Potential Versus Performance

Fire Confidential has the early line on injuries for Saturday's match, and two things stand out. First, what the hell is "sacroiliac dysfunction?" On second thought, I'm not sure I want to know.

Second, Justin Mapp is out with a hamstring strain, which sounds like it might be different from the aftereffects of that first-half tackle he suffered against Chivas USA on Saturday. With Julio Martinez making a late, unimpressive appearance last week replacing Mike Banner, who replaced Justin Mapp after said tackle, I suspect this means we'll see Banner in the starting lineup.

We'll also probably see Krzystof Krol return to his left back role, and while I give Carlos de los Cobos a lot of credit for the effectiveness of this 4-2-3-1 formation, the guys that he's brought in specifically to execute his brand of "attractive, attacking soccer" -- Martinez and Deris Umanzor -- have both been complete washouts so far. So far, that makes at least four personnel decisions -- obviously, the Dykstra-Busch situation raised a lot of questions, and I think most Fire fans have been surprised to see Justin Mapp as a starter -- that make me wonder about de los Cobos as a judge of talent.

He may be right, and all four players may be contributing by the end of the season, but as of right now, it's not so clear. If there's a common element, it may be that all of these guys (certainly Dykstra and -- historically, at least -- Mapp, not so clear about Martinez and Umanzor) have a lot of potential, and de los Cobos seems to think he can develop that potential on the field sooner rather than later.

The draw on Saturday obviously wasn't an ideal result, but after two consecutive victories, might serve the purpose of keeping the club grounded. They're not world-beaters, and they're going to have to fight to win matches. Reminders of that aren't necessarily bad, and if those reminders come early in the season and still get us at least one point in the standings, I'm willing to think big picture.