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Michael Baldisimo


Dub Narcotic

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3 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

The irony is that benching a game-changing player is, in some ways, the opposite of playing it safe. 

I agree. MDS probably thinks Baldisimo needs to improve on the defensive side of the game, which is what's keeping him on the bench while more boring but dependable players get the minutes.

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17 minutes ago, RS said:

I agree. MDS probably thinks Baldisimo needs to improve on the defensive side of the game, which is what's keeping him on the bench while more boring but dependable players get the minutes.

Just seems like a losing strategy when you need wins, not grinding out draws and hoping for lucky breaks.  

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3 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Just seems like a losing strategy when you need wins, not grinding out draws and hoping for lucky breaks.  

Amazingly, the Caps have zero draws this year. Also, when they lose, they lose by a lot. Not really sure what MDS's strategy is. I guess that is what happens when you can't score and can't defend. 

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12 hours ago, Snowcrash said:

I think he's probably leap frogged over Fraser for the Canadian men's but that said, Fraser is still a long shot to make the bench for an important game.  Probably the only thing Fraser has over Baldisimo right now is defensive awareness but Baldisimo is 2 years younger so that will come.

I agree that Baldisimo has probably (or at least should have) overtaken Fraser on the CMNT depth chart. However, I'm disappointed that he's largely done so by default and by playing still not that many minutes. Fraser has all the tools and needs to play. He needs to get the hell out of Toronto ASAP before he's lost forever. Two starts and six sub appearances, totalling less than 200 minutes, is ridiculous for a player of his promise and who will be 23 before the start of next season.

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5 hours ago, Soro17 said:

Amazingly, the Caps have zero draws this year. Also, when they lose, they lose by a lot. Not really sure what MDS's strategy is. I guess that is what happens when you can't score and can't defend. 

That's the record of a poor team but 2020 MLS with the participation/everyone-is-a-winner playoff setup could have a substantially sub .500 team go on a hot playoff run, maybe even the Caps if they get in.

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47 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

I agree that Baldisimo has probably (or at least should have) overtaken Fraser on the CMNT depth chart. However, I'm disappointed that he's largely done so by default and by playing still not that many minutes. Fraser has all the tools and needs to play. He needs to get the hell out of Toronto ASAP before he's lost forever. Two starts and six sub appearances, totalling less than 200 minutes, is ridiculous for a player of his promise and who will be 23 before the start of next season.

Fraser had himself a good game this evening. Baldi is s great prospect and I am a big fan, but I am not sure he has overtaken Fraser yet. Both would look good at the base of our Olympic team midfield!

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Love his first time diagonal ball passing to the flanks off either foot: instant switch provides lots of space at new point of attack.  Adnan must love that because he suddenly gets some substantial space to do his thing.  The defensive positioning and concentration issues should improve over time.  As long as he's getting minutes, either as a starter or as a sub, his future looks bright.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Was half watching as well. There was one moment late in the second half where he had the ball just inside his own half with slight pressure on him. He had his centre back open for a safe pass, but you wanted him to turn into the open space and make the forward pass himself. He didn't panic, turned away from pressure, and played a line splitting ball to the right wing.

It's a little thing, but plays like that are crucial for central midfielders. His technique in passing is fantastic as has been mentioned multiple times, but that mentality to always look forward initially is so important. I hope the rest of his game rounds out.

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18 minutes ago, PiedPilko said:

Holy crap, watching the Whitecaps without Baldisimo is so painful. They just have no one willing to commit to the final third, and back pass for eternity. Putting him in is about the most obvious thing imaginable, and his lack of playing time is probably my biggest criticism of MDS. 

Yea didn’t see him in the lineup, and turned it off ha. This team has no identity.

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4 hours ago, Floortom said:

You really have to wonder what MDS is thinking by playing him so sparingly. They were desperate for anyone to make positive plays going forward. Very bizarre how MDS seems to think they’re better off with Baldisimo coming on as a sub for 15-20 minutes instead of being out there for 75+ minutes every match.

I think since they played a very good team in a must win he went with Owusu for the defense and strength. Baldi is still only 20. Im not really blaming MDS on this one

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5 hours ago, Big_M said:

Hes usually very good but was very bad last night..sent at least three balls straight out of play or to the opponent and got a bad yellow

A passer has to have legitimate options to whom he can play the ball. By the time Baldisimo came on, MDS' strategy was to flood the opposition box and lump long balls in. You can't ask a player to come into the game cold and expect him to drop a pinpoint, 50-yard bomb onto a teammate's head every time he touches the ball.

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He came on and made 2 really good passes that the Whitecaps hadn't seen all game, and then missed every other. I think he was trying a bit too hard to make the perfect play, but you still take that every time, when you're completely incapable of getting the ball upfield otherwise. 

Poor game aside, he's still a great passer, and I think he's already an MLS starter. There's no reason why you couldn't just pair him with Bikel for a playmaking/ball-winning duo, instead of dealing with Owusu's inconsistency. He's really good at what he does. 

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13 hours ago, Floortom said:

You really have to wonder what MDS is thinking by playing him so sparingly. They were desperate for anyone to make positive plays going forward. Very bizarre how MDS seems to think they’re better off with Baldisimo coming on as a sub for 15-20 minutes instead of being out there for 75+ minutes every match.

I think he wants a more defensive midfield but it's to the detriment of the style. Also think maybe it's a case of wrapping Baldi in cotton wool a little bit. I felt the same with phonzie but Robinson actually did a great job bringing him through and not putting too much on him.

That's all I got for rationale!

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4 minutes ago, toontownman said:

I think he wants a more defensive midfield but it's to the detriment of the style. Also think maybe it's a case of wrapping Baldi in cotton wool a little bit. I felt the same with phonzie but Robinson actually did a great job bringing him through and not putting too much on him.

That's all I got for rationale!

Michael Baldisimo is 20 years old. Alphonso Davies was 15-18 when he was being shielded by Robinson. Different animals entirely. I think that MDS is just incompetent. 

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3 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

Michael Baldisimo is 20 years old. Alphonso Davies was 15-18 when he was being shielded by Robinson. Different animals entirely. I think that MDS is just incompetent. 

When I see some straws. I got to clutch them. I think you are quite right, he has looked out of his depth for far too long excuses or not. 

While they have slowly improved I still see absolutely nothing from either Bikel or Owusu that makes them anything but replaceable in the squad. They work hard and get stuck in but they are like the majority of Caps signings the past 6/7 years, bargain bin gambles. It is absolutely criminal that the club is going into a post season for the third time with a need to replace the good majority of the entire squad. 

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7 hours ago, toontownman said:

When I see some straws. I got to clutch them. I think you are quite right, he has looked out of his depth for far too long excuses or not. 

While they have slowly improved I still see absolutely nothing from either Bikel or Owusu that makes them anything but replaceable in the squad. They work hard and get stuck in but they are like the majority of Caps signings the past 6/7 years, bargain bin gambles. It is absolutely criminal that the club is going into a post season for the third time with a need to replace the good majority of the entire squad. 

Caps paid about $2M and $1M respectively for Bikel and Owusu so for asset management purposes, if nothing else, they're not going to be out of the starting lineup.  As an impartial observer of the Caps, these player's are solid for what they are asked to do, and it isn't to be creative playmakers. If any of the mids need to be replaced for Baldisimo, it's Tiebert.  

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On 11/1/2020 at 11:01 PM, PiedPilko said:

Holy crap, watching the Whitecaps without Baldisimo is so painful. They just have no one willing to commit to the final third, and back pass for eternity. Putting him in is about the most obvious thing imaginable, and his lack of playing time is probably my biggest criticism of MDS. 

Couldn't agree more. 

A few weeks ago. I watched the entire LA Galaxy vs Caps game. 

When Baldisimo got subbed out he shifted the players in the middle and the left and you just knew the midfield was going to start to collapse. I like MDS but that was an awful sub and imo it really cost them getting a result from that game agaisnt the last place team in MLS who hadn't won in 5 matches.

Anyways I hope he plays the full 90 in the last game of the season.

Edited by apbsmith
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