Soapbox Mailbag: Injuries, goals and time travel

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for our first mailbag post of 2018.

We’ll be aiming to do a bit more of these, so watch for a call for questions next week.

Uh, well, OK. There are three questions here, so let’s go one-by-one.

What are we going to do about all the injuries?

At this point, the only thing we can do is wait. Rushing players back won’t help, of course. Maybe we can find the root cause, but I’m skeptical that there is one. Nearly every team undergoes a swathe of injuries at one time or another. I’m hopeful that this is just ours.

What’s it gonna take to hoist the trophy in December?

Honestly, I think our chances now are about as good as they were at the start of the season. It’ll take a good run late in the season, but it’ll also take building confidence in our depth players. You can’t win in MLS now — not big, at least — if your depth players aren’t worth much. I think we have a good group, but it really remains to be seen.

Why can’t we finish?

Actually, uh, I don’t know. I have no idea. I wish I knew, because I’m curious, too.

In part, I actually think outside of a couple matches, we’ve finished acceptably well. The bigger issue is that we’ve been terrible defensively, which heightens our problems considerably.

What is up with Pasta sauce?

I don’t understand the question, and I won’t respond to it.

Who does RSL play better with when they start, Corey Baird or Luis Silva?

You know, I’m actually going to go with Corey Baird on this one, but only because that’s been the case over the last few matches. I don’t think that has to be the case, by any stretch, but it’s where we’re at now.

Luke played a lot of minutes during RSL’s good run of form at the end of last season. Is that what we’re missing?

I don’t think so. In fact, for one reason or another, Luke Mulholland played in fewer games in the second half of last season than in the first half, and he missed a good handful of matches during that second period. I do think he brings an excellent energy that would help the team, but he wouldn’t solve for any defensive problems in wide positions, really, and that’s a bigger issue, to my mind.

Can we go back in time and not waste all that money on Ortuño?

Trust me; if I could go back in time, I’d being doing things that were a lot more impactful than that. I’d probably go back further and really try to alter the future. Not for better or worse, though. I just think we could make the world a lot more interesting than it is.

When will we have some defenders healthy?

TBD.

Does anyone else feel like Savarino isn’t wrecking other teams like he did last year?

I think Savarino had a particularly poor start to the season, but he’s very much started to turn things around, and I’m no longer particularly worried. He’ll pick up steam as the season goes, but the last few matches have been much better from him.

What are RSL’s plans for the upcoming year in regard to players? Do you have an eye on a player for trade or what are you looking for?

I’m not really sure, if I’m being honest. We’re in a one-in, one-out situation here, so I’m actually more curious about who leaves than about who comes in. We could use a little shaking up, but we did enact a fair chunk of change this year, and I’d like to see that change really get a chance to play out.