A Pause in the action

Since Chris Bergin already did the Logan's Run reference, I'm sorta left with slim pickings here. Sorry.

He's been singled out by nearly every player and coach that's given an interview since spring training as one of the bright spots for a Chicago team that could really use them. He's 21-year old Logan Pause, a defensive midfielder from North Carolina that the Fire selected in the third round of the SuperDraft with the 23rd pick overall. By all accounts, he's going to end up as one of the steals of the draft if he keeps impressing like he has so far in Florida.

This begs the question, though, what does a standout performance in spring training actually get for Pause? In the short term, he may be able to start for the team while Chris Armas works his way back from last year's ACL injury, but by most accounts, Armas is almost ready to go. And Jesse Marsch has been somewhat of a lock in the other holding midfield slot. So it's hard to figure out just what Pause is working toward in the short-term. At the very least, he provides salary-cap exempt cover if one of those two players gets hurt (a role that forced the cash-strapped Fire to acquire Billy Walsh last year), and maybe a spark off the bench later in matches with his younger legs. Not exactly the stuff that will put you in the running for Rookie of the Year, but it seems that young Logan is more about the future of the squad than the present.

The same might be said of nearly all the Fire's 2003 draft picks. It's very easy to envision a starting lineup consisting solely of both returning players and more seasoned acquisitions (to wit: Thornton, Perez, Bocanegra, Curtin, Brown, Whitfield, Marsch, Armas, Beasley, Razov, Faria), so the new guys have their work cut out for them in order to break into the first 11. While it's likely that either first-round pick Nate Jacqua or second-rounder Damani Ralph will see the first minute of play while Ante Razov serves his three-game suspension, after that, the only real spot that looks to be up for grabs is on the right side of the midfield, but even that is spotty given recent trials to MLS vets Andy Williams and Adrian Paz.

The predicament of the youth movement for the Fire is emblematic of the team's strategy going forward. With an eye toward the present, build for the future. Right now the latter looks to be in better shape than the former, though, and it may be guys like Logan Pause that lead the way.