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Baseball’s true opening day is on Monday, but the domestic soccer season gets underway in an hour as MLS begins its 13 season of existence. I guess it’s just a personal preference, but when a baseball fan who also likes soccer learns that I’m a bit of a soccer guy myself, that fan often asks me which Premiership team I support. I try and be diplomatic about it, but I just have trouble getting worked up over English soccer. I guess I’m like the Japanese fans of Ichiro or Matsuzaka and I root for a team like Fulham who is packed with Americans, but if all of the Americans left, my interest in Fulham would cease.

For whatever reason, I prefer the domestic game despite knowing it’s a lower quality of play (but not nearly as low as some folks like to claim). Maybe because I could see the games live (though I’d have to drive to LA to do it) or maybe because I understand how important the domestic game is to the development of the sport in this country. For whatever reason, I follow and enjoy MLS a little more than I do club games from across the pond. I enjoy the World Cup more than either though.

Anyhow here’s a few players to keep an eye on in MLS this year:

Chicago Fire – Justin Mapp – After a promising 2006, Mapp’s 2007 was a disaster due to injury. As talented as American players come, it remains to be seen if he can ever fit into a Blanco run offense. If not we could see a change of scenery which might not be the worst thing for him.

Chivas USA – Raphael Wicky – The list of MLS players with Wicky’s caliber of experience is extremely short. Wicky played for a long time at a very high level and has been a fixture for the Swiss National Team seemingly forever. With players like this, it’s always a waiting game to see if they are truly interested in contributing here or are just trying to cash their last few paychecks.

Columbus Crew – Eddie Gaven – It certainly looks like things are lining up for a comeback year for the young midfielder. He finished 2007 strong and then recently had a very good U-23 qualifying campaign for the U.S. team. It still remains to be seen if Columbus has a forward who can stick the ball in the net, but if Gaven breaksout and Schelotto doesn’t break down, the forwards should get a ton of chances.

Colorado Rapids – Christian Gomez – Gomez has been one of the top players in this league since he got here, but it remains to be seen how the Argentine will adapt from moving from the most celebrated team in the league (D.C. United) to one of the least. Colorado has always seemed to be the “anonymous” MLS team, and a lot of the weight for changing that falls on Gomez’s shoulders.

FC Dallas – Juan Carlos Toja – In the first half of the 2007 season, folks were talking MVP for the young Colombian midfielder. The great failed Denilson experiment seemed to affect Toja more than most, and his play dropped off considerably afterward. Denilson is gone and we’ll see if Toja returns to the level that had folks raving last year.

D.C. United – Marcelo Gallardo – D.C. United continues to pack their team with South Americans and they’re hoping Gallardo can be an improvement on perennial MVP candidate Gomez. Gallardo’s pedigree is sparkling: 44 caps and 14 goals for the Argentine National Team. He’s only 32 so he should still have gas left in the tank, and he’s a Designated Player so he’s making a nice piece of change. So far in the CONCACAF Champions Cup he’s looked interested.

Houston Dynamo – Stuart Holden – Others have been raving about his play, but I’m still a little hesitant. No one questions his work rate and he does have a powerful long distance shot, but I think his creativity may be a little suspect for an attacking midfielder. He needs to take more chances and look to create more opportunities with his passing. If he does that, he’ll be as good as folks are claiming he is.

Kansas City Wizards – Claudio Lopez – This is as big a name as the Wizards have ever gotten hold of, as the famed Argentine striker joins Kansas City as a designated player. Valencia, Lazio, Club America, Kansas City; Lopez has appeared seven times for Argentina in the World Cup and will turn 33 in July. There are few stadiums in the league that can appear more lifeless than the one in KC, how will he adapt to his new environs: will he be Blanco or will he be Denilson? UPDATE: I had forgotten that the Wizards are no longer at Arrowhead and have moved to a Minor League Baseball stadium temporarily. I have no idea whether that will help things in the atmosphere department.

Los Angeles Galaxy – Ruud Gullit – Okay so he’s not a player and everyone is going to want to watch Beckham anyway, but Gullit is a big name player and coach (and broadcaster for that matter) and his success or failure will probably have a major effect on how this country goes about looking for coaching talent. He’s probably the coach with the biggest coaching pedigree to join the league since the days of Carlos Alberto Perreira and Bora Milutinovich. Young goalkeeper Steve Cronin also is a key to watch.

New England Revolution – Taylor Twellman – If it were up to Taylor, he’d be playing in Europe right now as the Revolution seem to lose key players to overseas clubs every year while their prolific goal scorer remains. Ownership does not appear to be interested in investing much in this club as some think the club is viewed merely as a vehicle for filling the stadium during the Patriots off-season. Nicol has done a phenomenal job despite the Revs repeatedly coming up short at the final hurdle. If Nicol and Twellman can again drag this team to the title game, I wouldn’t be surprised if both wound up in Europe next year.

New York Red Bulls – Josmer Altidore – Altidore did not have the greatest U-23 qualifying campaign and is still only 18 years old, so it’s possible the seemingly never ending slate of games is starting to wear him down. New coach Osorio, poached from Chicago in the offseason, added some depth at forward with Colombian Oscar Echeverry. But Altidore still will be relied upon to help pitch in goals with Juan Pablo Angel. Altidore has 12 goals in 29 MLS games, and has already scored for the full National Team. If he has another big year in New York, his inevitable move overseas will be sooner rather than later.

Real Salt Lake – Alex Nimo – Although he did not have the kind of breakout U-17 tournament expected of him last summer, Nimo is considered to be the top talent from that U.S. team. The Liberian born forward finds himself with a team that has yet to provide winning soccer and he may be better positioned to get early playing time with Salt Lake than with a team with more talent. Don’t expect huge minutes from him, but I think the recently turned 18 year old may get some playing time.

San Jose Earthquakes – Ned Grabavoy – After a hiatus of a few years, we’re back with the third (fourth? fifth?) installment of the San Jose Earthquakes. The local fans were less than pleased with the way they lost their last team, so they are thrilled to have their Quakes back. Baseball fans will recognize new owner Lew Wolff and Billy Beane has also apparently pitched in a thought or two, but Grabavoy appears to be a more important part of their current on field success than either. Grabavoy has been a mystery so far in that he has generally played well when he’s played and has also generally been sent back to the bench. With an expansion team this is a golden opportunity for the talented playmaker to finally get into a lineup and stay here. If he can’t do it in this situation, I think it may be safe to say he can’t do it.

Toronto FC – Jeff Cunningham and Danny Dichio – Toronto enters their second year in need of scoring more goals. Their 25 goals in their inaugural year were last in the league and they will be counting on these two veterans to improve on that total. Theoretically it should be a perfect combo: Dichio’s size and strength and Cunningham’s speed and skill, but both have been known to get combative and we’ll see if they gel or if they clash.

I’ll try and keep up as best as I can as the soccer season rolls along.