A Few Stats to Start the Week

30 goalkeepers have seen action in Major League Soccer so far this season.  25 have a higher Goals Against Average than Faryd Mondragon.  Of the four with a lower GAA, Donovan Ricketts and Nick Rimando are the only two with more than 90 minutes under their belts.

It's getting harder every week to find a league-related statistic without Bimbo stamped all over it.  When there is a strong case to be made that the creators of the 2011 All Star Game ballot - who included 6 players from every team without regard to league standing (as required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement) - snubbed several of the players responsible for a spot at the top of the Eastern Conference, at least we can rest knowing there's a good product on the pitch at PPL Park.  While my interest lies with the Union, I often look to the rest of the league to provide some context for the team's successes and shortcomings.

Whether you're a fan of MLS as a whole, or (more likely), you view the league through blue and khaki bifocals, hit the jump for some interesting tidbits...

Supporter's Shield race a.k.a. What would it look like if MLS went to a single table?:
Los Angeles Galaxy - 31 pts
FC Dallas - 25 pts
New York Red Bulls - 22 pts
Philadelphia Union - 22 pts
Seattle Sounders - 22 pts
Colorado Rapids - 22 pts
Real Salt Lake - 21 pts
San Jose Earthquakes - 19 pts
Houston Dynamo - 18 pts
Columbus Crew - 18 pts
Chivas USA - 17 pts
Portland Timbers - 17 pts
DC United - 16 pts
Chicago Fire - 14 pts
Toronto FC - 14 pts
New England Revolution - 13 pts
Vancouver Whitecaps - 11 pts
Sporting Kansas City - 10 pts

12 field players have played every minute for their teams this season:
Heath Pearce, Drew Moor, Jeff Larentowicz, Julius James, Chad Marshall, Daniel Hernandez, Lovel Palmer, Todd Dunivant, Jack Jewsbury, Osvaldo Alonso, Sebastien Le Toux, Carlos Valdes

Of the 17 field players who have seen minutes for the Union this season, 10 have scored.  The Union are tied for the league lead in that category with Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, and Seattle Sounders.  On the other end (but not that far behind), only 6 players have scored for Toronto FC and Portland Timbers.

9 goalkeepers have played every minute in net:
Matt Pickens, William Hesmer, Kevin Hartman, Tally Hall, Faryd Mondragon, Jon Busch, Kasey Keller, Stefan Frei

3 teams in the Eastern Conference have a positive goal differential:
New York Red Bulls (+8)
Philadelphia Union (+5)
Houston Dynamo (+1)

2 teams in the Western Conference have a negative goal differential:
Portland Timbers (-4)
Vancouver Whitecaps (-6)

3 teams are unbeaten at home:
Philadelphia Union 4-0-3
Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0-4
Sporting Kansas City 0-0-1

4 teams are winless on the road:
Toronto FC 0-3-3
New England Revolution 0-5-2
Portland Timbers 0-4-2
Vancouver Whitecaps 0-5-3

Top 5 scorers in Major League Soccer:
Landon Donovan (8) *
Thierry Henry (7) #
Charlie Davies (6) *
Chris Wondolowski (6) #
Eric Hassli (6) *

* 3 penalty kick goals
# 0 penalty kick goals

San Jose Earthquakes and Chivas USA are the only two teams without a penalty kick attempt.  Columbus Crew and DC United have both taken 5, all of which were converted.  Sebastien Le Toux buried the only penalty awarded to the Union, and it remains his only goal of the season.

Fredy Montero leads the league in shots (48) and shots on goal (18), but only has 2 goals to his name after 1,025 minutes played.  Danny Mwanga has taken 14 shots, 9 were on goal, and 4 scored in 701 minutes.  Alan Gordon has taken 10 shots, 5 were on goal, and 4 scored in 451 minutes.

Looking at the numbers, are you excited to see that the Union sit on top of the Eastern Conference, despite having played 8 of their first 13 games against a seemingly stronger Western Conference?  Think Seba is destined to break out of his goal scoring funk because 2 of the top 5 scorers are Frenchmen and a 3rd is on loan from a French team?  Leave your thoughts below!