Goodbye Roger Espinosa

Roger Epsinosa has a physical with Wigan Athletic of the Premier League on Wednesday for a stint that will begin in January.

I'm a pretty bad fan when it comes to our best players being signed abroad. I'm selfish and it's really hard for me to be happy. Anyway, here is a pessimistic afterthought of Roger's departure:

In the 2012 regular season, when Roger Espinosa played, Sporting Kansas City was 15-5-4 (2.04 PPG).
In the 2012 regular season, when Roger Espinosa did not play, Sporting Kansas City was 2-2-4 (1.25 PPG).

The only two teams we beat without Roger were New England and Philadelphia, two of the worst clubs in the East this season.

It was apparent that the team looked very different with and without Roger. Here's to hoping for a productive off-season.

Playoff Predictions - Pt 5

Elo Ratings		Chance to Win
Rtng Team (Chng)		Team	Cup
1649   Los Angeles Galaxy  (+5)		Los Angeles Galaxy	0.691
1613   Sporting Kansas City  (---)		Houston Dynamo	0.309
1612   Seattle Sounders FC  (-5)
1608   San Jose Earthquakes  (---)
1599   Houston Dynamo  (+23)
1548   DC United  (-23)
1548   Real Salt Lake  (---)
1535   New York Red Bulls  (---)
1529   Chicago Fire  (---)
1515   Columbus Crew  (---)
1488   Montreal Impact  (---)
1480   FC Dallas  (---)
1443   Colorado Rapids  (---)
1433   Philadelphia Union  (---)
1418   Vancouver Whitecaps FC  (---)
1418   New England Revolution  (---)
1409   Portland Timbers  (---)
1335   Toronto FC  (---)
1320   Chivas USA  (---)
West Average: 1498.55
East Average: 1501.3

Playoff Predictions - Pt 4

Elo Ratings		Chance to Win
Rtng Team (Chng)		Team	SF	Cup
1644   Los Angeles Galaxy  (+13)		Los Angeles Galaxy	0.539	0.321
1617   Seattle Sounders FC  (+17)		DC United	0.493	0.267
1613   Sporting Kansas City  (-11)		Seattle Sounders FC	0.461	0.258
1608   San Jose Earthquakes  (-13)		Houston Dynamo	0.507	0.153
1576   Houston Dynamo  (+11)
1571   DC United  (+22)
1548   Real Salt Lake  (-17)
1535   New York Red Bulls  (-22)
1529   Chicago Fire  (---)
1515   Columbus Crew  (---)
1488   Montreal Impact  (---)
1480   FC Dallas  (---)
1443   Colorado Rapids  (---)
1433   Philadelphia Union  (---)
1418   Vancouver Whitecaps FC  (---)
1418   New England Revolution  (---)
1409   Portland Timbers  (---)
1335   Toronto FC  (---)
1320   Chivas USA  (---)
West Average: 1498.55
East Average: 1501.3

The one seeds fall. LA now showing as heavy favorites, but we'll need to wait until tonight's games are finished to look at the teams on equal ground.

-UPDATE: If you hosted the second leg, bu-bye. LA are pegged as favorites at this point. DC winning their conference final means they would host MLS Cup, otherwise the west winner would host it.

Playoff Predictions - Pt 3

Elo Ratings		Chance to Win
Rtng Team (Chng)		Team	QF	SF	Cup
1647   San Jose Earthquakes  (+26)		San Jose Earthquakes	0.870	0.517	0.370
1605   Los Angeles Galaxy  (-26)		Houston Dynamo	0.818	0.449	0.152
1599   Sporting Kansas City  (-25)		New York Red Bulls	0.651	0.298	0.127
1593   Seattle Sounders FC  (-7)		Real Salt Lake	0.598	0.240	0.116
1590   Houston Dynamo  (+25)		Seattle Sounders FC	0.402	0.173	0.088
1572   Real Salt Lake  (+7)		DC United	0.349	0.151	0.061
1562   New York Red Bulls  (+5)		Sporting Kansas City	0.182	0.102	0.048
1544   DC United  (-5)		Los Angeles Galaxy	0.130	0.070	0.037
1529   Chicago Fire  (---)
1515   Columbus Crew  (---)
1488   Montreal Impact  (---)
1480   FC Dallas  (---)
1443   Colorado Rapids  (---)
1433   Philadelphia Union  (---)
1418   Vancouver Whitecaps FC  (---)
1418   New England Revolution  (---)
1409   Portland Timbers  (---)
1335   Toronto FC  (---)
1320   Chivas USA  (---)
West Average: 1498.55
East Average: 1501.3

Real Salt Lake and New York gain home field advantage for the series. Sporting Kansas City is on the ropes after falling 0-2 in the first leg. San Jose's late goal gives them a massive overall advantage.