilled. But even the best of them are simply prospects. They are about to make the leap from soccer as an avocation to soccer as their job. This entails a transition period. None of them will save an MLS franchise this year. Each MLS franchise is in an unique position. For the newer franchises and teams that are rebuilding, the draft may yield a player who becomes a regular contributor to their team by the end of the 2012 season. For the established teams with deep rosters like the LA Galaxy or Seattle Sounders, the draft will yield a piece for the team's future. At best, a player drafted in the first round of the draft by either of these teams might hope to make the 18 for some MLS games this season and become a key contributor off of the bench.

'Prospective'

We are fans, short for 'fanatic'. It's easy to look at these events and lose perspective. Even the best players available in this year's draft are not likely to crack Seattle's Starting 11 unless the team suffers a major player loss due to injury or transfer. If Seattle were to trade up and get the Number 1 pick, the player that they would select is not going to start against Santos Laguna. These young men are prospects. In this lull between the end of the Player Combine and the Super Draft, I realized that it was important for me to grasp this concept and temper my viewpoint accordingly. With this in mind, here are my final thoughts on the 2012 Player Combine.

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Earlier today, Alexi Lalas described the Combine as 'great theater'. He was speaking both to the spectacle on the field and the drama happening throughout the hotel lobbies and bars as both MLS executives and scouts jockey for position and posture. No one really says what they are thinking about given players. They all try to hide their intentions. But there is an art to reading between the lines. Though I am not privy to this side of the combine, I can certainly understand his perspective.

Yet, even watching the Combine from a fan's perspective online, I am enjoying the drama and the spectacle. I spent a decade as a college art professor and dean. The Combine reminds me of Portfolio Review day. These students are about to graduate into the professional world. For one last weekend, they are competing against their classmates and trying to show potential employers that they possess skills that could be of value. For one brief moment in the sun, they have the employers' undivided attention. Some of them are realizing that perhaps they are not as good as they thought. Others are worried that they haven't shown their potential in the best possible light. And yet others are basking in the late afternoon sun of this final scene from their college careers.

Soon this weekend will be a distant memory as they take their places in training camps throughout the MLS. These young men will discover what it means to be a professional athlete and this weekend will have all the solidity of a soap bubble on the breeze. Suddenly they will be competing against more mature men who have been playing this sport at a higher level than any of them have ever known. Players who were stars will be learning new positions and gaining valuable insight watching games from the stands. Such is the nature of transitioning from the world of an amateur to that of a pro.

But for now, there is hope and sunshine. One last moment adrift in the bubble. We can all appreciate the splendor of the bubble, even if we know that it cannot last and that it is to a certain extent artificial.

This is not to say that the exercise is not without merit. Mr. Lalas correctly pointed out that all of the teams will not rely predominately on the Combine to determine who they will draft. Teams have been scouting their favored prospects for months and in some cases years. But the Combine can show some very valuable things. Players from small programs use the Combine to give teams a first taste of their skills. Teams can assess players in positions and formations that may be different than what they played at their college but may be more appropriate for them at the next level. The Combine performance will change the draft order. And we can all get a sense of how rapidly a player adapts to being thrown into a new situation.

This last issue has particular benefit to the Sounders this year. Any players who the Sounders draft, will need to hit the ground running in training camp. The competition will be fierce for a very slim portion of the roster and the Sounders must prepare for Santos Laguna. A draftee who doesn't adapt well to change, runs the risk of not being allowed the time to show what they can do.

I have been fortunate this year to be able to watch most of the first two rounds of games online. I wanted to take a few moments and share my thoughts on what I've seen. This is just my opinion and I haven't been able to follow all of the players. I also don't have any special credentials that make my opinions any more informed than any other fan. This is just a fan's perspective on the event.

I am mostly looking at the positions that I would like to see the Sounders address with developmental depth: Attacking MF, Forward and Defensive utility. I am not interested in the brand names for each of the teams and will simply refer to them as Red, White, Blue and Green. Here's what I think.

The Red Team:

This is the strongest team of the Combine through the first two games. The attacking players hit the ground running and look like they have been playing together for some time. This is actually true of Kelyn Rowe and Chandler Hoffman who both played for UCLA. But these two players have also paired up well with the other attacking players on the squad. Casey Townsend and Hoffman have been two of the top forwards in this Combine. They are both showing themselves well, scoring goals, setting up opportunities, moving into dangerous spaces and showing skill on the ball. Rowe, Luis Silva and Lucky Mkosana have all had good moments during the first two games as Attacking mids. Lucky was left on an island as the lone Forward in the first half of today's game, but otherwise has had a good combine. Rowe showed both his strengths and weaknesses. He's very creative and technically skilled. He's also physically slight. He got his bell rung today and had to come out of the game. This was his last Combine game as he is leaving for the U23 Olympic training camp. But he showed himself well over the two days and his end line cross that set up one of today's goals was sublime. Silva has also had a good combine. Of the Senior attacking MFs, he has had the best combine and should go higher than the SB Nation Mock Draft listed at 16th. I would actually argue that of the available players in that draft, he might have been my choice even with Dwyer being a GA. Callum Mallus, the Scot, has also had a solid combine as has Hunter Jumper. One red player who has looked shaky is Matt Hedges. Going into the Combine he was the consensus top straight CB in this year's draft. (Wenger may play CB depending on who drafts him.) But Hedges has been beaten soundly on a few occasions. His stock has probably fallen a bit.

The White Team:

What a difference a day makes. Or should we say, what a difference a player makes. Ethan Finlay missed the first Combine games on Friday because he was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy. He arrived today with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Within 30 minutes of starting to play, he had the Combine's first hat trick. He scored in multiple ways and looked dangerous every time he touched the ball. More importantly he showed a nose for goal and finishing ability. Kohei Yamada moved to the center of the pitch for the game and quickly took over the role of CAM. He launched the attack. Sam Garza and Luke Holmes both looked equally dangerous with Holmes scoring the other white team goal. On defense, Andrew Jean-Baptiste has been the stud of the tournament. Tyler Polack has looked to be everything he was advertised to be at LB. But for me, the revelation of the day for the White Defense was Andrew Duran from Creighton. Duran played CB in college and in the second half. But in the first half, the coaching staff tried him at RB and he performed very well. A developmental player who can play both RB and CB might be a great option for the Sounders if he is still available in the second round.

The Blue Team:

The Blues looked overmatched today and have only scored a single goal so far. Their forwards haven't really done much and haven't impressed me. Dwyer has had his moments, but hasn't finished anything. Rolfe and Cascio have been mostly invisible. Frimpong has shown some creativity from the wings, but the team struggled today against the Reds. Enzo Martinez looked very good in the game Friday, but struggled to find any continuity today. Quite frankly, the Blues spent most of the game in a defensive shell as the Reds pounded their goalie. Evan James had a very pretty goal to score the team's first of the tournament, but was inconsistent.

The Greens:

Darren Mattocks is as advertised. He came on in the second half and made it a game. In the first half without him, the team looked lost. In a draft class that is already considered very weak at GK, Jhojan Obando would probably like to crawl into a hole about now. This cannot be how he hoped to show himself this weekend. In the game Friday he had a horrible gaffe and then today got shelled for four goals in the first 30 minutes. The Green Defense has not stood out to me at all. I had to look at the roster just to see who was on the squad and after two games I don't recognize any of the names. Not a good sign considering how many goals they have given up (6). A few offensive players who have stood out beyond Mattocks were Aldo Paniagua at CM, Eder Arreola at LM and Andrew Hoppenot at wide forward. Hoppenot got into some good wide spaces today clearing space for Mattocks to operate.

The $50 Dollar Question: Who would look good in Rave Green?

Forwards: Hoffman, Townsend and Finlay

Attacking Mids: Rowe, Silva, Martinez and maybe Yamada with a Supplemental pick

Defense: Wenger (who isn't at the draft), Jean-Baptiste or maybe Duran with a 2nd round or later pick. Polack and Jumper would also be good LB prospects if the team wants to move Tetteh up to the LMF.

Anyone else been wallowing in the spectacle and have an opinion?

The current MLS rules regarding injured players and the salary cap, create a serious problem for the league.

This week, the LA Galaxy lost the services of Omar Gonzalez for at least 4-6 months when he ruptured his ACL during a practice for Nurnberg. This injury is the latest in a series of high profile injuries that have plagued star MLS players over the past few seasons. Last year Steve Zakuani, OBW, David Ferreira and Javier Morales all suffered significant injuries that cost their teams their services for most of the season. The year before that the Sounders lost the services of Hurtado to a knee injury. Sports stars will be injured. This is a fact of life. This isn't the problem.

In the MLS, the problem is the impact that losing a star player to injury has on a team's salary cap. Even if the player is moved to the injured reserve, their salary still counts against the team's salary cap unless the team totally cuts the player. Placing the player on injured reserve does free up a roster spot. But the team must then fill his spot using whatever cap room it still has available. In a league that is this cap restricted, losing a star player can have devastating consequences for a team's season. One of the most amazing aspects of the past two Sounders seasons has been how successful the team has been in the face of major injuries to key players. But even with this success, the problem is real.

Long term the league needs to develop a mechanism for teams to at least look for a reasonable replacement to a player who is lost for the rest of the season. Say allowing the team to add a player making up to the league average salary. Not an ideal situation but certainly better than the lack of a system that currently exists.

But until the rules are changed, there is an option; Allocation Money. As I was contemplating the situation with Gonzalez, I realized that a team could potentially opt to bank some Allocation Money each year as an insurance policy against losing a star player to injury. If the Sounders hedge their payroll with 100-200k of AM held in reserve, they have an insurance policy against another major loss to injury.

Thoughts? Should the Sounders or any team consider this option? And how much should they set aside?

The roster for 2012 is beginning to take shape. If we assume that the team will indeed sign Johannson, Burch and Cato, the Starting 11 is likely pretty much set and we can take a step back and look at the team's overall balance. With the combine, International transfer window and the Super Draft looming just over the horizon, now is a good time to see what moves the Sounders may still need to make.

Move 1: Find a solid second string RB.

The one glaring hole in the Sounders current roster is at RB. Even if the team signs Johannson, they don't have a true second string RB. Someone, who can step in at a moment's notice and play a string of games in the case of an injury to Johannson.

Yes, the team can use Zach Scott in some scenarios. But at best he really should be used selectively. The team could also try to move a current player to this as a new position. Likely candidates would be Sanyang, Levesque or perhaps Evans or Seamon. In some respects this might be the best options for Sanyang or Levesque long term with the team, but it would definitely represent a project. And this position is best not left to a project. That leaves the draft, International market or a trade.

This year's Super Draft probably only has one viable candidate with the skill level the Sounders need from the position and that's Andrew Wenger. He appears to be the only player in the draft that could step in should the need arise. Anyone else is much more likely to be a long term proposition like Tetteh. Unfortunately, Wenger is going to go either 1st or 2nd in the draft barring Montreal and Vancouver getting a wild hair. If the Sounders want him, they are going to have to pay to get him. With the team's depth, this may not be a bad option for their approach to the draft, but at best it's a long shot.

That leaves the International market or a trade. I personally think that the player will come from one of these two options, but who that player will be remains to be seen. Figure a solid journeyman with a reasonable salary would be a good option. I would expect them to trade draft picks, if they go the trade route.

Move 2: Add to the Developmental Depth

The team doesn't have developmental depth on defense or at the foward position. Due to OBW's health issues, having one more forward might be slightly more pressing to get a full compliment of forwards. But neither position is a glaring need. The team can bring in a couple of projects and let them duke it out in camp for a couple of slots and then work to develop the winners' skills over time. This would be a nice opportunity for a draft player, a young international or if the right opportunity presents itself, a youth DP. Looking over the Sounders' projected payroll, they probably have enough money to squeeze in a youth DP if the right circumstances unfold. Otherwise, they will use their third DP slot for Rosales and work with youth.

I expect the team will probably start the season with Montero and Ochoa up top and OBW, Fucito and Levesque coming off the bench. OBW is an unknown at this point. Assume that he is recovering but not starting at the beginning of the season, then he and Fucito give the team two great options for offense off of the bench. Add Neagle and Evans to the mix, and the team should have a potent bench should they need offense. Might be nice to take a flyer on either a draft player or a young international and bring them into the fold in these conditions. Not much pressure, but opportunity to earn a spot if they perform particularly off the bench in the secondary competitions like the USOC. Taking a flyer on a young striker like Chandler Hoffman might be a great option in the draft. Yes, the Sounders would need to trade up, but given their depth, this is a real option this year. Only one or two players from from the draft even stands a chance of making this roster. Might as well take a chance on a player who has a decent chance and fits a need. If they find someone in CONCACAF who fits the bill, that is another option.

Burch gives the Sounders some depth at CB and LB. But they could still use some developmental depth on defense. Only Tetteh currently qualifies as a developmental player in any of the 4 backline positions. Given the time it takes for these players to develop, it would be good for the Sounders to bring a good young CB or RB. Certainly, Wenger would slot nicely into this position, but otherwise haven't heard much about either area in this year's draft. There are some CBs available who should fall to where the Sounders pick. And there is a chance that the Sounders could find another late round gem due to their scouting. One option the Sounders could use approaching the Super Draft is just to gather what is available at their picks in the positions that they need and then throw them all into the arena of camp. Best two players get contracts. Sink or swim. Might not be the most elegant solution, but it certainly wouldn't require a ton of immediate cost on the Sounders part. This could also push some of the Sounders current roster players like Seamon, Sanyang and Estrada to perform or get cut in camp.

Possible Move 3: Bring in a Veteran Back up GK

The Sounders may also opt to bring in a journeyman veteran to compete with Ford and Meredith. I doubt they will spend a ton of money on the option, but having a veteran backup might calm some nerves. This move is certainly not a given for me. I could easily see the team let Ford and Meredith stay and get some experience in the Reserves and Secondary tournaments. But I won't be surprised if they pick up a goalie either through a draft day trade or somewhere in the international market.

Possible Move 4: Flabbergast us all

The last possibility would be for the Sounders to pull off a coup de main. Sign some big name that no one expects. Sudenly the Sounders faithful look up and see someone like Ronaldhino or Drogba in Rave Green. Do I expect it? No. But in the words of Judy Tenuda, "Hey, it could happen."

What are your thoughts on what business remains to be done? How do you think the Sounders should approach the upcoming draft?

There has been a significant quantity of hand wringing over the Sounders protected list.  The merits and perceived weaknesses of all of the bubble players both on and off the list have been mangled beyond recognition.  Time to step back and recognize a few salient facts.

1.  The Sounders hated having to generate this list as much as we hate seeing it.  They live and work with these men on a daily basis and value their contributions to the team.   Leaving them unprotected was agonizing.

2.  No amount of hand wringing on the part of the fans is going to change anything.  The list is done.  The fate of the unprotected Sounders is now in the hands of Montreal.   In all likelihood one of these men will no longer be a Sounder after the draft.  At this point it is probably appropriate for all of us to agree to disagree on who was left on or off the list and move on.

3.  None of us is privy to the offseason plans of the Sounders FO beyond knowing that they are actively pursuing a GK. 

But looking at the list of protected players may reveal information about those plans.  For example, the Sounders chose to protect a fairly expensive list of players while exposing some of the more economical elements of their bench.  It is not unreasonable to infer that they don't expect to make many major moves in the offseason simply due to cap restrictions.  After they secure a GK and finalize Mauro's contract extension, the number of big ticket moves they will be able to make will be small.  Realistically, short of a trade, they will likely only have the cap room to make one additional major move. 

It is also telling that they chose to protect their midfield depth while exposing all of the starting FBs and some of their forwards.  Montreal can only choose one player, so regardless of who is selected, all but one of these men will still be a Sounder on Thursday.  Yet, it may indicate that the team is looking in these areas for an upgrade or at the least a shift. 

Only time will tell how the offseason unfolds.  Whoever the Sounders lose to expansion will be missed but the Sounders will move forward and the hope for next year will still burn brightly.