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Is Pedro De La Vega a Bust? - Ep. 72
986 Plays3 days ago
It’s a Playoff Dub Pod as the Seattle Sounders won a riveting, high-octane Round One Best-of-3 series opener against the Houston Dynamo at Lumen Field on Monday night. That gives the Sounders a 1-0 lead ahead of Game 2 in Houston on Sunday. We break it down in our game review, take your questions, hit our agenda check and react to the other results that have taken place around the league so far in the playoffs
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome to episode 72 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall, got producer Noah here with me. And Noah, we've got a playoff dub pod, but the people are still not very happy. How are you feeling? Does this count as a dub? I guess it's a dub pod, but it's also a draw pod. It's a dub pod. It's a dub pod. It's a playoff dub pod as the Seattle Sounders played a riveting high octane round one best of three series against the Houston dynamo at Lumen field on Monday night.
00:00:32
Speaker
folks it was it was riveting end-to-end high-powered attacking action all night long but the seattle sounders did have to settle for a penalty kick shootout victory after the match finished 0-0 over 90 minutes no one scored um but the sounders do take a 5-4 penalty kick shootout victory that's how it works in these best of three series there's no extra time it's straight to pks um So that's exactly what happened last night and the Sounders win the shootout five to four. So they have a 1-0 lead ahead of game two in Houston on Sunday. We are going to break down this riveting playoff action in our game review. ah We're going to take your questions as always. We'll hit our agenda check with, I think I put in at least one new agenda.
00:01:15
Speaker
um so we're gonna hit that and then we're going to close it out by reacting to the other results from round one as the playoffs get into full swing here there's been a there's a full slate of games other than Seattle that we're gonna talk about real quick at the end so yeah it's gonna be a good show it's gonna be a good dub pod even though I think what you said is right like it doesn't it this does not feel like a dub pod but This was easily the most tilted I think I've seen the fan base after a win. ah ah Definitely of this season and honestly in a long time. Definitely down the stretch. It's one of them, I would say it's probably among the more tilted I've been after a win. And I know you were tilted after. I was posting. You were posting like Evander out there. So I feel like I have a pretty good idea on the takes you're going to have on it, but we're goingnna we're going to get into it. But before we do that,
00:02:02
Speaker
I did want to let you all know that Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com slash LS. That's sounderatheart.com slash LS. Scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show. And Noah, we've got some exciting news today. We hit our 40th sub. we did we've been We've been gunning for that for about two weeks to get from 38 to 40. We finally did it. And you know what that means? It means it's the end of a tradition. We are no longer going to read the entire sub list. I know this was a polarizing topic for many of our listeners. Some people loved it. Some people hated it.
00:02:44
Speaker
ah But we did come to the ultimate conclusion that 40 is just too many names So we are going to start reading out all the new subs But also thanking all our subs every single episode for sure because we love you guys We just can't read out 40 names every episode Noah. Who is our 40th? Our 40th here was Jordan Bucassus I believe sorry if we mispronounced your last name Jordan tell us how your name is pronounced. Thank you And also, we had a new one as well. Tim Hamilton. Great name. Tim Hamilton. Yeah. Part of the Tim community. Should we do it? Should we do one last time? For the road. Just for the road. This is it. For all you out there that hate this part, this will be the send off. This is it. This is the last one. Yes. Yes. Do it. Are you ready? I'm glad we're, yeah.
00:03:26
Speaker
Kenneth Wade, Joey Pascanelli, David McCoy, Owen Mason, Daniel Povado, Sammy Fountain, Ian Mitchell, Christopher Smith, Norm Bont, Ye Thomas, Martin Greg, Hoker, Chris Mayley, Andy Hill, Mike Lentini, Nate Bautier, David Rodriguez, C.J. and Miles Maranakis, Mark Audinger, Zach Heckman, David Pope, Brian Morton, Claire Berger, Robert Sink, Taran Akatsu, Steve Hudson, Choska, Patrick Sexton, John Hammaker, Amal Mbuk, Justin Walker, Jay Anders, Ryan Shane, Nathan Jones, Benja Dubuchar, Isaac Johnson, Matthew Burns, Ryan Boone, Brian Chow, Bill Breitenbuch, Jordan Bukasas, and Tim Hamilton. Tim and Jordan, thank you all so much. And in all seriousness, like thank you to all of our subs. We love and appreciate you guys. And ah God, that really, you know, that made me want to bring the tradition back. But if you'd like to join the ranks of our wonderful subs, sounder2heart.com slash LS. Also,
00:04:13
Speaker
If you are listening to this, and you haven't done so yet, sub to The Lobbing Skorchers YouTube. We're on the road to 650 subs. ah We're at 632 right now, we're there abouts, so. Post to 640. Please, yeah, please help us on the drive to 640 and then 650, and shout out to all of our new audience on YouTube.
00:04:32
Speaker
Alright, let's do this game review. Noah, let's do this begrudging dub pod. I feel like the fans might rather hear the supporters names again than actually dive into this. yeah but you know I think it'll be good to... to get into the fine points of exactly what has the people so riled up that's true after this dub.
Lineup Decisions and Player Roles
00:04:52
Speaker
But first, let's start with our lineup reaction, as we always do, because um there was there was some stuff going on with this lineup. I think the question that we've been talking about and that we're going to get to on this show is the De La Vega versus Georgie debate. De La Vega started this game. Georgie came off the bench.
00:05:12
Speaker
ah And also you had JP back in the double pivot with Christian with Obed suspended because of his red card um I'll just say that I wasn't I wasn't surprised to see De La Vega get the start and Georgie come off the bench But I think what I was paying attention to was ah Will that be the right decision and will that still be how they line it up going forward?
00:05:34
Speaker
um And I think we got we got some answers on that in this game. Maybe not definitive answers But um definitely I have my thoughts on how to approach that going forward and then I think the JP thing is interesting too because Obed is gonna be available next week and then ah There is an odd man out between ah JP Christian rolled on and Obed Vargas. So we're gonna talk about that too Noah What did you think when you saw this lineup?
00:05:59
Speaker
I was shocked. I wasn't surprised. This is like exactly how you have to line it up at this point. I don't think that there was any question in my mind that it was going to be a De La Vega starting. You got to kind of pray and hope that he breaks out and who else is going to replace Obed Vargas, but the man whose job he took. So.
00:06:18
Speaker
wasn't very surprised and i was honestly like hell yeah this is a great lineup yeah i mean it's you know it's what they've been running it's what i expect them to run with might maybe minor alterations but this is pretty much what you got ah going forward into the playoffs here um no goals in this game so we don't have any goal breakdowns unfortunately but I did write down the key moments so let's go through
Jordan Morris Injury Update
00:06:40
Speaker
those. um I think the first a major event in this game was Jordan Morris exited with injury in like the 52nd or so minute which was what was later revealed to be hamstring tightness as Brian Schmetzer said after the game. Sounded more precautionary than like a serious injury but I would say his availability for game two is definitely in doubt. He was replaced by Rui Diaz
00:07:01
Speaker
And if Jordan doesn't go, Schmetz said that Rui Diaz is going to be out there in game two. So we will see how that goes. ah But really, like with where this team stands right now, they've been playing much better on offense over this last stretch of the season, but predominantly on the back of Albert Rusnak and Jordan Morris. If you take one of those guys out,
00:07:26
Speaker
like it didn't seem like there was a whole lot of whole lot of juice no in attack. Ruby Diaz did not get especially close to scoring after he replaced Jordan. um So I think um definitely Jordan's status is gonna be front of mind going into into this game because, you know, Paul Rothrock might bail you out with one goal in Houston in game two, but that's pretty much your chance at scoring if Jordan Morris yeah can't go.
00:07:53
Speaker
Yeah, I mean listen in Jordan Morris wasn't very effective either in this match. I mean even through 52 minutes he was Incredibly ineffective I would say and that was concerning to me. I think I tweeted something like this made me rethink the whole like I think we need to sign a nine because you're getting into a defensive game like this where Jordan can be really effective sometimes, but he's not that guy you're going to call on every single game, especially in like such a tough defensive matchup like Houston is. um The other key moment in this game, the Houston Dynamo got a red card, went down to 10 men with a lot of time left to go in the second half. Coco Carraschia, CONCACAF Player of the Year. Okay, what is that?
00:08:37
Speaker
I don't know. I keep hearing people mention that. What does that mean? It's a good question. I have no idea. I just hear people dish it, and so I'm dishing it too. Yeah, I dig it. He is a good player, though, and he's a very important player for Houston.
00:08:51
Speaker
i definitely ah It's not an insignificant loss for them. ah The red card itself, I think, it was kind of hard to tell what happened at first, um but it looked like he kicked out at Rusnak after there was a ah There was a big brouhaha after JP committed a tactical foul for a yellow card. And there was a lot of trash talking players exchanging unkind words.
Game Incidents and Impact
00:09:15
Speaker
And it looks like in the midst midst of that, Karaszkia both kicked at Albert Rusnak. And then also ah his hand made contact with Rusnak's face at one point. So really, he double whammied himself. Those are both red card offenses. Can't do that. Yeah. So I don't think i don't think that was especially con... I mean, maybe it was if you talk to the Dynamo fan base. but
00:09:35
Speaker
ah It seemed like a pretty straightforward red card. And ah that definitely, you know, as much of a storyline as Jordan's potential absences for Seattle in this game, Karskia is a brutal loss for them. um the midfield That midfield with him and Artur and Hector Herrera, that's the strength of their team. And you take honestly any one of those guys out and it limits them. And it's not like they were firing on ah offense either in this game, even with Karskia. So we might see another zero zero PK shootout in game two, um but either way both teams with big big losses in this game We'll see if Jordan plays but um I mean Seattle loses their starting number nine and Houston loses one of their best midfielders So I was shocked at how long this video review took though for this red card I mean I can understand it was like a weird off-the-ball play
00:10:26
Speaker
But it took like 10 minutes. I didn't understand what happened at first. I thought the offense they were reviewing was related to when Jackson Reagan went went down. Yeah. um And then like they weren't showing the replay on the broadcast that ah had like the sequence with the interaction with Rusnak so I didn't I was like you know they must be seeing something that was violent conduct but I don't really see what that is on the replay ah but then finally at some point they showed ah what happened between Karski and Rusnak and I was like okay that looked like a double red card frankly um but
00:11:04
Speaker
i Think that ultimately ended up just making this game more frustrating because Seattle was up a man for so long and they still Couldn't score and I think that's where you get into the uneasiness and consternation people are feeling about this result Yeah, you won in PKs, but um When you're up a man in a playoff game in the second half, especially with that much timeless at home at home um you really you you need to You need to score a goal and not let it get to penalties. Seattle got lucky in this game. I don't think there's any doubt about that. But let's that's a good segue into, I think, our main topic for this game review, knowing that um I was going to have this debate. um I'm going to start with the basic question that I think is on most people's minds, which is, should Sounders fans be happy or tilted about this win?
Fan Reactions to Game Outcome
00:11:49
Speaker
Tilted meaning upset, for those of you who don't speak our loving squadrons lingo.
00:11:55
Speaker
um So I'm going to lay out both sides of this argument, and then we're going to talk about which side that we agree with. I think I already know yeah what you're going to say. I have my own take. So I'm just going to lay out the positives and negatives of this result for Seattle, and then we're going to tell you what we think. The positives.
00:12:14
Speaker
um I do think there is an extent to which any time, but really especially in the playoffs, a win is a win is an applicable saying. You got a clean sheet in this game and I think everyone knows that an elite defense can take you far in the playoffs and really um it's a scenario where you could argue it doesn't like how you win it doesn't is kind of immaterial at a certain point this win counts just as much as if they had gone out there and beat the dynamo 5-0 so there is one lens of it that you can where you can look at it like that negatives on the flip side
00:12:55
Speaker
No goals at home. You got shut out at home again, which is something that happened way too much this year. um And it that plays into a larger theme of Seattle's home form, not being good enough this year, which is something we've talked about a lot about on the show. And really for the last couple of years, Lumen used to be a fortress. It used to be a place where you came in and it was intimidating and it was really difficult to play. Teams had a lot of trouble getting results. um Seattle, they only lost two home games this year, but they drew six.
00:13:22
Speaker
And ah teams like Austin FC came in here and got 0-0s. There was at least one other really bad 0-0 that I'm not thinking of at home. This was another 0-0 at home. Not good. like You need to be scoring even if here even if the numbers are even, which brings me to my second negative. You didn't take advantage of a red card that happened pretty early in the game.
00:13:43
Speaker
Um, that is a tailor made situation where I feel like Sounders teams have past years and just in general, if you're a contender and you go up a man in a playoff game with that much time left, that's where you go for the jugular, right? That's where you, uh, you gotta make your play. And like I said, not let that game get the PKs.
00:14:01
Speaker
And I think the final negative that I'll say is that um there is a simple reality that you're you're not going to beat LAFC or frankly, even the LA Galaxy who you've beat previously in League's Cup convincingly, but like ah you're going to have to travel for those games if you get by Houston and If they shut you out, they're gonna score on you. yeah So you gotta, a win is a win, but you should be real about that. Noah, go ahead and give your take first yeah on the positives and the negatives of the result, then I'll tell you my take on your take.
00:14:39
Speaker
All right, here's my positives, right? Yes, because this is the world's dumbest first round playoff format and you can score a hundred goals and it only counts as one. Yeah, you're right. This this is by all accounts a win that like takes you and propels you more than anything, right? The bad news is Exactly what you said. This is not gonna fly against LA FC LA galaxy This shit isn't gonna fly against Minnesota United like you have to score I understand that Houston is a really good defensive team and this is supposed to be a really good defensive matchup But I called this embarrassing Because how are you not gonna come out and play playoff soccer? It also just showed your incredible weaknesses your nine goes down and you look
00:15:32
Speaker
Terrible you look like you're just you we look like last year's team where it was xg merchant Facilities and then even more embarrassing. It's like I thought Pedro de la Vega was playing Incredibly poorly and just just everything felt off. It felt wrong. It was boring soccer It was it didn't feel like that playoff intensity And you have to take that and propel that into an away game at Houston. And then let's say that they lose that game in penalties or lose that game straight up. You got to play another game at home just to then and on short rest, go and play either LA or Vancouver.
00:16:10
Speaker
those are those are one and done games not getting these early games one and done and getting your confidence up that's embarrassing and that's that's bad and that's that's where I land on it okay there's a scathing review scathing review a lot to unpack there um I want to hit on what you made first real quick. Hopefully this isn't too much of a rabbit hole. But what you mentioned about the format, I did i wanted to give my take on that because there's been a lot of takes on that. and because i mean This is the second year where they've had these round one best of three series where, where like you said, and Stephen Fry was talking about this after the game too actually.
00:16:47
Speaker
like ah How much you win by? um Doesn't have any effect like it would in a series that's decided on Aggregate, so I definitely I agree with that criticism And I think that the two-legged series of years past the home in a way decided by aggregate What was wrong with that like I liked that I thought that like yeah because here's here's the thing I actually ah I think there is a something to a format where for at least some portion of the playoffs or in the beginning like this in this case where you have teams that have to play each other over multiple games and not having it be a single elimination throughout the entirety of the playoffs because what I like about a series what I liked about the home and away series that they used to do is that
00:17:36
Speaker
Over that much game time, the team that's actually better is usually going to win. Right. And I think that's it eliminates some of the randomness and luck from it, which some people think the luck and randomness of single elimination playoffs are what make it exciting. And I agree with that to an extent. And I like having the single elimination for the later rounds and it and for MLS Cup.
Criticism of MLS Playoff Format
00:18:00
Speaker
But I don't mind an early series where when you have the ah teams that played much better in the regular season playing against the lower seeds, have a series where like the better team ah has like an actually a much bigger advantage that they've earned throughout they played in the regular season. You see what I'm saying? I do. so I don't. because you could be You could be the Columbus crew right now where now you're sitting behind having to go to New York, New York control for penalties.
00:18:24
Speaker
Right. Yeah. and And move on. Exactly. So my thing is like I actually like having early in the playoffs, having a multigame series. um But I would I would just I would just go back to the ah home and away.
00:18:40
Speaker
Two-leg decided by aggregate because I also think Aggregate scoring I like that better personally yeah Because if if you win by a lot like five zero you get rewarded for like how much you won by and how well you played So I think that's better. But ah the other thing I wanted to talk about real quick with this. This was a rabbit hole, but I just have Yeah, I have a lot to say about the format and The other thing I wanted to say about the format is that ah you know a lot of people are criticizing it because it's sort of this um Americanization of the sport. like It's like a playoff like you would see in another American sport.
00:19:19
Speaker
um but like My take on that is I actually, I don't mind instances where MLS kind of leans into the effect, the the fact that it's the United States league. And in fact, there are certain ways, not necessarily format related, where where like my, my example for where I wish they leaned into this type of stuff more is just with the club names, you know, like yeah how,
00:19:42
Speaker
Every team copies the European format right SC and FC and you have real salt lake and inter Miami Yeah, like I would I would like the I think it would be better if MLS teams were remember like the Kansas City Wizards Yeah, we're just like straight up named like Dallas burn. Yeah. Yeah, like I think ah that's true star that's more authentic to being the top flight league in the United States than it is to have like all these FCs and SCs and reales and inters. It feels like you're copying something, whereas like the Kansas City Wizards and the Dallas Burn, that's like our way of doing it, right? I don't know if this is making sense. No, it's not, but cook. but but ah like i i don't like I mean, I don't know. Do you think FC and SC and all that stuff?
00:20:29
Speaker
I think that that's kind of ah like I said, it comes off like copying more. Um, so like, anyway, uh, the point is like, if, uh, if the format is a little more like that, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but I don't really like the best of three because I think the home and away aggregate is better. So that's my really long take on the format. So your take is bring back the New York city, New Jersey Metro stars.
00:20:53
Speaker
Yeah, or just names like that. I don't know. Maybe that's a bad take. No, I like it. um I feel like here's here's what I'll say in in in bringing us back to where we were.
Seattle's Playoff Performance Analysis
00:21:03
Speaker
This game wasn't the end of the world, but I feel like it was a foreshadowing match and I'm not looking forward to having to grit my teeth through this next game and then have to go again to Satan's house, go to Denny Bewonga's home and get my ass beat.
00:21:22
Speaker
Yeah, like that's I did just and that's why it's embarrassing because I thought we would have put up more of a fight on this early round On the topic of embarrassing. I wouldn't go that far Personally what happened to the Portland timbers which we covered extensively. That's that's a mad embarrassing. That's even more than embarrassed. Yeah, so like when I when I use the term embarrassing like I'm thinking like disgraceful meltdown like you commit a red card like you look like you don't belong on the field a playoff game where ah that ends in a zero zero and you win in PKs I would use the terms tilting and ah
00:21:59
Speaker
Disappointing to describe that embarrassing. I think is a little excessive You got a playoff win and you kept a clean sheet. So it just felt embarrassing i Underwhelming is the other yeah that I would use for that And I do think there is an embarrassing aspect to being up a man for that long that's and not being able to score It's not that it's not like i'm I'm judging it also relative to like ah like like i said the timbers they embarrass themselves the rapids which we'll talk about later that's embarrassing right a game that you've won in the playoffs to me by definition it isn't that bad yeah i i think that i don't think that the world is ending i think that it was uh embarrassment one because of my own expectations that i put on this club to perform in the playoffs both on this podcast and in my own head cannon and two
00:22:53
Speaker
some of the player performances were objectively awful and embarrassing and like those players I'm sure are feeling that and so I think when I said that it was more of a like wow I i need this this performance I came in with such confidence that now I have to fully reassess my take and I'm not looking forward to having to continue to watch this team through the playoffs that could turn around it's not the end of the world but it was like wow I have to tuck my tail between my legs and be like okay yeah like we might get cooked it was there's just there's been times this season and i think this is another example of when it's like ptsd for yes for the xg merchant days yeah this game felt like that especially during the segment where they were up a man for that long and still couldn't score yeah i think that's a good segue into uh we're gonna do our rusnak brigade update real quick and then get into our agenda check
00:23:46
Speaker
Rooseneck brigade update it was a pretty hot game for them yeah Anytime you get shut out at home in the playoffs the pitchforks are gonna be out um And you know what I would say about that is like it's actually you know It's totally fair to criticize the number 10 in a playoff game where the team gets shut out at home I think I would put it not all on one guy. I would put it on pretty much I put it pretty much on the whole offense man like I didn't really think I anybody was effective. I thought the the the midfield and the back line defended well, but as far as just getting anything going in attack, ah no one covered themselves in glory. Albert Rusnak included and that's, um you know, that's coming from a pod that's been very pro Rusnak and thinks that he had an excellent year. He didn't have a very good game here and no one, none of the attackers did. I don't think there's any attacker that you could look at in this game and to say they really they really stepped up and played well.
00:24:37
Speaker
um Including Paul Rothrock, which I hate to say. and I mean, yeah, no one, no one. um and But, you know, Paul Rothrock's been balling all season. So, yeah like, I'm not gonna condemn anybody just for one bad game, but it was definitely a disappointing, underwhelming performance. And, like, I mean, we gotta to be real. Like, 0-0, even if you won the shootout, that's like, that's that's not a good result. Like, it's it's not. It's objectively not. I'm not gonna sugarcoat that.
00:25:04
Speaker
Alright, let's hit this agenda check because there's some ah there's some hot button topics in here. This first one ah is, I think this is the biggest thing that you all were replying to me with yeah in the in the crowdsourcing after the game on Twitter.
00:25:20
Speaker
ah The Georgie should start over Pedro de la Vega Agenda, and I think we're let's work in our general de la Vega takes you here because this I mean this is the This is the biggest talking point after the game. I think it's safe to say this was his worst game since He came back from injury probably his worst game. I think on the at the sounder yeah um I think he would probably tell you that I think you could see that and how he reacted when he got subbed out off I don't think he was Leo chewing no i don't nes I think he was Frustrated with himself and how he played that's what it looked like to me. I'm inferring that but that's what i did i did tweet something silly about like why are you chirping the coach you played like shit, but I mean that was more of just like a
00:26:02
Speaker
i don't Engagement bait like I don't really think that that's I thought he was way out chewing you too But then when he came when they cut to him on the sidelines. Yeah, he was pretty he was ah Very he was like it looked like he was like borderline crying. Yeah, um I mean I'd be crying too if I played like that But um so a lot of people were saying after the game that they feel like um that the the main agenda I saw expressed after the game was that Georgie should be getting these starts at this point over De La Vega. And I'll just give you my opinion on that agenda. I am pretty much there. I'm pretty much there. Like I think Georgie looks
00:26:36
Speaker
better every time he's on the field and more dangerous and the offense looks more dangerous. Like when I said no one stepped up earlier, he's the only one I think that you could argue um was really bringing it and looked like yeah like any sort of meaningfully dangerous out of anyone.
00:26:53
Speaker
and i Think I just think right now he's more fun to watch more substantively dangerous um He's better at taking on defenders one-on-one The offense as a whole seems to just feel a lot more dangerous when he's on the field and I think his skill set is great as a super sub but with where with de la vega does not inform and like Really looking like he looked like a broken man at some point he there was and there was just a Like there was clips going around of all the passes that he missed and it it felt like his turnovers were leading to really dangerous chances He was turning it over and what it felt like was as it kind of spiraled on him like as ah As and as the mistakes piled up it got into his head and it was causing more mistakes Yeah, and that's sort of like a place. I hadn't really seen from him yet. I would i think
00:27:47
Speaker
So far he's He's been hit or miss with some good moments, but not a lot of final product But like we've seen like he wasn't like detrimental I felt like it kind of got detrimental and I think Brian even alluded to that he You know, he said I would have loved to have him play more minutes But I had to do what was best for the team, which is like, sorry buddy You are playing so poorly that we need to take you out. Yeah, which to be fair like I I would be very concerned if that had been what he looked like all season. I i don't think he's looked anywhere close to that all season. it hasn't been like He hasn't broken out and it hasn't been as productive as it needed needs to be a and he hasn't been healthy for the most part. right but um
00:28:32
Speaker
that was just a That was a tough game for him. I think it's just it's just sort of getting to the point where you really have to start thinking of it that any production that you get from him in the playoffs is just a bonus. And you sort of have to plan as if um you're not going to get anything from him. yeah which means not I think we said before the playoffs that ah any yeah the notion but this in our day any notion of this team being a serious contender, making a serious run,
00:29:02
Speaker
him coming good and becoming some sort of positive contributor in the playoffs is almost like a prerequisite for that. um So I think their ceiling and their status as potential contenders is is undermined. if if And like I think the thing is, it would have to take such a big leap yeah from where it is now to get to a point where he's meaningfully contributing to an MLS Cup run. it's just I don't think it's fair for him no i mean to expect that. No, it's not. It's unreasonable it's just unrealistic. yeah So um to go i go back to go to the Georgie starting take, I think that allows De La Vega, one, a better head space because you are playing that super sub role.
00:29:47
Speaker
I thought he looked his best in the second half of play like throughout this entire season. I thought the best you know coming out of that locker room on the second half was when he had his best halves of soccer and I just generally think that like where he's at in his headspace he needs to build his confidence any way he can and Brian giving him that opportunity to be like alright kid get in there make an impact cause chaos do your thing that is such an easy role to build confidence for players like Okay, this is a stupid ass comparison, but when I was a player in middle school
00:30:25
Speaker
and I had a terrible slump in my career my coach basically just had me be like a super sub or like a guy who would just go in and like to piss people off or like to do a specific job and like my confidence in my own play came back and then you know I could start again or I could do all these other things completely different than what a professional soccer player is playing but having Georgie start who is meaningfully at least challenging the defense in different ways and you know He's playing with just the like the the gulf in confidence. Yeah that the between the two that they're playing with right now is like Georgie's like brimming with confidence He's it it seems like he's having the time of his life every time he's out there de la vega ah He looks depressed. He looks depressed Lost confused and I think for everybody's sake Georgie needs to be starting over de la vega I think we've both been on this and I think that it's
00:31:19
Speaker
we need to we need well i mean the the de la vegas the savior is dead it's been dead but more than that anything you get from him this season is gravy and i hope that they can really zone in and focus on Fixing this offseason. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's it's all it's pretty much all about next year on this topic at this point um next agenda um So let's talk about this JP Christian Obed situation Obed's coming back ah The agenda here is that the JP should be the sub if Obed is available Christian rolls on Obed in the double pivot That's my take on the agenda
00:31:57
Speaker
ah It is weird to think of a first choice starting 11 with a healthy JP where he is not in it I think that this Christian Obed double pivot ah Is what's been working
Midfield Lineup Debates
00:32:08
Speaker
lately? And here's another thing about this game that we didn't talk about like I think
00:32:15
Speaker
There is a case to be made that ah a lot of the offensive drop off in this game compared to what we've seen in previous weeks where Seattle's offense had been playing a lot better, um might have been attributable to Obed not being in the lineup. I think this game we kind of saw how important he is, like just his creativity, how good he is in possession, his vision, just basically all the things that have made him a breakout star this year and one of the, you know, number seven on 2222.
00:32:42
Speaker
um we We saw Seattle miss that there is no way that he comes off the field in a first choice 11 no way and i I feel the same way about Christian but um Think that he's kind of he's back to be playing this position again. So I think JP comes off the bench. Yeah, I thought Christian behind Yemar was the best player on the field like he was the second best player on the field. You've got to sit JP. I thought it was awesome one that he was able to get a lot of minutes because he's going to need to be used in this playoffs. You will need him like you're going to need him. You're going to need them to be healthy, ah but
00:33:22
Speaker
Obed Vargas has to start his interceptions in midfield that turn over into these counterattacks work so much better with Jordan Morris would even work so much better with Raul It's it's it has to be it has to be him. I Think you're right. Like we are finding out just how valuable Obed is to the offense but also to the defense like this kid is a legitimate piece to unlocking any kind of quality from this team, and the Obed stock is up. The dollars, the dollars, they are gonna come in at some point. I think if I had to point to anything to feel good going into game two here, it would be that Obed's coming back, and I would be surprised if it didn't look better in attack just with him back in the lineup. I fear that we're gonna have to see Raul start though. Which, we can talk about that too, but I do think Fuck it, start dating Musavs. However, Moose got to play in this game, which I thought was unexpected. Listen, he was two for two on his passing, so I don't want to hear it, okay? He's the GOAT. Okay, next agenda. So, Jackson Reagan, as we talked about on the last show, finalist for Defender of the Year, along with Stephen Rivera and Jordy Alba. So, we know that he's a finalist now. We talked about his chances of winning it on the last show, but the agenda is that
00:34:42
Speaker
He should win it. Yeah, he should. If I'm looking at these three finalists, um two of them are like fullbacks that are like they're sort of two way attacking players. Jackson Reagan's the only CB, the only real defender yeah in there.
00:35:00
Speaker
I don't know if he's going to win it. I think i think probably Jordy Alba is going to win it because he's the biggest name and he had a pretty crazy year and he's the best player at his position, arguably ever. right But if we are going by the true spirit of the award and giving it to a CB who's a defense first player and not not this gimmicky fullback stuff, Jackson Reagan should be the pick. no i'm i'm in agreeance i I didn't vote for him. I didn't think he would have a chance before he but got named a finalist. but I wouldn't have voted for him either, so I don't think you're in the ah you're in the the minority there. um I personally loved the way he played last night. I thought he's been a beast lately. He buried that PK, right? He took a PK, right? Or am I imagining that? No, he did. He did. Yeah, he buried that PK.
00:35:48
Speaker
he i i Think he's awesome. I think you should win it. Fuck the fullback bullshit Let's let's get a real defender in there a real big-headed blue-blooded, Michigan big 10 boy.
Defensive Standouts and Listener Questions
00:36:01
Speaker
Yeah. Hell yeah, um so I Think that's it for the agenda check, but that what you just said did remind me ah We forgot to talk about Steve Clark in the game review. Oh, yeah, because he Steve Parker gender rat-tail agenda checks so his rat tail was a big topic of discussion, but also, um can I mean. Can I say something controversial that Sounders fans might hate about this? I just wanna go down there before you, please. I loved his shithouse-ery. I thought it was sick, yeah. I know that, you know, like, was I super happy to see him so incredibly deflated after that penalty shootout? Absolutely. I mean, just just talk bins, but like, the rat tail, the chirping ECS and shaking his little rat tail at them,
00:36:43
Speaker
Picking up the ball moving it. Yeah, dude. It's it's I love that playoff I love that shit. No, I had I had no ill will towards that and ah You could see how pumped he was after Houston got it to the PKs because he knew he knew that their chance at trolling a result in this game came down to their ability to see out a 0-0 draw playing down a man for like 40 plus minutes and and they did it. Objectively impressive. Objectively impressive and I do think like you know like when we talk about like if it was embarrassing or the most disgraceful result ah that we've ever seen I don't want to like ah not give the dynamo their credit for that though there's a very high degree of difficulty very high degree of difficulty on what they pulled off which was playing that length of time down a man
00:37:26
Speaker
ah and getting a 0-0 in Seattle, which, you know, getting a 0-0 in Seattle isn't the impressive accomplishment necessarily that it used to be. But I mean, in the playoffs for a Houston team that generally doesn't play well here, I mean, they ah they cooked on that. I can't i can't hate on that. um And the Steve Clark antics were at least entertaining on a game that was kind of lacking for entertainment.
00:37:47
Speaker
um But the Rothrock antics were good too. you see Did you see the little, he the Rothrock wave? Playoff? Rothrock, oh that's a good shout. yeah So after the Karskia red card, imagine training to play professional soccer for your entire life and you've come up ah and really just given your all to it and it's been all you've thought about your whole life and you get to the playoffs.
00:38:12
Speaker
with ah your professional team and you get a red card and you get waved off the field by Paul Rothrock from Capitol Hill. That's tough. ah But that was a great moment for sure. Like he gave him, he gave him the bye-bye. So there was some good Rothrock shit housing and I think playoff Rothrock. He's been activated where he's been activated and like he's kind of that type of player playoff. ball He's a kind of, I'm going to be a pest and get in your head type of player. I think playoff Polly, we're going to see even more than that. I'm looking forward to that.
00:38:41
Speaker
and um OK, I think that was it for ah for the agenda check and all that. We got some questions from you, the people. So ah thank you, as always, to everyone who submitted after the game. We're going to knock out a few here. Noah, what do we got?
00:38:55
Speaker
Welcome to the question and answer section. Today's questions are dominated by one player in particular who you will find out. That's a lot of De La Vega. Matt asks, what is going on with Pedro De La Vega? His positioning and runs were constantly great, but the second he got the ball at his feet, his decision making and passing were nowhere to be found. Anyone got his pass completion percentage handy?
00:39:20
Speaker
um I don't know about his pass completion percentage. I don't imagine that's high to me. The answer is just he's in his head. He's in his head 67% accurate stuff um when you are ah When you are psyching yourself out like that and you make one mistake and it's snowballs um It just like ah it kind of gets away from you. yeah And I think that ah to me, what I saw in this game was a player who is overthinking things, trying to do too much and is in his own head. You know, for De La Vega, it's like he has had everything go wrong for him. And now he has to go into the playoffs and he's feeling this pressure, not only from I'm sure his his fellow teammates, but even more from himself, the media, you know,
00:40:12
Speaker
I feel like every national pundit is like, well, if the Sounders are going to do well in this playoff, Pedro de la Vega has to come and and make an appearance. And it's like that is real pressure. And it's time that Brian sits him and he's just has this super sub slow down is his thinking. And yeah, at the end of the day, when you're missing them and he passes and just out of your out of the game and out of your head, like there's not much you can do, but like try and reset.
00:40:38
Speaker
So thank you, Matt, for that question. Wesley had a completely new question as well relating to a different player, totally not De La Vega. Wesley asks, the two most passionate players on the field who play with the most intensity are Rothrock and De La Vega. How would you describe why Paul has been able to channel that passion effectively and Pedro not so much? OK, yeah, so I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why, which is that um You're talking about two players, one of whom has the most pressure on him, ah on the entire team in Pedro de la Vega, like you just sized up. From himself, from outside sources, I think, from everyone on the team, there's the weight of expectations, and there is a lot of pressure that comes with that, being a big money transfer, getting the number 10. You feel like you got the weight of the world on your shoulders.
00:41:35
Speaker
The other guy has the least amount of pressure on him, arguably of any player in MOS or any soccer player at the ah in the world at the moment. Paul Rothrock is just he was he's hyped to be playing pro soccer at all. And I think A big theme of the season with the Rothrock breakout has kind of been him seizing the opportunity when he really had nothing to lose. There's no pressure on Paul Rothrock. If Paul Rothrock never played an MLS minute, no one would bat an eye. Pedro de la Vega is the centerpiece of the club for the next
00:42:12
Speaker
three or four years ostensibly, you know, there's just a huge there's a huge gap in how much pressure is on these two guys. And I think that's why you've seen Paul Rothrock really sees the opportunity and thrive because he's got nothing to lose. And where De La Vega, I think it's it's pretty clear to me that the pressure has gotten to him a little bit. So, yeah, I mean, I i question that. I do think that Rothrock has a similar amount of pressure, but in a completely different way. It's a, I believe in myself though. Like, Rothrock is fully bought in on himself and you guys should go read... Tim Fos. Tim Fos' piece, if you haven't, we pumped it already, but it's so good. And, you know... Noah took the photos. I took the photos, whatever, but, you know, he was ready to give up. Not ready to give up, he was not ready to give up. Like, he was like, you know what, this hasn't been going right, but... I'm gonna just put my head down and work, right? That's super easy for a player like that. It's not easy, but mentally, it's like my focus is on getting into the starting lineup. And then my focus, once I'm in the starting lineup, is just playing consistently and having fun. And also, he his whole family is here, right?
Pedro De La Vega's Performance and Expectations
00:43:32
Speaker
but Paul Rothrock has his entire family here as a support system. yeah So it's a good point he can live at home. He was literally living at home, right?
00:43:40
Speaker
and On top of that, right like this is where he grew up. There's so much comfort and feeling and all of those things. Pachodil Vega, as a young person, came here on a huge transfer with huge media you know speculation. Fans are unhappy with the way he's performing. He's unhappy with the way he's performing. Legitimately the weight of the world on this man's shoulders. and That can take a toll on just about everything. like shit when i'm depressed i don't want to get out of bed i can't imagine feeling that and then also having to come back from injury and then also like you feel the weight of the team on you that's that's so much that's so much so i think it's really just like they are in similar positions like vaguely but they're so like not even on the same playing field but uh
00:44:32
Speaker
Give Paul Rothwerk a DP contract is what I'm hearing from both of us here Craig asked based on tonight's performance Can we now say Pedro de la Vega is a bus? We're gonna add on to the I mean, you know I think this is I mean, this is another big question that everyone is asking it might be delusional but like I I mean I've been saying a thousand minutes is when I'm gonna like make ah make more of a definitive judgment. I i really honestly think it's pretty hard to to judge this season for him on a whole man. I really do. like He wasn't healthy the whole time. um Even when he got healthy, it it clearly is taking him a while to like get back to fitness. He's in a situation where it's all new teammates that he had to develop chemistry with to begin with that he didn't get to.
00:45:19
Speaker
ah pretty much at all this year. so And they have so much invested in him and so much invested in the signing that I think what they're gonna, the way they're gonna handle it, and whether whether the fans think he's a buster or not, the way that they're gonna handle it is they're gonna say, this year we're just gonna chalk this up to ah he was injured the whole time, couldn't really get acclimated, didn't have the chemistry, never really just, never got his feet under him here, we're gonna just like,
00:45:47
Speaker
Chalk that reset next year, go into it, get them healthy over the off season, take it from square one yeah and see if we can actually ah we can actually make this signing come good. um So that's a long way of saying like, I don't think you can call them a bust yet. I don't i i don't think they're, I just think there's like a very clear kind of amount of sample that you need to see. Maybe not an exact number, but just for me in my head, I know how much I need to see before I make a judgment like that and we're just we's not there yet numerically. Yeah. and And I think he's in a tough position too, because as a DP, it's like, do you let him go and play for Tacoma to get minutes? Like you would never do that with the player that high profile, but it's like something like that to build confidence. Then that's weeded out, right? You have,
00:46:34
Speaker
A guy like Brian, who I love Brian Schmetzer, but I don't know if he's fully equipped or ever been in this specific situation before. So he's having to man manage this person in a situation that is like so foreign to the Sounders because this has never happened before. They don't really make these kind of big signings at this age and then have them be, you know, have some some adversity. The last time that happened was Leo Chu and I don't think that that was handled well. So I think Brian really has a big tough task on his hands to like look at himself. All of the front office staff, everyone, it's hard but I don't think you can call him a bust off of a tumultuous season. No one was calling a van or a bust
00:47:21
Speaker
off of his first tumultuous season. Well, he was more productive. Some people were. That's a good point because, uh, he had kind of a slow start, but DPS, even when they have health, which De La Vega didn't, sometimes they take time to acclimate. I think we might've got spoiled watching Ledero just roll up and become one of the best players in the league. Yeah. We've talked about that. cup But like, uh, that does, it doesn't always go like that. No, I agree with you there. Kenneth asks, score a goddamn goal. For God's sakes. We should pound our fists here, Ari. Yeah, there they're way bunkered in. But find a way. Put a ball in the box. Use your knee, thigh, stomach, face, ass, cheek, whatever. Make Clark make a save at least. Those were some stone cold PKs from the Sounders, though. Yeah, so I think Kenneth put a voice there to a lot of the frustration that a lot of the fan base was feeling last night. and
00:48:14
Speaker
I mean, yeah, like, ah ah, you gotta be able to score there. You gotta score there. They did, okay, the one thing that we didn't talk about was, ah they, what did you think, I don't wanna go like too far, too hard on the refs, but what did you think of the PK that looked like Christian won and got called but that they waved off? Because I thought that, you know, like the broadcast and everyone was saying like they instantly were saying that should get waved waved off i don't i didn't think it was like clear and obvious to overturn um but i don't know so i well i didn't see it very clearly i was at the game and i didn't they didn't show a replay very well so like for me personally uh i don't know and i didn't even think that i saw a lot of people complaining about the refs i guess generally i don't
00:49:05
Speaker
See how that affected the game at all like last match we had you know a Terrible ref and I felt like this was just fine like that uncle is fine like he's fine like he's been a demon to the sounders in the past But I don't think he did anything wrong in this match like you could blame the var if you really thought that that was supposed to be a penalty But like I don't I didn't think it was. I i genuinely thought- I'm not aggrieved about it. yeah Exactly. um Anyway, good points, Kenneth. And also, um they did the the PKs were good, I will say that. like yeah seattle Whenever Seattle's in PKs, save for 2016, which they won famously in Toronto.
00:49:50
Speaker
um But it feels like the last few times they've been in PKs, at least in like the MLS playoffs, they haven't gone, they've lost. I know they wouldn't want an open cup this year, but um it was good to see them just drill every single. oh yeah they were theyre na I mean, it's the margins in this stuff are so thin. Like Houston Fried didn't save their penalty. Like he just put it barely wide and Seattle wins on that. So yeah they did get lucky. um All right. Thank you everyone for the questions Appreciate you as always for getting the discourse flowing No, I got the other round one game one results written down
First Round Playoff Results
00:50:26
Speaker
right here. So to close it out here ah Let's just go through and give our takes on some of the other games that have taken place in the playoffs so far it is we're all round one best of three now wildcard is over and and Minnesota United just won on pens by the way um When in Minnesota United just beat Real Assault Lake on pens in a 0-0, which that's ah that's kind of disappointing. I was hoping for some more fireworks there. yeah but ah Okay, well that's 0-0, so let's not even... Real Assault Lake, Minnesota United, 0-0, whatever, loons up 1-0.
00:51:02
Speaker
um I've seen since he won zero over NYC FC in the first ah in the first leg of that or in the first game of that series, so um that That was our big upset pick, right? Yeah. So that is not looking very good so far. No. NYCFC couldn't get a goal at TQL. And then Cincy got one from a, it was a lucho assist to Yamil Asad, Atlanta United legend, for for the game winner. So I guess my takeaway from this game is that Cincy, they got a professional performance.
00:51:40
Speaker
They got the dub, but the way I think of them hasn't changed all that much in that I think the injuries might be too much for them to really contend in the east. um But really, if our NYCFC sneaky pick, which it really wasn't that sneaky, I think a lot of people kind of were touting them based on sort of the same logic that we saw. um But like a result was there for the taking for them in this game, and the fact that they couldn't get it done, they probably chalked. yeah You got to win at, I mean,
00:52:10
Speaker
i Think they still take a result at Yankee Stadium because it's Yankee Stadium, but then again you go back got to play at Cincy They're warmed up. They know your plan. It's it's not looking too hot for our bracket here Ari LAFC beat Vancouver to one um This was more comfortable. I think for LAFC than that Final score would indicate but it's like that's why I miss this two leg series with yeah aggregate because like oh ryan gold 90 plus five means that would have meant a lot yeah no it's a good point and like that adds like exactly like that goal would have changed the whole complexion of the series if they win instead of just not mattering if they win on aggregate somehow
00:52:51
Speaker
I'm claiming my Vancouver pick was good. that's That's all I'm saying. I'm going to cope with that. But I didn't think they were really messing with LAC all that much. They hung with it for a while more than I thought they would. But I think good possession the the white caps just they don't they don't have it in the series. I mean, if you look at the stats like.
00:53:11
Speaker
15 they each had 15 shots la fc had two big chances and vancouver had one big chance so they finished all of their big chances uh the whitecaps had 51 possession like i think they played them i mean i mean it's classic uh la fc fashion seed possession to your opponent counter-attack whatever but like i don't know i i didn't think it was like completely out of the woodwork and Bongo scored a penalty. So, you know, it could have been theoretically it could have been one, one, you know, you're going to bang and all. I'm just coping here. Ari, I just want this. I want this Vancouver. Let's just hope that the the caps can force the game three. I think that's the most we can hope for. career
00:53:52
Speaker
um Orlando City pretty easily over Charlotte, which was another 2-0, which was another one where we thought an upset might be in the cards. I picked Orlando. We both did, I think. we were But we were saying, though, that Charlotte might be a might be scrappier than some people think. They had a really good defense in the goalkeeper of the year all year. um But Orlando looked much more like the hot Orlando down the stretch. And it looks like um they're going to win that series relatively easily, although they do have game two in Charlotte.
00:54:21
Speaker
um I think the I mean the most crooked score of all the game ones um Was the l LA Galaxy five owing the rapids? Yeah, which we we both picked the galaxy to win this series Pretty easily, but I think I thought this game this folks this was the game ah the quintessential game that shows why Robin Skorchers is a galaxy podcast. correct when that When that attack gets rolling, um it's the best in MLS this side of inner Miami. and i still I don't know if it's better than LAFCs in terms of talent in production. I like it more. yeah I enjoy watching it more.
00:55:01
Speaker
I like Ricky Poosh more than I like Denny Bawonga. I like Joey Paints and Gabriel Peck more than I like Bogus and J.Roo. Yeah. Who are those guys? So but like just when I ah when I watch when I watch the galaxy get rolling, I still think they're my favorite team to watch.
00:55:19
Speaker
That's why I picked them to win the damn MLS Cup, folks. it's not I mean, we both picked them to go, which shows our bias in this scenario. But ah the Rapids, they did not have a chance in this game. They're a little further off than I think their endpoint total this year probably would indicate. But um they got to be pretty demoralized going into game two. Galaxy looked to be moving on pretty easily. um Inner Miami got more than they probably expected to from Atlanta United, but they ended up winning 2-1, and frankly, this should have been way more lopsided. We talked about it briefly on the last pod, too. Okay, so yeah, this should have been like four or five goals for Inner Miami, but ah Brad Guzzan went crazy. Yeah, we did talk about this. Okay.
Eastern Conference Upsets
00:56:05
Speaker
My favorite upset so far?
00:56:07
Speaker
Yeah, this was this was a big one from earlier tonight. We're recording this on a Tuesday evening. ah Red Bulls one zero over Columbus. OK, they had a keeper. in They had a goalkeeper in the goal. They had a backup goalkeeper. But for the crew to lose their first game at home against this Red Bulls team, get shut out at home. Look, I mean, look, man, like everyone's pissed about how Seattle played in their game, Seattle got the win. They did win. Like, Columbus literally, they lost. They are down 1-0 to the Red Bulls. They're going to Red Bull Arena. They might still win this series, but that's bad. And if the Red Bulls actually pull this off, which they they've got to be brimming with belief right now, oh yeah it would it would throw, it would detonate the entire East. Like, no one no one has Columbus going out this early.
00:57:00
Speaker
I don't, I have a hard, I think this was probably a fluke and not Columbus. But I think that they've got to go to three games now if they want to win, yeah which is never, it's not good. And you're not guaranteed to go take a dub at RBA. The red boys are pretty good at home. they're Yeah.
00:57:16
Speaker
Like there's an area where I could easily see a scenario where the red bulls get them to penalties at home So well in and they clearly their gameplay and worked away. Why would it not work again at home? You know, they can switch up as much as they want But you know if Kuchos they effectively they effectively defanged Kucho in this match, which is insane by the way, not the MVP yeah boom This is a this is why the playoffs are fun. Like, you know, we picked I think we made the safest picks, or at least I did. But like stuff like this happens and the the crew were on the ropes. So I guess, yeah, like I was saying, and ah if you're if you're tilted about how the Seattle game went, totally understandable. At least they got the dove and they're not down one zero like the number two seed in the East is. So you can you're allowed to take solace in that.
00:58:06
Speaker
um Yeah, we got another Slido Games coming up on ah Friday. There's Charlotte in Orlando and the Galaxy in Colorado. So both those series look pretty much chalked, but ah we're turning right along here in the playoffs.
Episode Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:58:18
Speaker
I think we're going to call it right there for episode 72. Good episode, Noah.
00:58:24
Speaker
Thank you, as always, to everyone for tuning in. It's fun to have the playoffs going. I'm excited for the rest of it. I know it wasn't the prettiest dub, but Seattle got a dub, so they're in position to move forward. So we might get more playoff soccer after game two. Still got to win game two. But yeah, like, comment, subscribe, write us reviews. Share with Fanzier, Dante Fanzier. Share with the New York Red Bulls. Sub to the YouTube, please.
00:58:54
Speaker
And remember to always put in a backup goalkeeper With that until next time we out peace