The Kombine Kool-Aid

I'm not entirely sure which is sillier -- Sam Stejskal talking about what a "big day" today's draft is for the Fire, or Ives Galarcep calling one of his projected top picks a "franchise" player (unfortunately, Ives seems to have removed all of his earlier mock drafts in favor of his final effort).

This may just be a quibble, because my biggest problem with both writers is the idea that any MLS team can significantly improve their offense through the draft. Last year produced a whole bunch of players who ended up being very important to their squads, but a lot of those players (Gonzalez, de la Garza, Alston, Barnes) were defenders. Claims that a team can significantly improve their attack through the draft just doesn't seem to be a good bet. Steve Zakuani and Chris Pontius were good, but not great, and not even regular starters.

Which makes me think that the "conventional wisdom" -- and good God, do I use that term loosely here -- that the second-best central defender could fall to the Fire's 13th overall pick is a bit awry. I would think that most coaches and technical directors have by now figured out that picking forwards and attacking midfielders out of college is a crapshoot, while defenders and goalkeepers are much safer bets.

Unless, of course, guys like Zakuani and Pontius are the beginning of a trend in better-quality attackers coming through the college ranks. That's certainly a possibility, but the breathless coverage we're getting makes it seem like one or more of these guys could make the U.S. roster for South Africa.

And while we're on the subject of punching holes in irrational exuberance, it's nice to see some pushback -- notably from Peter Wilt, slightly less so from Steve Davis -- on the de los Cobos hiring from the Fire. Much like today's draft picks, he may turn out to be a fine addition to the club, but also like today's draft picks, the volume with which people are proclaiming great things in the future is downright maddening and almost wholly unknowable. It could be a good choice, yes. But the accompanying hype is getting ridiculous to the point where none of it seems believable anymore. You risk your credibility when you go down this path, not that anyone whose credibility is at risk is reading this, but still, it needs to be said out loud.

As for the draft, I haven't paid much attention, but I think Chicago needs to take the best player available across a couple of positions. They need a frontline or midfield goal-scorer, defensive depth, and maybe a goalkeeper, and while I question whether or not you find true goal-scorers out of college, the 13th pick isn't a bad place to take that kind of risk.