Musings On The Players The Union Have Lost In The Off-Season

(Originally posted at The Brotherly Game. Click the link if you want to see one of the absolute worst puns I have ever come up with.)

With the Expansion Draft and the Re-Entry Draft coming in the past month, the Philadelphia Union lost four players from last year's inaugural team.  And while it is necessary to move on, it seems appropriate to give some final words and thoughts on their contributions (or lack thereof) to the inaugural season.

Fred (taken by New England Revolution in re-entry draft):  There were things to like and dislike about Fred.  He was a veteran with soccer experience on an otherwise very young soccer team.  To some, he was a mentor.  The shortened version of his name (his full name is Helbert Frederidco Carreiro de Silva) is awesome.  But his play on the pitch left a lot to be desired.  In his Q&A with the Union earlier, Chris Vito summed up Fred perfectly.

Where the Union will miss Fred is as a mentor to the younger, Spanish-speaking players. They considered him a father figure. Roger Torres, 18, looked up to Fred, 31. They lived down the hall from each other in a condo building. His on-field play, while noteworthy, wasn't something that will be all-together missed.

Fred was an attacking midfielder who was not very great at attacking.  In 24 games, he managed 4 goals and only 1 assist.  The Philadelphia Union are currently very deep at the midfield position, so outside of some players losing a mentor, there really is not much that will be missed about Fred.  If Roger Torres can take on the minutes Fred had, the Union will be benefit greatly.

Chris Seitz (taken by Seattle Sounders in re-entry traded, immediately traded to FC Dallas):  Take an 8-foot piece of string.  Tie it to the middle of the crossbar and let it hang.  Step away from the string.  Congratulations, you have a more effective goalkeeper than Chris Seitz.  Of the goalkeepers in Major League Soccer in the 2010 season who played over 1000 minutes, Chris Seitz was the only one not to record a clean sheet.  Furthermore, among that same list of goalies, the next lowest shutout total was three.  Chris Seitz's goals against average was 1.80, the highest amongst keepers with more than 1,000 minutes.  Out of 114 shots faced, Chris Seitz stopped only 68 of them, equating to an abysmal 59.65%.  The Union will not miss anything at all with Seitz, who still has a long way to go if he is ever going to be a regular starting goaltender in MLS. 

Alejandro Moreno (taken by Vancouver Whitecaps in the Expansion Draft, immediately traded to ):  Alejandro Moreno was the team leader in assists this past season.  However, his goal total left a little more to be desired, scoring only 2 goals this past season, despite showing some promise with his previous team, the Columbus Crew.  Giving credit where credit is due, though, the contributions he made setting up goals were very valuable to the team, however, he occasionally struggled to find a rhythm.  With him off the team, the Union are now very short at forward depth on their roster, with only Jack McInerney, Sebastian Le Toux, and Danny Mwanga on the depth chart.  I would expect to see the Union address this issue in the Superdraft in a month.

Shea Salinas (taken by Vancouver Whitecaps in the Expansion Draft):  After Piotr Nowak's controversial decision to not protect Shea Salinas for the expansion draft, Salinas found himself drafted by the Vancouver Whitecaps.  It's been covered  here in great detail already at The Brotherly Game so I won't spend too much time on him, but to say the least, the decision to not protect Salinas was shocking.  Salinas's versatility and his ability to play on the wing, as a fullback, or on the outside of the midfield are valuable assets to any team who has him, right now Vancouver, and formerly, our beloved Union.  The leg injury he suffered in July and kept him out of two months of play is ultimately what doomed him in.  Of the four players the Union lost in thus far this year, Salinas is by far the one that stings the most.  The good news is the Philadelphia Union still have time to try and find a replacement, whether it be through the Superdraft or International transfer.