Twellman to Retire?

Tucked away neatly in an otherwise euphoric article about how the Revs may pursue multiple Designated Players this winter is this little bombshell from ESPNBoston.com’s Gus Martins:

A big part of the team’s woes has been playing the season without all-time leading scorer Taylor Twellman who is suffering from post-concussion syndrome and will likely retire at the end of the season.

Yikes.  If this is true, I can’t say I’m surprised, but it’s still a bit jarring.

Wonder if TNT will end up tweeting about this.  Hmmm…

Jankauskas Waived

From the Revolution web site:

The New England Revolution released forward Edgaras Jankauskas today.

Jankauskas, 35, signed with the Revolution on July 1, 2009, and made 14 regular-season appearances in one-and-a-half injury-marred seasons. The former Lithuanian international scored two goals and added one assist, both in 2009. In 2010,

Jankauskas made four substitute appearances, playing 147 minutes.

The official story also included that picture.  Funny, that’s the same face I made when I learned that he was making $240,000 this year.

That works out to a tidy $1633 per minute played this season.

Happy the Revs are fixing their mistakes, but God, who didn’t see this coming from a mile away?

Badilla Waived… and Nothing Else is Happening

Per FDA’s blog, the Revs have waived monumental disappointment Gabriel Badilla:

Defender Gabriel Badilla has been waived by the Revolution, a team source confirmed Wednesday night. The move opens a roster spot which is expected to be filled by…

If I pretend the next line in this story doesn’t exist, I think that increases the chance it won’t actually happen.

Kudos to the Revs for cutting their losses and moving on.

Farewell, Stevie Ralston

Revolution captain Steve Ralston, Major League Soccer’s all-time leader in games played, minutes played, and assists, announced today that he has decided not to sign with the club for the 2010 season, bringing a run of eight outstanding seasons in Foxboro to an end.

The 35-year old midfielder’s immediate future remains uncertain as he battles to recover from torn knee ligaments suffered late in the 2009 campaign.

Arguably the greatest midfielder in MLS history, Ralston has amassed 76 goals and 135 assists over the course of his 14-year professional career.  The last eight seasons, the St. Louis native has collected 42 goals and 73 assists in Revolution red, white, and blue.  A seven-time MLS All-Star and three-time MLS Best XI selection, Ralston is the only player to win the MLS Fair Play award three times, and one of only three Revolution players to play in all four of the club’s MLS Cup Finals.

Oh, THAT’S why they drafted Seth Sinovic

Tucked away at the very bottom of a rare FDA Revs article is this interesting nugget of information:

The Revolution have lost defenders Chris Albright (traded to New York) and Jay Heaps (retired) and could lose Amaechi Igwe, who plans to go to Europe.

‘Scuse me?

I Hate This Trade

Back when it looked like Jeff Larentowicz was headed for Europe, I was OK with the proposed trade that would send his rights to Colorado in exchange for Cory Gibbs, Preston Burpo and a bag of magic beans.  At least Steve Nicol could no longer view Wells Thompson as a legitimate option coming off the bench.

But now that he’s signed with the Rapids, I officially hate this trade.

They filled one hole by opening up another.  What’s the point?

Revs Deal Albright to Red Bulls

RevsNet has confirmed that the Revolution have traded defender Chris Albright to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for the 31st and 48th overall picks in this afternoon’s draft.

Dear Santa,

I’ve been a good boy this year.

All I want for Christmas is this.

The Gabriel Badilla Era Appears Over

In what should come as a shock to absolutely no one, it appears as if Revolution defender Gabriel Badilla will soon be headed back to Costa Rica to play for Deportivo Saprissa.  According to several articles in the Central American press, the player and the club have already agreed to terms, but Saprissa has yet to agree to a deal with the Revs.

Safe to say, I won’t be shedding any tears over this.

Revs Notes: December 14th

A couple of odds and ends from the past couple of days:

• Former Revolution U-17 Team Captain Scott Caldwell buried both his penalty kicks this weekend as Akron first defeated North Carolina in penalties on Friday Night before falling to Virginia in the Finals of the NCAA College Cup on Sunday.
• A friend of Jeff Larentowicz tells me that there’s “less than a 10% chance” he’ll be playing for the Revolution next year.
• Former Revs assistant Paul Mariner got off to a tough start in his first game in charge of Plymouth Argyle, dropping a 2-0 on the road at Preston North End.
• For what it’s worth, one rumor making the rounds is that after taking the reigns at Plymouth, Mariner’s first call was to Foxboro to find out if Steve Nicol would be interested in being his assistant.  Nicol politely declined the offer.
• …and speaking of Revolution assistants, I’m hearing the Revs are not close to naming a replacement for Mariner.