Portland Timbers not quite all there

I was disappointed this past weekend to see my Green team go down against the 'Caps up in Vancouver. My sense is that they gave it their best. I'm inclined to believe that the MLS system is at least part of what ails the crew this year. Josh Wicks? Ray Burse Jr.? Brad Knighton? I think the case could be made that the rotation in the nets has made it harder for the rest of the team to go forward in confidence. Defenders settle in when they have confidence that the gloves behind them are solid. And when defenders settle it's much more likely that the midfield and forwards can do their jobs. The yo-yo presence then absence of Bryan Jordan in front hasn't helped either.
But I'd say the uncertainty in goal has had a bigger effect. Sad. And not a knock on the goalkeeping performances either. It's just that building a team doesn't happen by putting 18 names on a roster and introducing them to each other. In years past, the rotation of every effective goal scorer off to other teams has seemed a problem. This year the goal has been the hole. And I find myself wondering how it is that Seattle manages to keep an effective forward like Sebastien LeToux year in and year out. Sad.