The Crew are hiring. Not the normal operations staff, but a real live “Digital Content Editor”. Go ahead and click over and read what they are looking for to see if you have the right stuff.

That’s a long job description. It’s not just a staff writer that the Crew are looking for. They want someone who can write, collaborate, connect with the community, and edit their digital presence. They want a top notch blogger, and it can’t come too soon. The Crew’s online content has been uneven. The team’s staff writers, Steve Sirk and Craig Merz, are a good group, but not bloggers.

The Crew’s blog, The Black and Gold Standard, reads like a collection of press releases and it probably is. Jason Smith and Dave Stephany in the Crew Media Relations team is another good group. They are great at their job; facilitating media coverage, but they are not bloggers.

I am glad the Crew realized that they were missing something with their online presence. The right person would be able to bridge the gap between the articles that Merz writes and the press releases that the Media Relations staff sends out the Columbus media.

I imagine it starting out a little like Kansas City’s Hillcrest Road or D.C. United’s Behind the Badge. Something fun and interesting that can get behind the scenes of MLS and the Crew and help fans feel a little more connected to a team that they are so obviously passionate about and building from there.

I looks like a heck of a fun job. So, yeah, I thought about it. I am still thinking about it a little (as evidenced by this post). Beyond the logistics of hiring talent, I am even more interested in what it means for “The Future of Journalism/Marketing”, but that’s a piece for a different day.

It struck me that the Columbus Crew will be coming together for preseason in about a month and a half and it’s only a little less than three months until Toluca comes to town to kick off the Champions League and the 2010 season. Time is ticking on the offseason and any retooling the Crew are going to do in the offseason will have to start soon.

The biggest question for next year’s Crew team is still not solved, whether Guillermo Barros Schelotto will be coming back or not. Mitchell noted last week that they are still working on a deal and it would only happen if Guille accepts a cap number under a Designated Player salary, a 33% pay cut. What I hoped was going to be a quick decision is now closing in on the end of Schelotto’s contract on December 31st.

Even if Schelotto resigns, I also have to think the Crew are looking to upgrade the forwards. There is not a lot of proven goal scoring prowess. With Moreno off to Philly, Steven Lenhart, Emilio Renteria, and Jason Garey are the only true forwards on the roster. There is only 21 league goals between the three of them. After four years in MLS, Garey doesn’t look to be a breakout scorer. Lenhart and Renteria are both talented forwards, but they appear more of a supporting forward rather than a primary goal scorer.

The MLS superdraft doesn’t appear to have a breakout scorer in it. If the Crew are truly looking to upgrade their offense, they will probably have to look for a foreign forward or trade within MLS. A proven MLS goal scorer would probably cost the Crew a player of Robbie Rogers caliber, a pretty high price. I expect to see the Crew look towards South and Central America to bolster the attack.

I am eager to see who the Crew is able to bring in. I would imagine it would have to be a cheap import even if Guille comes back without the DP price tag. The Hunt Sports Group doesn’t look eager to spend their own money on the Crew right now. Warzycha, Bliss and company has made a few of the rounds to some college and international games. I hope they are finding some talent because its less than three months until the first kick in anger.

Not that many were concerned, but I am not dead. There is no particular reason for the lack of posts, no illness or anything like that. I guess I was taking a break, much like Guille in Argentina where he had a children’s book about him come out and rumors swirl about his next stop in his playing career (still hoping it’s Columbus).

Also, Warzycha made it clear that he is making the Crew his team. I am not sure what that means for next year, but I hope it means keeping Rogers around.

Oh yeah, there was that World Cup draw, I don’t really care the U.S. was drawn with England. I don’t care at all. I only care that I now have plenty of time to clear my schedule in June for at least three big games.

Posting will be lighter throughout the offseason, but it should return to a more normal schedule this week and through the rest of the month. As always, the quick hits will be up on twitter @anamericangame.

Moreno's Crew Tenure Ends (Fahmi/Studio79)

Striker Alejandro Moreno was drafted by the Philadelphia Union today in the expansion draft. A fan favorite, Moreno came to the Crew in 2007 scoring 20 goals and 12 assists in 74 games (69 starts). His form dipped in 2009 as he scored 4 goals in 22 games (17 starts). He was out of contract and his future with the team was already up in the air.

I have many great memories of Moreno. I got the first idea that 2008 would be a good year when, in the opener against Toronto, I watched Moreno expertly beat an offside trap and score a well taken goal to put the Crew up 2-0 and kick off the season in grand style.

I probably won’t ever forget his goal in MLS Cup that game the Crew a 1-0 lead at the time. It was a classic Ale goal, he took a Schelotto pass and just put his head down and kept going. He hustled past the shambolic Red Bull defense and slipped one past Cepero. It was a goal that settled down a shaky Crew team as they cruised to the Cup.

I think this is probably the best possible outcome for Columbus. Moreno was not going to come back at his $100,000 plus cap number. Lenhart and Renteria would press him for playing time. At 30, Moreno was already showing signs of wearing out. Never a speedy player, he looked down right glacial at times late in the year.

I wish Ale nothing but the best in Philadelphia and beyond. He has always been a classy individual. He would stop to talk to any fans who asked him for an autograph and he was most gracious to answer this novice writers questions. Though he only wore a Crew kit for two and a half years, he made a tremendous mark.

Schelotto's Future In the Air (Fahmi/Studio79)

Lost in the Expansion Draft talk is that the Crew and the Schelotto camp continue to talk and that the Argentine’s agents gave the Crew one final offer on Monday. This was a take it or leave it choice for the Crew, sign him or he’s not coming back.

With a final offer tendered by Schelotto, both sides won’t have to wait long before seeing what the future holds. The Crew have to make a decision about Guille’s worth to the team both on and off the field. I have to think that Schelotto’s future will be decided by the end of the month. It’s a bad sign if there is no news in the coming days about a new contract.

I still hold out hope that both sides get a deal done. The Crew could use another year of Schelotto’s imaginative play. He’s a fan favorite and would be an asset to the Crew organization when he retires. For Schelotto, Columbus is a very comfortable city. He has settled in nicely to the point his family can join him during the season. It makes too much sense on both sides for a deal to fall through, but sometimes people don’t make the deal that makes the most sense.

Shawn Mitchell has the Crew’s expansion draft protected list. The team protected 11 and Jed Zayner was exempt due to his remaining status as a Generation Adidas player. I was not too far off in my; the usual suspects are there and the Crew obviously took salary concerns when they made their list.

From the upper tier, the Crew protected Schelotto, Rogers, Marshall, Carroll, and O’Rourke. Even though Schelotto is out of contract, he still can be resigned or traded if it comes to that. Mystery still surrounds the contract status of Robbie Rogers, but like Schelotto, he has too much value to the team even if he doesn’t stick around. Marshall, Carroll, and O’Rourke were locks to be protected. All are either too good or too cheap to leave unprotected.

The next tier is a mix of mid tier talent. This included the expensive options like Gaven, Hesmer, and Ekpo. These players are all very talented and are more expensive options. The two wingers make in exess of $100,000 and are under 25 years old; the type of player that you can build a team around. Perhaps Philadelphia isn’t looking for a keeper, but a two year starter making $77,000 a year is valuable trade bait, much like how the Crew got him from Toronto.

The last three are from the cheap talent list. Lenhart, Brunner, and Moffat have upside and don’t cost much against the cap at all. They have been starters and make great cogs to a new roster. This is the valuable depth for the Crew to have, but perhaps may have been sacrificed to protect a veteran back like Gino Padula.

The unprotected list is very interesting. Team captain Frankie Hejduk is available as is valuable left back Gino Padula. 2008 first round draft pick Andy Iro is also available on the defensive side. The Crew also left several strikers available, Ale Moreno, Jason Garey, and Emilio Renteria all provide a certain offensive spark and may be intriguing to the Union. There is value on the Crew’s exposed list.

I expect Padula to get picked and traded. A veteran left back is too valuable of a commodity. I bet some team in MLS will want to trade for him as the final piece of the puzzle. If it isn’t Padula, I could also see the Union picking up one of the Crew’s strikers as an offensive option. Garey and Moreno have proven they can score goals. Garey has always been too low on the pecking order to really get any minutes, but he has produced when he has had a chance.

If the Crew do lose Padula, I can see Zayner starting on the left side. I also could see a back line of Zayner, O’Rourke, Brunner, and Marshall next year as well if Hejduk doesn’t rebound from his injury and poor performance plagued 2009 season. That would mean the Crew are looking to Moffat, Burns, or even Gaven to fill the hole in central midfield. I am intrigued who Philly picks from the Crew and how the team starts to rework the team.

The Crew will be losing someone this week. There is already trouble brewing over Schelotto’s contract situation and Rogers possibly being unhappy in Columbus, but the team is almost sure to lose someone to the Philadelphia Union expansion draft on Wednesday. The Crew brain trust will have to prepare a list that minimizes the impact to the team with a lot of question marks heading into the 2010 season.

While the Crew will be releasing their list tomorrow, but I will try to take a crack now:

Protected:

1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto – It’s a risk if he leaves for Argentina, but he is too valuable to protect.
2. Chad Marshall – Cornerstone of the team
3. Brian Carroll – The backbone of the the team. Injury contributed to an off year.
4. Robbie Rogers – Rumors of his discontent doesn’t reduce his value to the Crew, even if it is for a trade.
5. Jed Zayner – Youthful defender looked very good in defense.
6. Gino Padula – Even older left backs are too valuable to lose.
7. Danny O’Rourke – Versatile player who can play 4 defensive positions and in the midfield.
8. Eric Brunner – Young defenders as solid as Brunner are very valuable.
9. Eddie Gaven – He is a young steady performer. His high salary might scare off teams, but not a risk worth taking.
10. Emmanual Ekpo – Much like Gaven, his high salary might scare off Philadelphia, but there is too much possible turnover on offense to lose both Ekpo and Gaven.
11. William Hesmer – I think he is a little to valuable to risk losing.

Unprotected: Frankie Hejduk, Alejandro Moreno, Steven Lenhart, Emilio Renteria, Jason Garey, Andy Iro, Adam Moffat, Duncan Oughton, Andy Gruenebaum, Kenny Schoeni, Kevin Burns, Cory Elenio, Alex Grendi

I have ranked the protected list in the order I would protect. 1-8 are pretty solid, but I was on the fence for the final three. Gaven would be a big loss and he had a good year in 09, but I almost left him off my list because of his giant salary number ($173,250). He probably could be left off, but I didn’t want to take the risk. Ekpo wasn’t as steady. That’s worth protecting over the aging Moreno. Hesmer is just better enough than Gruenebaum protect as well.

As far as the unprotected list, I debated over three players, Moreno, Hejduk, and Lenhart. Hejduk is the heart of the Crew and one of the longest serving players, but he has also lost a step. He will be 36 next year and has injury problems. Moreno is out of contract, expensive, and will be 30 next year. Never a clinical striker; he is now losing any of the speed he once had. Lenhart is cheap and young, but is still very rough around the edges. He is a more replaceable talent.

Who do I expect Philly to take, just by talent and salary and not considering tradable value, I expect they take Moreno. His contract can be reworked and he is a proven MLS striker, even if it is as more of a 2nd striker. He is valuable at a reduced cap number. I could see them take cheaper talent like Lenhart, but Hejduk is expensive and aging, two bad combos.

Any way the Crew make their list, it marks the beginning of what looks to be a very tumultuous offseason.

It may have took 120 and then some; neither team was able to settle the game until it went deep into to penalties. Nerves and fatigue took over and it was eventually it was Nick Rimando and Real Salt Lake outlasting the Los Angeles Galaxy.

I hope the Real Salt Lake supporters that made the trip to Seattle enjoy this feeling. Getting to experience the excitement of MLS Cup week and capping it off with a win. There is nothing like celebrating that first MLS Cup.

Congratulations to Real Salt Lake and their fans.

It’s such a big difference between this year and last. Without Columbus in the game, I have only half paid attention to the run up to this year’s Cup. It’s also tough to watch because it’s such a missed opportunity for the Crew. No team in the league stands out, only 9 points separated top from bottom. This was a real chance to do the back to back “Double”.

I have no real rooting interest in the game. Both would be flawed champions; that’s the effect of parity in MLS. It should be an interesting game, the teams are evenly matched. Donovan may play his last game in MLS tonight. Seattle and their fans are hosting a great party. Even if it won’t be a great week for the Crew, it’s a great night for MLS. I hope the game can match the storylines.

Guille was going to give the Crew until Friday to get a deal done. It’s Friday and there isn’t any news (Ives reconstituted rumors don’t count).