This article is part of our MLS Barometer series.
Three Up:
Sometimes it feels like a Colorado Rapids player has to do twice as much to get noticed as a player on most other MLS sides. Torres, for instance, is taking more shots per game than Clint Dempsey and scoring more goals per 90 minutes than Dom Dwyer or David Villa. Cherry-picked stats aside, Torres and Dillon Powers have been dragging the Rapids' offense into relevancy and now reinforcements have arrived. Luis Solignac put a great first shift in his Rapids debut this past weekend, and has plenty of hustle to go with his larger presence. Kevin Doyle also brings a heap of physicality on top of a proven goal-scoring touch. These important additions mean that Torres will be less of a focal point in the attack, but he stands to benefit far more from gaining capable teammates than he will lose in positioning. His game is well-suited for the right wing role he should now occupy most match days. He has shown plenty of skill in springing teammates towards goal, both with long balls and sneaky short passes like his clever flick to Lucas Pittinari just this week.
His finishing and fitness have noticeably improved this year, and if Torres can keep it up, Colorado could end up with a shockingly good offensive group to go with their stingy defense. That's a relief since the first month of the season made it look like Pablo Mastroeni spent more time grooming his mustache than forming a competitive soccer team!
Alvaro Saborio
It's been a month and a half since Sabo was featured in this same column for having a dull start to the year. Finally, the sleeping giant has awoken! Saborio's recent efforts, particularly against NYC FC, have been truly impressive for a 33-year-old player who some thought had hit the wall. Aside from his stellar headed goal, Sabo displayed everything you could want in a centerpiece forward.
Manager Jess Cassar has to be thrilled to see such quality hold-up play, distribution and even defensive pressure from the striker at a time when Real Salt Lake are welcoming back some immensely important pieces of the puzzle. Joao Plata is a really special player in this league when he is fit, torturing opponents with his speed and slippery stature. His return, even if only used as a substitute for a while, will really open up the opposing defense. Javier Morales also looks ready to get back into the mix, and remains one of the league's best playmakers. Add the energy and industriousness of Devon Sandoval, Kyle Beckerman and Luke Muholland, plus talented up-and-comers Luis Gil and John Stertzer, and Real Salt Lake's previously dismal attack is soon set up to impose its will on opposing defenses. Saborio looks to lead the way, and rather than doubt he can continue this run of form, it's looking wiser to follow the Costa Rican into battle and enjoy the ride.
Marvell Wynne
San Jose's back line is gaining plenty of momentum as the season rolls along and their most impressive player is perhaps the biggest surprise. An MLS veteran of four different teams, Wynne came to San Jose in the offseason via Round 2 of the re-entry draft. The selection and signing were mostly unheralded then, but are now proving to be quite valuable to the Earthquakes. Defenders don't come much faster than Wynne, and rather than letting it get him in trouble like many younger players do, the veteran has finally learned how to harness it. Formerly a player who would venture forward or take risks thinking he could recover in time, Wynne has been far more responsible on the defensive end of the pitch without sacrificing much in the way of offense. Some games he is far more active offensively than others, an understandable result of San Jose occasionally struggling to control a match, but overall he still has it. Wynne's fitness is also impressive with few players appearing to have nearly as much gas left in the tank at the end of games as he does. San Jose has allowed just three goals in their five matches this month and Wynne, a player who many had written off, is largely to thank.
Three Down:
Bradley Wright-Phillips
While he is still one of the league's best finishers, Wright-Phillips is beginning to slide closer to his 2013 form than record-tying 2014 form. The most significant change that led to all of BWP's MLS success is that he was reined in positionally. Plenty of guys come into the league with the mindset that they are good enough to roam around and gather the ball, but many of the most successful forwards play a simple and disciplined game. Chris Wondolowski, who just became the second fastest, and ninth ever, player to net 100 goals in MLS, is a fine example. Wright-Phillips broke out of this habit last season, but is showing signs of falling back in. Many times over the past few games, players like journeyman Mike Grella are consistently higher up the field than New York's star target forward, and the more the Red Bulls struggle to score, the more BWP seems to wander farther away from the center of the attack. Whether the change in role is by design or a result of frustration isn't easily discerned, and perhaps it is just a small blip in a long season, but it's tough to see BWP approaching last year's 27-goal total if it continues much longer. The Red Bulls are still a well-oiled machine, and he is still going to grab a healthy dose of goals, but both entities are showing that they are far more susceptible to a poor outing than they appeared for much of the spring.
Pedro Morales
Quietly, the Vancouver Whitecaps have been on of the league's worst performing offensive teams over the past month. This is a stark contrast from the initial half of the year when they were one of the league's best. So, what is the difference? For starters, it has little to do with Octavio Rivero, whose work rate and ability to make chance out of nothing continue to be every bit as good as they were earlier this season. Kekutah Manneh would be an easy scapegoat given some truly unremarkable performances, lackadaisical efforts, and stagnant finishing ability. MLS star Morales deserves to take the brunt of the heat, though. The Whitecaps place a lot of responsibility in Morales, handing him the keys to the entire offense, and the Chilean rewards them with only intermittent moments of brilliance. Free kicks and occasional seeing-eye long balls are not enough for a team that wants to contend with the top dogs in Major League Soccer. While Morales' quality is undeniable, we are rarely shown that it can exist for a full 90 minutes, and it's tough to pinpoint whether it's a lack of effort or something more intricate. Last year, everybody readily gave Morales a pass when he was not used to the extensive travel and was not afforded a preseason / offseason after joining from Spain's Malaga. This early in his second season, he has no excuse. Vancouver's offense continues to be a direct function of Morales' play, and if they want to truly accomplish anything this season, he will have to more consistently make an impression for entire matches and not just the highlight reel.
Harry Shipp
After an offseason in which the Fire signed three offensive designated players, it has to be disappointing that after 10 games, centerback Jeff Larentowicz is leading the team in goals with just three. In fact, David Accam is the only other player with more than one. Regardless of all the players brought in since the end of last year, Shipp was expected to make a big leap after a special rookie season when he had seven goals and six assists. So far, he only has one goal and three assists this season, none of which have come in the last five matches. Rather than being a stretch of poor luck, Shipp appears to be in a certified rut. He has been substituted for ineffective play in the past two games after playing the full 90 minutes in all of Chicago's first eight games. He has attempted half as many shots in the last five games as he fired in the first five. Big offseason signing Shaun Maloney finally appears to be hitting his stride, but rather than help Shipp, it looks to be having the opposite effect. It's difficult to imagine Maloney's understudy staying this quiet all season, but the prior handful of games are not evidence in his favor. With the rest of Chicago's offense gradually improving, it's now fair to wonder if Shipp will ultimately end up in a supporting role this season rather than what originally looked like the lead.
