Protection List

I meant to do this before the official protection list was revealed yesterday for the upcoming Expansion Draft. Anyway, here is the list of players I would have protected had I received a promotion from "Irrelevant Blogger" to "General Manager":

My List	Actual List
Luciano Emilio Jaime Moreno Francis Doe Santino Quaranta Fred Clyde Simms Bryan Namoff Marc Burch Devon McTavish Gonzalo Peralta Ivan Guerrero	Luciano Emilio Jaime Moreno Thabiso Khumalo Santino Quaranta Fred Clyde Simms Bryan Namoff Marc Burch Devon McTavish Greg Janicki Ivan Guerrero

A couple of obvious differences... I definitely, firmly disagree with the inclusion of Khumalo over Doe, and I don't think I'm alone on this one. Doe is a proven goalscorer, and singlehandedly kept us in the playoff hunt with his two goals against New England last month. How quickly does the front office forget such things? Khumalo is a fine player as your 13th man, but I don't know that I ever see him being a regular starter in this league. Doe will be. (Unless maybe there is a possibility that Doe is seeking a move overseas?)

I had Peralta on my list over Janicki because I wasn't clear on the rules of the expansion draft. Since Janicki was previously just on loan, it didn't seem like we had a right to protect him, but now it appears that he has been formally acquired, so I'm ok with this. It's still a bit strange to see Peralta exposed though since the front office has announced that they are building the defense around him next year.

Some other observations... Ivan Guerrero was last on my list because he is basically just a role player, and not someone who I'm sure is in our long term plans. I could have gone either way between Guerrero, Vide, and Khumalo, but I would leave any of them behind in favor of Doe. Marc Burch has received a lot of flack since being named to the protected list, and I don't think it's deserved. Burch showed a lot of potential this year, and also showed progress late (he earned Top Shelf status in his final four ratings of the year). With Martinez likely on his way out, Burch should return to his normal left back position. I don't have a problem with the team leaving Olsen exposed, and in fact, I bet he would personally request it. Benny didn't contribute on the field this year and could be on the verge of retirement, so any team would be crazy to try to steal and ransom him.

The players most likely to depart are clearly Joe Vide, Francis Doe, and Gonzalo Peralta. Vide is a quality hard working role player, the type of which every team needs. Peralta comes with a hefty salary that will have to be renegotiated, but he's a guy who can lead a young defense. Doe will probably be one of the most talented attacking players available, but might not be an immediate starter for the Sounders, where as the other two probably would.

Personally, I think Vide is the most likely to go, but I also think a lot of people are discounting Peralta's safety just because of his price tag. I'll be glad if Doe returns to DC next season, and I think he might stay just because the Sounders already have some good attacking options (Nyassi, Le Toux) and have other good young forwards available for selection (Carr, Jacqua, Barrett). I'll do some work on my list if I worked for the Sounders later today if I get some time.