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MLS Awards: projections and ballot making on MVP, Rookie of the Year and others

Montero, left, has the inside track for Major League Soccer's MVP award on my ballot

Montero, left, has the inside track for Major League Soccer's MVP award on my ballot

Picking out the best of the best is always a tricky proposition. And to be honest, I haven’t always been great at it. In high school, staring at pricey concert tickets and faced with a delicious conundrum of escorting the cute, brainy girl or the curvy drill team vixen, I acquiesced to a friend’s advice: "When in doubt always go with the drill team."

Long story short, the brainy one is a big-time doctor in San Francisco now. And she’s freakin’ hot. The one I took? Who knows.

Anyway, against that wobbly history, I have pledged to always do better.

So, click forth for my  leading choices for MLS 2009 awards. These represent one-eighth of the vote for MLSNet's "Award Tracker," which certainly isn’t a direct harbinger of what eventually will be. But the Awards Tracker does help set the agenda and direct the conversation going forward. So, in all seriousness, I appreciate the opportunity of the assignment, and I certainly do approach it with a studious professionalism. (And as I watch every MLS match and speak often to league managers, I’m sure I can overcome a long-gone history of dubious decision making.)

(FYI: the eight voters will do this weekly through year's end. And I know from experience that the first one is ripe for being picked apart. So, please share your thoughts.)

Star-divide

MVP

1. Fredy Montero

2. Shalrie Joseph

3. Omar Cummings

4. Landon Donovan

5. Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Also in the conversation: Dwayne De Rosario  

Brief explainer: I know the top three on my list doesn’t exactly read like a who’s who in MLS – and I really don’t care. Seattle had the best goalkeeper the U.S. has ever produced in Kasey Keller (apologies to Brad Friedel, a very close second), an EPL veteran DP in Freddie Ljungberg and the league’s top draft pick in Steve Zakuani. But who is most responsible for having Sounders still in the playoff hunt? That would be Montero and his 12 goals and 6 assists. Regarding Joseph, he’s still a force in midfield for New England, which is well positioned for the playoffs. But he’s also had to play forward frequently this year for the injury plagued Revs, and he’s done so like a crusty old vet at the position. Regarding Cummings, no attacker can match his raw stats (8 goals and 12 assists). All that said, any big burst over the last four rounds of play could alter the order significantly.

Newcomer of the Year

1. Fredy Montero

2. Donovan Ricketts

3. Kasey Keller

4. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado

5. David Ferreira

Brief explainer: See above for Montero. Ricketts has been reliable on the little stuff and has come up huge on several occasions in goal for the Galaxy. Keller has hardly been besieged in his role as Sounders backstopper, but his steady stewardship and one or two big saves a game put him squarely in the running.

Rookie of the Year

1. Omar Gonzalez

2. Steve Zakuani

3. Rodney Wallace

4. Chris Pontius

5. Stefan Frei

Also in the conversation: Kevin Alston; Darius Barnes; Sam Cronin, A.J. DeLaGarza

Brief explainer: Can a Galaxy center back do it again? (Sean Franklin won the award in 2008.) I say, "Why the heck not?" Seattle’s Zakuani has just 4 goals and 4 assists, but he’s been a livewire most of the year along the left side Qwest Field, and he had a lot to do with Seattle prevailing in the U.S. Open Cup. (Yes, yes, I do realize that Open Cup performance shouldn’t be weighted. Then again, it does go to team confidence and to the bigger picture of everything going on around the league’s expansion darlings.) But truly, in my mind, places 2-4 are interchangeable. You can make a great case for Zakuani, Wallace or Pontius.

Defender of the Year

1. Chad Marshall

2. Jay Heaps

3. Geoff Cameron

4. Omar Gonzalez

5. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado

Brief explainer: Marshall would be a repeat winner, which I have no problem with. I voted for him last year, too. Just like last year, he’s commanding in the air, hard and smart in the tackle, steady with the ball at his feet and generally in charge along the Crew back line. He’s a big reason the club hasn’t lost since early spring. Heaps may be a surprise to some – but not to anybody watching the matches this year. He’s having a fantastic season for New England, getting forward regularly and generally turning back everything along his side. Cameron’s case is dented slightly because he’s been used occasionally in midfield for Houston – but he’s still been a fantastic center back at Robertson.

Coach of the Year

1. Bruce Arena

2. Sigi Schmid

3. Steve Nicol

Also in the conversation: Robert Warzycha.

Brief explainer: Arena’s ego is big enough as it is, but I can’t hold that against him. He’s done a masterful job this year, building his personnel from the back while maintaining the fiscal discipline required of a team hamstrung by the salary cap like no other. Having David Beckham and Landon Donovan around is great and all, but it eats up about a third of the entire salary cap. Schmid is in the race for his part in building the Sounders and steering the new team so expertly. And Nicol is on my list because New England remains in the thick of it despite losing its best defender (Michael Parkhurst) and its top striker (Taylor Twellman).

Goalkeeper of the Year

1. Zach Thornton

2. Donovan Ricketts

3. Kasey Keller

Brief explainer: In all honestly, I was clobbering Thornton in pieces for ESPN Soccernet last year, wondering how a professional athlete could let himself go so dramatically. (He was alarmingly overweight.) But all credit to the Chivas USA man, who worked himself back into shape. He’s a big reason why Chivas USA and that roster filled with no-names will collect a playoff spot this year.

0 recs  |  Comment 9 comments

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Shalrie Joseph?

Shalrie Joseph as your #2 for MVP? Maybe I just haven’t seen enough of him this year, but he wouldnt be in my top 5.

by GeoJock on Sep 28, 2009 6:24 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Shalrie Joseph has done EVERYTHING for New England

This might be his best season yet and that is saying something for a guy as accomplished as he is.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Sep 28, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, if the Revs get into the playoffs, he’ll be the reason why, especially with Ralston being out for the year now too. Aside from that, most of those guys are good, albeit in shuffled order (probably sub DeRo in for Cummings for MVP, move Frei ahead of Pontius and Wallace, consider Kimura for an Honorable Mention).

"Hey friend, an avatar makes you more personable, friendly. Have I mentioned we serve cigars and flavored vodka?"

by Bald Pollack on Sep 28, 2009 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Kevin Alston?

Out of curiosity, why is Kevin Alston not in your top 5 for rookie of the year? I’ve only seen him play twice this year, both against Seattle, but in both games he has been really impressive.

by PeterJH on Sep 28, 2009 7:50 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

you see that ...

… Alston is on the “others to consider” list, right? Honestly, that Rookie of the Year is a jumble, and it’s a tough call. Alston has been good, but I just think the others have been a wee bit better

by Steve Davis on Sep 28, 2009 10:25 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

what's missing...

Hmmm, when I think of an outside back and how they should ideally play their position, I have a hard time coming up with something Alston doesn’t do right, at least from what I’ve seen. As a Sounders fan, I probably shouldn’t say this, but when at the first game against NE I was wondering why Zakuani was so quiet when I started paying more attention to what was going on. When they were one on one, Alston jockeyed him to touch, kept up with Zakuani (no easy feat), and never gave him an inside lane. It’s exactly what you’d want a back to do. For someone who bemoans the quality of officiating in this league for allowing defenders to hack down people (I agree with you on that 100%), I’d think you’d be one who would readily acknowledge someone who plays the position as it was meant to be played. ;)

by PeterJH on Sep 29, 2009 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Amazing what the MLSNet analysts think

Sounders litter the awards lists right now, including the coach of year voting (2nd), so the real question is how can a team with as much talent as any in the league be so mediocre?

by Sounder At Heart on Sep 30, 2009 12:54 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

a possible explanation

re Sounders and mediocrity … i would argue that expansion teams can only do so much in terms of depth. when i see Seattle, i see 5-6, maybe 7 very good players and a good, collective attacking mindset. but i see the effort dragged down by 4-5 ‘starters’ who are average at very best. look at the back line. I think Hurtado is a high-quality player. but he’s generally paired with Tyrone Marshall, an average MLS center back at very best. ditto for James Riley at right back. he’s just not that great. and in midfield, the level of talent falls off the cliff once past Ljungberg, Alonso and maybe Zakuani. (and with a better roster, Zakuani probably wouldn’t get quite as much playing time). just my opinion.

by Steve Davis on Sep 30, 2009 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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