Things we learned from the Expansion Draft

By: Melissa | November 22nd, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone reading this is spending the day stuffing their faces and preparing to drop like flies when the tryptophan coma sets in. But if you are anything like me, you’ll sneak away for a bit just to check the internets for any new Earthquakes or soccer news in general. Unfortunately, there’s not much to report and after this week’s madness, I think its time to not only be thankful for all the nice things that popped into your life this year (like, for instance, the return of a MLS team to the Bay Area), but its especially important to spend a few extra minutes this weekend reflecting on all the recent Quakes news and what it means in the long run. So lets review:

* We’re not going to suck as bad as I initially thought. Doyle and Yallop have gone off and picked a pretty good selection of players and after hearing those two speak on the draft process and their future plans, our GM and Coach are doing all the right things to pull together a proper team. It seems we are now witnessing what everyone (except LA) already knew; that when left to his own devices, The Frank produces winners. Oh, and on that note, I’m also relieved to report that the weird synergy between the baseball folks and the soccer folks at Quakes HQ appears to be working. And I even liked how Yallop slipped in a comment about Guerrero’s in-possession statistics – hey, I’m not outright screaming sabermetrics here, but I’m merely pointing out that Yallop and Doyle’s mentalities kind of sort of fit with the mindset over at the Oakland A’s.

* Landon Donovan is not coming back. Personally, I’m relieved to hear that Doyle is hesitant to use the DP slot out the gate and that Yallop is targeting younger, cheaper guys who are ready to work hard to prove themselves. I have to admit though, I was thoroughly enjoying the recent internet rants outlining all the stipulations Donovan had to complete before returning (my favorite was a request for him to wash a fan’s car) but now I can spend my extra time giggling over the new demand that a draft pick kicks Donovan in the balls next season. I’d like to jump in and add a vote for Hernandez to do it since both San Jose and Chivas fans will be extremely appreciative.

* Ryan Cochrane didn’t like being in Houston. While I don’t think there’s a written rule that players get a say in their trades, I do think, in general, management takes their opinions into account. I suspect Cochrane, Glinton, and possibly Hernandez asked to be left unprotected with the hopes of getting picked up by San Ho. Glinton went to high school in Livermore and Cochrane, besides being a former Quake, went to college at Santa Clara (so he’ll be playing home games at his former alma matter). As for Hernandez, I’m not sure what prompted his interest but I hope it was nothing more than a visit to the Yay and a realization that we hold it down up north like none other.

* John Doyle should sign himself to the inaugural roster. As pointed out by Soccer Silicon Valley, it would be a crazy cool trivia question because Doyle would be the first player ever on both San Jose’s 1996 and 2008 incarnations.

So there you have it. A quick review of whats going down in the land of The Quakes. I’m out for the rest of the day in a futile attempt to tire out my dog before indulging in a Thanksgiving eat-fest. And if the sleep doesn’t consume me, I’ll be meeting some friends at a bar for the annual Turkey Day Decompression where I can guarantee there will be zero talk of the expansion draft or sexy football. Lates.