Alternate title: The kids are alright, I guess, or at least a couple of them are

Living in Bellingham for 9 months out of the year makes it hard to obsessively follow the Sounders as much as I’d like. Home games are an hour and a half drive each way, making most midweek games next to impossible to attend. So the prospect of a game right here in the City Of Subdued Excitement was, well, exciting in a subdued way. Even though it was only the U-18’s, it was still the Sounders. The same green jerseys on the pitch.

That’s about where the similarities ended. Around 200 or so fans came out to Whatcom Community College, enduring temperatures in the 30’s for two hours to stand or sit on metal bleachers that felt more like frozen seats in one of those ice palaces they have in Russia. Did I mention that it was cold? It was cold. For anyone who still has ideas that MLS can play a fall-to-spring schedule, for my counterargument I refer you to the lineswoman in Bellingham, who said, and I quote, "Damn, it’s cold."

Maybe the Whitecaps residency team felt more at home with the weather, because they clearly outclassed the Sounders younglings (with one exception). They were bigger, smarter and better technically. I think the final was 2-0, but I got to the field a bit late, although I don’t believe there were any early goals. Vancouver dominated the run of play in the first half but couldn’t create many chances. It was the same in the second half for the first 15 minutes, when the Sounders put in a mass substitution, sending in an entirely new midfield, and Vancouver pounced to score two quick goals.

The one positive, in my eyes, was forward Sean Okoli. He’s listed at 5-11 and 175 but played like he was much bigger. He was able to hold off the Whitecaps defenders very well to keep, receive and pass the ball, even when double-teamed. Didn’t turn it over often, had several nice passes that led to half-chances, and played smart. (Although he didn’t get any shots that I remembered, either.) Okoli doesn’t look like a superstar, but he’s the one prospect that looks like he could maybe - maybe - hold his own playing with the big boys.

Everyone else, though, man. Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was all the time off for the holidays the kids have had, too much time playing Xbox and eating cookies or something, but whatever it was, nobody else was impressive. Number 17, Aaron Kovar, playing on the left wing, showed that he has plus-speed, but has a long way to go developing everything else. I’d heard good things about Ryan Herman (keeper) and DeAndre Yedlin (right back), but Herman didn’t play and Yedlin was caught way out of position on the sequence that led to the second goal.

I couldn’t get reads on every player, because some of them were wearing different jersey numbers than they had listed on the Sounders website. (Late in the game, there were two #7’s on the pitch.) But aside from Okoli, there were no obvious standout talents. Based on this game, we don’t have an Andy Najar hiding in the youth ranks.

Late in the game, I turned to my friend and asked him if he could picture any of the players on the field suiting up and taking on the Galaxy. He just looked at me and shook his head. I think that sums it up pretty well.

Obviously the primary problem the Sounders have is scoring goals. But on the defensive end, it has appeared to me that we give up goals despite controlling the run of play much of the time, and that we give up a high amount of goals relative to the number of opposing goal-scoring opportunities. There could be multiple reasons for this, one of which is goalkeeping.

Since the new MLS website is operating under the belief that statistics are to be hidden away in dark caves far far away from anyone who might want to use them, I went in myself and calculated the save percentage for each keeper who has played over 500 minutes this season. The number given is the total number of shots on goal a keeper faces, divided by the number of saves that keeper makes. I.e., Ricketts saves 93.4% of shots on goal.

Donovan Ricketts, LA       0.934
Kevin Hartman, Dallas      0.792
Bouna Coundoul, NYRB   0.758
Matt Pickens, Colorado     0.756
Preston Burpo, NE           0.738
Will Hesmer, Columbus    0.738
Stephan Frei, Toronto       0.7
Andrew Dykstra, Chicago 0.667
Jimmy Nielsen, KC          0.658
Joe Cannon, San Jose     0.647
Nick Rimando, RSL         0.645
Pat Onstad, Houston        0.64
Kasey Keller, Seattle        0.639
Troy Perkins, DCU          0.615
Zack Thornton, fat           0.607
Chris Seitz, hahaha         0.545

(raw numbers found here)

Two things stand out right away. Donovan Ricketts is really good, and Chris Seitz is really bad. Both of which makes sense.

But the placing of Keller is interesting. The Sounders netminder is well below the elite level of MLS keepers. He's faced only 36 shots on goal, but has made just 23 saves. This would seem to be indicative of one of three things. The defense in front of him could be normally very good but often breaks down to allow goal-scoring opportunities that the keeper can do nothing about. Keller and the defense could just be very unlucky. Or, Keller might not be saving as many shots on goal as he should.

The on-field evidence suggests that at least the first possibility is true. There have been quite a few stupid turnovers by defenders that led directly to goals. But maybe it's time to stop thinking of Kasey Keller as one of the very elite goalkeepers in MLS, because at this point, the numbers don't back it up.

This isn't a Sounders site. This is a Mariners site. This will be the only time I put up a game thread on Lookout Landing. But dammit, if the first game in Seattle Sounders FC franchise history doesn't deserve one, I'm not sure what does.

I know a lot of you aren't soccer fans, and many of those of you who are aren't particularly into MLS. But today is a special day in Seattle. Today is going to be full of all the pagentry and emotion and completely irrational devotion that combine to make professional sports great. Today thousands of fans are going to march through the city to Qwest Field hours before kickoff, all wearing what can only be described as a garish shade of green. Today 32,000 people are going to jam themselves into a stadium and sing and cheer their asses off, supporting a team in a sport that people thought would never succeed in America.

It's going to be special. And regardless of your views on soccer and/or MLS, it's an event you won't regret being a part of. So take some time out of your day to flip on ESPN2 at 6:00 to watch the game, or head downtown in the afternoon to take part in the festivities. Hell, maybe you'll even like what you see on the pitch.

And let's be honest. By 6 on Thursday your brackets are going to be fucked already. You might as well let your brand-new Sounders cheer you up.

Likely Sounders starting lineup:

Fredy Montero (forward), Nate Jaqua (forward), Brad Evans (attacking mid), Sebastien Le Toux (wing), Sanna Nyassi (wing), Osvaldo Alonso (defensive mid), Nate Sturgis (outside back), Tyrone Marshall (center back), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (center back), James Riley (outside back), Kasey Keller (goalkeeper)

This was in the game thread, but I'm putting it here so everyone sees it. 

The idea - On an LL night with Felix or Silva pitching, how cool would it be to have a group with a bunch of people holding Venezuela flags? Damn cool, was the consensus. Soooo 3' by 5' flags are available online for 8 bucks each when purchasing 10 or more (9 or 10 bucks each otherwise). Shipping for 10 flags would be 10 bucks total, so whatever. Link here.
 

So, who's in? I'd organize it but I'm not in Seattle for another month+... if someone else wants to take the lead that'd be awesome. If anyone knows where to get said flags cheaper, well, obviously we'd do that. .

And speaking of flags...

This time it's the Silver Slugger Award. I'm kind of surprised that he beat out Torii Hunter, but hey, I'll take whatever positive Mariners press we can get.

Also, the NL Silver Slugger for pitchers (won this year by Micah Owings, obviously) has got to be the coolest and most meaningless award ever.                    

McLaren: So how did all of your days go?
Vidro: I got an A on my test!
McLaren: Wow, way to go! You must've studied hard!
Guillen: Pshhh yeah I got an A too that was the easiest test ever
Broussard: No way, Jose!
McLaren: <blinks>
McLaren: Uh, anyways, I'd like to introduce you to Rick. He'll be
tutoring some of you younger ones in math.
White: Howdy, y'all! I'm gon' be teaching you some multiplicatin'!
O'Flaherty: We know multiplication.
Green: Yeah, it's not that hard.
White: Fine then... if yer so smart, what's 7 times 6?
O'Flaherty: Forty-two.
White: 9 times 9?
Green: Eighty-one.
Green: Duh.
White: <rapidly consults calculator>....Yeah.
Lopez: Today I spelled a word right and my teacher gave me a gold starrrr
Lopez: She said I tried very very VERY hard
Lopez: Lookit lookit <holds up finger with star stuck to end>
Sexson: Heh, no way, Jose!
McLaren: <chuckles> Good one, Richie!
Broussard: <whimpers>
McLaren: Boy, that fly buzzing around my plate is obnoxious. Here's a swatter, Richie, can you kill that thing?
Sexson: Can do!
Sexson: <swings, and misses> <three times>
Sexson: Dammit
Ichiro: <reaches across plate, slaps fly into the corner>
McLaren: Nice one, Ichiro! How's your banana split?
Ichiro: Fantastic, like always
Jones: How come I never get ice cream?
McLaren: You'll understand these things when you're older.
Jones: Awwww
Beltre: Hey, whatever happened to that new kid?
McLaren: Darn it, I don't know! Ichiro, any idea?
Ichiro: Maybe he ran away
Ichiro: Parrish the thought
Ichiro: <resumes eating enormous bowl of ice cream>