MLS Gold Cup Absences: Is Ruiz gone really a bad thing?

Instead of game previews this weekend, here is a list of significant absences broken down by team:

Chicago

Justin Mapp (USA)
Ivan Guerrero (Honduras)

Two playmakers gone for the Fire and that doesn't exactly fill Chicago fans with confidence. Bakary Soumare should see some extra time, possibly playing out of position.

Chivas USA

Jonathan Bornstein (USA)
Brad Guzan (USA)

Guzan might play in Chivas game being number three on the roster, but the absence of Bornstein will sting. His presence has not been as 'in your face' as last year, but he certainly anchors an improving Chivas backline.

Colorado

Pablo Mastroeni (USA)
Roberto Brown (Panama)

The absence of Brown will push fellow bald big man Conor Casey to the forefront. He needs to respond to earn his playing time.

Columbus

Frankie Hejduk (USA)

The Crew lose consistency here and a crucial veteran presence, but hopefully Schelloto can start putting in the goals so Hejduk's absence won' hurt so much.

D.C. United

With nobody leaving, even though many think Bobby Boswell should have gotten the call, this should be the time for D.C. to make their run up to the top of the tables.

FC Dallas

Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala)

Ruiz hasn't been in form much and his absence might even be a blessing for this team. Kenny Cooper, a tad dejected, should continue shouldering the scoring load. Look for Abe Thompson and Dominic Oduro to get more playing time. My guess is Thompson will help push Dallas to the top.

Houston

Ricardo Clark (USA)
Brian Ching (USA)
Dwayne De Rosario (Canada)

Clearly, this doesn't bode well for an already struggling squad. De Rosario who has only briefly shown signs of his past self will still be missed. Mulrooney will replace Clark and the only thing missing should be his youthful exuberance. The biggest loss, however, is Ching - not scoring at the moment, but Houston's real hope to reignite the scoring fire. Don't expect Ngwenya or Dalglish to shoulder the burden.

Kansas City

Eddie Johnson (USA)

Eddie Johnson's absence is Yuri Movsisyan's gain - look for the young'un to make a decent impact in trying to fill Johnson's in-form shoes.

Los Angeles

Landon Donovan (USA)
Ante Jazic (Canada)
Kevin Harmse (Canada)

Just like Houston, the Galaxy are a struggling giant who without these three could have even more problems. The key is Beckham's arrival to shore up a sporadic midfield. Robbie Findley, despite his potential, needs to find a way to score without Landon Donovan around.

New England

Taylor Twellman (USA)
Michael Parkhurst (USA)
Steve Ralston (USA)

Parkhurst said after the 4-3 loss to Kansas City that it was an off game for a confused New England backline. Problem is, Parkhurst is the best of that defense and without him - there might be more blow-ups. Doesn't help that leading MLS scorer Twellman is gone too as well as the veteran impetus of the Revs, Steve Ralston. They need Khano Smith to start using his speed on the sidelines and Adam Cristman or Pat Noonan to hit the net.

New York

All the studs are there - now it's just a matter of playing the soccer they have been playing. If that is the case, RBNY should have no problem and the Bulls could extend their Eastern Conference dominance.

Real Salt Lake

Jason Kreis has some tough games ahead even without losing anybody to the Gold Cup. No absences certainly helps though.

Toronto FC

Carl Robinson (Wales - Euro 2008 Qualifiers)
Greg Sutton (Canada)
Adam Braz (Canada)
Chris Pozniak (Canada)
Marco Reda (Canada)

Well considering most of these guys aren't absolutely crucial to Toronto's success, TFC can come out of this okay. Problem is, the lack of depth on the sideline could play a role in whether the Reds do well or not. Djekanovic is in goal now, a young 24-year old and look for the developmental guys like Gabe Gala to get a run around.