It's the year 2012, and to be honest, not much seems to have changed from December. It's still a bit cold, there's still snow some places and not others, there are no flying robot cars, and the season is still seemingly forever away. Thankfully, though, it's not actually forever away: 50 days, 10 hours, 38 minutes, 7 seconds and counting. Why, it's moving, ever so slowly, but it's moving! Right, but I'm not here to ramble about time (though I suspect I could, and while it would probably be meaningless, that's what I get for reading Quine before I sleep.)
No, I thought it would be nice to go over some of the things Garth Lagerwey discussed during his last interview on ESPN 700, because there were some statements that, while seemingly either small in scope or, perhaps, already known, they do play out in some interesting ways.
On Defense
When speaking about the trade for the rights to Leone Cruz, Garth had this to say: "We wanted a center-back. We wanted a fourth one — Borchers is still a little banged up coming into the off-season." While we knew that Nat Borchers was set to miss a bit of pre-season, I don't know that anyone particularly anticipated him missing more than that initially. This does seem a bit of a set-back from statements made just after the season, when we knew he was due to go under the knife.
Regardless, though, of Borchers injury status, there was no way we'd be going into the season with only three center backs. Leone Cruz — who, by the way, doesn't fill an international slot, hooray! — is a bit of an unknown quantity, but at least he's a warm body in there, and that's probably better than nothing. If we can avoid having to drop a full back in there (especially as we're out a Robbie Russell, who can play there capably), all the better. Cruler? Schulez? Perhaps we'll be seeing a bit of that partnership at some point.
In the end, I suspect it's a situation made more urgent with Borchers facing time out of the side. Let's hope for a speedy return, because as we all know too well: There's only one Borlave.
On the Midfield Diamond
When speaking about the hotly tipped draft pick Enzo Martinez, Garth had some interesting things to say about our playing style: "The way we play in midfield is still relatively unique in the league. We play essentially with 4 creative midfielders. We ask them all to do a lot of running, ask them all to play, ask them all to interchange."
While I accept his premise, I do think that Javier Morales is given a bit of a protected position in that midfield where he's asked to do a bit less defending in order to take up good positions further up the pitch. Regardless, that's a small point, and it was his comments afterward that perhaps elucidated the team's intentions with Enzo: "We were looking for depth in those spots, and I think he can come in and join Will Johnson, Ned Grabavoy, and Luis Gil."
Now, this tells us a few things, the least of which is that Luis Gil is expected to drop deeper in the midfield — with a newly fit Javier Morales, this may be inevitable. We did, a couple times, see him play in the outside spots in the diamond (outside, of course, I use roughly. They're not exactly wingers!) and it will be good for his training, no matter where he ends up playing. But this does confirm that it's less a one-off thing and more something to expect. This does, perhaps, explain a bit of the lack of movement until now.
Let's keep in mind also that we will have the availability of young homegrown player Nico Muñiz and third-round draft pick Sebastian Velasquez, both of whom are creative midfielder sorts — though, I suspect, unproven quantities.
On the Front Lines
So, we got an update on Paulo Jr. — well, sort of. "I anticipate a successful conclusion (re: Paulo Jr.). We're quite hopeful that will get done." So, we still don't really know whether he'll be back or not, and while I'd love for him to be back, I don't think it's the most pressing concern we have. Solidifying that midfield with perhaps one more first-choice player to fight for spots could well make a great difference in our season.
So, do we expect more movement? Well…
"I think we're real close to where we're going to be heading into pre-season."
There's Garth, playing his cards incredibly close to his chest. What does "real close" mean? Does that mean one player? Two players? Potentially no players?
50 days, 10 hours, 14 minutes, 10 seconds...
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