Welcome to this week's Designated Player Roundup, which usually takes a look at how the league's 16 DPs fared over the past week of MLS play. For some background on each of these fellows, check out the first edition of DP Roundup.
This week, having hit a big (completely arbitrary) milestone like Week 10, let's take a look at the big picture, at how the fellows have performed in 2011 thus far, up to and including Week 10.
Week 10 (May 16 - May 22)
Archives: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]David Beckham (LA): When it comes to stats, Becks leads the league in two key categories: assists (six) and yellow cards received (interestingly, he sits atop that list tied with two other DPs). As far as I know he's also tops in terms of "most Spice Girls slept with". He's also scored once in 11 appearances, while continuing to be the guy to look dashing on many of the team's set pieces.
Juan Pablo Angel (LA): Coincidentally, just as I was writing this entry, former Toronto FC goalkeeper David Monsalve tweeted to someone else, "Medellin is the best city in Colombia for everything!" Does that hold true for MLS strikers? Well, Angel (a product of Medellin) has two goals in 12 appearances this season...
David Ferreira (Dallas): ... while Ferreira, a product of Santa Marta, Colombia, had three goals in six appearances before going down with a broken ankle that will likely see him miss most of the rest of the season. So Angel has plenty of time to catch up and prove young Monsalve's tweet correct.
Landon Donovan (LA): Your league leader in goals thus far, Landy has seven tallies in nine appearances, despite having missed a few games due to injury and national-team duty. Whatever expectations you wanna heap on his head, he's living up to them so far this year.
Julian de Guzman (Toronto): Speaking of injuries, JDG has been reincorporated into the lineup while coming back from off-season knee surgery. In nine appearances he's recorded one assist (it was a beauty) and slowly come back into the sort of form that could see him be a linchpin of his team. In the process he's also picked up five yellow cards, to sit atop that list with ol' Becks.
Branko Boskovic (DC): Done for the year after ACL surgery, BB had lodged only four appearances in league play (just one of which was a start), though he did score a double for D.C. in a U.S. Open Cup match.
Thierry Henry (NY): Despite a slow start, his five goals put him behind only Donovan and Charlie Davies at the top of the league. Also, his facial hair is -- according to a meme I'm attempting to create -- a fully autonomous bluegrass band that's going on tour this summer. Get your Face-fur Experience tix while they're hot!
Rafael Marquez (NY): No red cards. That's all that matters.
Alvaro Fernandez (Seattle): Somewhat out of necessity, Fernandez has stepped up for Seattle, scoring three goals in 10 appearances, even though he's not really a goal-scorer, per se (he had two in 12 appearances last season).
Fredy Montero (Seattle): Now, as for someone who is expected to pot goals for the Sounders, Montero has just two in 12 appearances for his club, despite launching a staggering 36 shots (second most in the league) at goal, and a league-leading 16 on goal. Perhaps someone should remind Fredy that the phrase "they don't ask how, they just ask how many" refers to actual goals, not just attempts.
Omar Bravo (KC): Started splendidly, with a brace in his first appearance. But he made only one more appearance before going down with a sports hernia, finally making his return in Week 10 with a 76-minute start against Seattle.
Alvaro Saborio (Salt Lake): Has yet to find the back of the net in six MLS starts this season (after tallying 12 goals in 27 appearances last year), though he's been at the forefront of a rather deep team as it's gotten off to a solid league start and had that little ol' run in the CONCACAF Champions League (remember that?)
Eric Hassli (Vancouver): Unsurprisingly, Hassli is the other DP that has five yellow cards -- while also adding a pair of reds to the mix. To his credit, he's also bundled the ball into the net thrice in seven league appearances to share the team lead with Camilo.
Andres Mendoza (Columbus): One goal in seven appearances, three of which were starts, totaling just 342 minutes. Put more depressingly, those three starts were his first three appearances of the season; he hasn't started (or played more than 52 minutes) in a game since.
Fabian Castillo (Dallas): The 18-year-old (!!!) has two goals and two assists in 10 appearances, and speed to burn. He's from Cali, Colombia, so I'm not sure how he fits into the Angel/Ferreira comparison above; but suffice to say, barring any unforeseen disaster, he'll be playing much, much longer than either of those two.
Diego Chara (Portland): Hey, another guy from Cali! He didn't join the team till a few weeks in, and has only logged 405 minutes in five appearances. (Note that that's still 63 minutes more than Mendoza). His presence has helped guide the Timbers to a surprisingly strong start (17 points in 10 games).
DP Deathwatch 2011
1. Andres Mendoza: Yeah, look at the grand scheme, I don't see him getting dislodged from this perch anytime soon. Here's the Simpsons clip.
2. Branko Boskovic: It seems mean, given that he's on the shelf. But he's 30 and recovering from a major leg injury, so we may well have already seen his final appearance as a designated player.
3. Rafael Marquez: He ain't going anywhere, but I may keep Rafa here until he gets sent off for cleating someone in the face. It'll happen.
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