Montreal Impact Select Seth Sinovic in MLS Expansion Draft; Sporting KC Waive Four Players

How come the few times that I'm actually correct about a prediction it has to be something like this? 

Today the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft took place, and the Montreal Impact selected 10 players from other MLS teams to begin shaping their roster for the upcoming season. Below are all 10 of Montreal's picks in the order in which they were selected:

1. Brian Ching- F, Houston Dynamo
2. Zarek Valentin- D, Chivas USA
3. Justin Mapp- F, Philadelphia Union
4. Bobby Burling- D, San Jose Earthquakes
5. Jeb Brovsky- M, Vancouver Whitecaps
6. Collen Warner- M, Real Salt Lake
7. Josh Gardner- M, Columbus Crew
8. Sanna Nyassi- F, Colorado Rapids
9. James Riley- M, Seattle Sounders
10. Seth Sinovic- D, Sporting Kansas City 

That's right. Seth lasted all the way until the last round of the draft before Montreal selected him. As James Staritt from SportingTimes.net described quite well on his latest post, this was a blow to Sporting KC fans, but what made it even worse was that Sinovic wasn't picked until the 10th round, probably giving us all a false sense of hope that perhaps Seth wouldn't be selected at all. 

Sigh....

I still don't really know what to say about this whole thing. I can't believe that a couple of days ago I was speculating about Michael Harrington and Soony Saad as being the two most likely Montreal targets, thinking that Sinovic was a shoo-in for Sporting to protect. Two days later, Seth Sinovic is now a member of the Montreal Impact. 

I still don't feel like I have any understanding of what the rational was of not protecting Sinovic, and honestly, I'll probably never know. The only thing I can say is that ultimately I trust Peter Vermes' judgement, and that perhaps, there was just some issue that we all don't know about, because on the surface, the whole ordeal makes little sense.

Andy Edwards of the Talkin' Touches Podcast made a good point about Harrington being a more versatile player than Seth. That is true, as Harrington can play both fullback positions. However, I honestly thought the money factor alone would be enough reason for Montreal to select Sinovic over Harrington. 

The three main criteria I would have if I were a GM dealing with a protected list would be a player's age, salary, and impact for the club.  Sinovic had Harrington beat in all three categories in 2011. 

Anyways, enough racking my brain thinking about the whole situation. What's done is done. It sucks. I'm going to miss one of my favorite players, but at the very least, this gives me a reason to follow the Impact in 2012.

So, with that being said, I bid Seth a fond farewell. We hardly knew thee. 

Sporting Kansas City Waive Four Players

Earlier today, Sporting Kansas City released four players; Jeferson, Craig Rocastle, Milos Stojcev, and Scott Lorenz. 

No real surprises here, as none of these guys had much of an impact for the club in 2011. The best news out roster moves is that Sporting KC cleared out some major cap room, especially with the release of Jeferson ($350K), and Rocastle ($110K). I've seen various different numbers on a guess of how much money Sporting cut from their cap today all together, ranging from the high $500K's to up to $700K. Who really knows what the actual number is (damn you, MLS and your confusing salary cap figures), but regardless, the money will definitely be useful in resigning players like Graham Zusi, Matt Besler, and Chance Myers in the near future.