u/Blueskyguy88

Pulled every Sounders match since Waibel took over (Nov 2022), all competitions, and worked out how much time we've spent with 0, 1, 2, or 3 Designated Players actually on the pitch. 163 matches, 14,714 minutes.

The whole tenure:

DPs on field	Minutes	Share
0	1,271	8.6%
1	6,156	41.8%
2	6,262	42.6%
3	1,025	7.0%

Seven percent. We have carried three max-money contracts for four years and fielded all three at once for about one game in fourteen.

By season it gets worse:

Season	0 DP	1 DP	2 DP	3 DP
2023	5.1%	22.0%	52.6%	20.3%
2024	6.5%	45.5%	47.5%	0.6%
2025	11.9%	44.9%	38.1%	5.2%
2026	12.3%	63.0%	24.7%	0.0%

2023 was fine. Ruidíaz, Lodeiro, Rusnák were on the field together a fifth of the time.

2024 is the one that broke my spreadsheet. Twenty four minutes. All season. 47 matches, and de la Vega, Ruidíaz and Rusnák shared the pitch for less than half an hour total. De la Vega signed in late January and pulled his hamstring on March 2. Ruidíaz was fading. That was the year.

2025 was a partial recovery that still wasn't much of one. Morris got the designation, Rusnák re-signed, and all three shared the field 5.2% of the time, which is up from 2024 but a quarter of what 2023 managed. Zero-DP time also doubled to 11.9%, and that was across a club record 50 matches.

2026 we know has been bad and PDLV has been out injured and is now likely out the rest of the season.

Rough.

As much flak as Rusnak gets for his somewhat lack luster play, at least he has actually played. If we had 2 other DPs that had anywhere close to the minutes he has had this chart (and probably our seasons) would be an very different story.

The other way to look at it: total DP minutes as a share of what three DP slots could theoretically produce. 2023 was 62.7%. Then 47.4%, 45.5%, and 37.5% this year. Down every single season.

Fair caveats before anyone yells at me:

That denominator assumes all three DPs play every minute of all 163 matches, which no club does. Some of the gap is deliberate rotation, not injury.

The U.S. Open Cup is the clearest example. 65% of our Open Cup minutes had zero DPs on the field, because we field kids there on purpose. Six matches producing 28% of all the zero-DP time.

Strip the cups out and MLS-only looks better: 5.3% zero-DP, 46.9% two-DP, 7.4% all three. Still not good, but the cup rotation is inflating the ugly numbers.

Nerd stuff: for anyone who wants to poke holes: FBref match logs, all competitions including Leagues Cup, Champions Cup, Club World Cup and Open Cup. Starters get interval [0, minutes], subs get [length minus minutes, length]. That is exact for starting and finishing, starting and being subbed off, and coming on and finishing. It misses subs who are later subbed off and it does not model red cards. Error is under 1%. Match length is derived per match so extra time in cup ties is handled. Cross-checked against published totals: 47 matches in 2024, 50 in 2025.

If you have ever played Fifa manager mode you know that after a couple seasons the simulation will go off the rails and it is easy for the team being played by the player to end up with a combination of worldclass stars and computer generated prospects that are physical freaks of nature. Fifa players will then win games by 6-10 goals and go undefeated for the entire season. I was just thinking how ridiculous it would feel to be a player on the other team thinking about playing against this juggernaut.

https://preview.redd.it/wk0tihfrfmih1.png?width=1363&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d0ea58071e53452fe9556ded7b5bd49c54b4972

I am starting to think we may not be getting the best value per dollar from our DPs

https://preview.redd.it/5m9lroi40thh1.png?width=666&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf79d0166373908f2bdb927288b028f50aabad30

You guys aren't reading the trend since the world cup break correctly. If we continue on this trajectory we are going to be beating teams by 8-12 goals. I am sure we'll regress a bit but the future looks very promising.

Get hyped for the later games!

I'm not absolving Brian of responsibility for the team's current run of form, but I do think he's trying to win with the cards he's been dealt, and there's only so much he can do. I really like him as a coach, and you won't find anyone who cares about the Sounders more than he does.

I just hope a lot of other changes get made before Schmetzer is the one under the microscope.

The last time we got blown up at home like this the FO issued refunds. I was waiting to give them time to form a response because I am sure they didn't see this coming either, but the radio silence has meant that it's time to ask if they are just moving past this loss and looking at the next game. Even just a statement saying "We didn't play up to the standard of the Sounders and are committed to fixing the problems that lead to this" would go along way IMO.

I'll start by saying I'm new to fly fishing, so I don't know what I don't know. I've taken a few lessons, have a spey rod, some flies, waders, boots, etc., and recently headed out to a local river for the first time.

I had been fishing unsuccessfully, working my way downstream, when I came across what I think might be a safety hazard. In the middle of the river there was a large stump/rootball, half submerged, think the size of a small sedan. The water on one side was knee-deep and on the other side thigh-deep. I ended up fishing around it, nearly lost my footing, eventually made it all the way to the other side of the river, and then headed back using a branch for support and balance.

My question is: are submerged trees and rootballs actually that dangerous? I noticed the water had scoured out a deeper hole right next to the roots, and I could absolutely imagine losing your footing, getting swept into it, and getting snagged by any number of the straps and accessories attached to me (wader belt, chest pack, laces, net).

Is this a known hazard that experienced anglers avoid? Am I jumping at shadows? Or is it more of a personal risk tolerance thing? I do a lot of mountaineering, so I'm very familiar with how differently people perceive and tolerate risk. Appreciate any insights.

I was headed back home from Japan to Washington, and the line for checked luggage at the Tokyo airport was groan-inducingly long. I got there well before the flight and still ended up waiting 20-30 minutes. As I slowly got closer to the counter, several people walked up, realized what was going on, then dejectedly walked to the back of the line. And then there was our hero.

This younger Eastern European dude, probably early 20s, walks up, sees the line, then starts trying to have a conversation with the guy behind me. He was very clearly doing the "Hey, let's be buddies and I can cut you" thing, but the guy behind me wasn't having it. Eventually he tells our young friend "Hey man, you have to go to the back of the line." Things take a turn and the main character goes from uncharming but chummy to telling my line comrade to "fuck off," threw in some "What are you gonna do about it," and got in the guy's face, puffing out his chest and everything.

Now mind you, this is at like noon in a Japanese airport. In a place where everyone had been incredibly respectful and deferential, this stood out. I had also turned around and told the guy to get to the back of the line, and him puffing his chest out was less effective since I'm 6'4". Neither me nor the guy behind me was going to take his bait and get in a scuffle with him, and it was just super odd behavior. So we just waited for the next time one of the airline people came by, told them what was going on, and the 10 other people in line around us corroborated our story. She removed him and told him he'd have to take another flight.

Hilariously, this was the Hawaiian Airlines flight and it was the only one that day, so I assume he had to catch a flight the next day. I still think about him. I can't really fathom what he thought was going to happen. I wonder if he goes through life having interactions like that and just thinking, man, the world is so unfair to me. It was such a strange interaction, with an adult bully.