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A little after 10 p.m. this evening Kevin Hartman made a big announcement on his Twitter. Picture included.
So excited to be joining @newyorkredbullsI look forward to the support from the fans and to meeting my teammates. twitter.com/KevinEHartman/…
— KevinElGatoHartman (@KevinEHartman) March 22, 2013
Which...uh, ok. With Luis Robles and Ryan Meara between the sticks, not to mention 17-year-old Santiago Castano, the Red Bulls aren't necessarily hurting for goalkeeping help. But sure. Why not?
This is especially surprising as Meara was rumored to be ready by April, after two hip surgeries ended his season last year and kept him off the field for the start of this season.
After Robles the goalkeeping situation as of right-this-very-moment is shaky. It's pretty obvious, if only from his one preseason appearance, the young'un Castano isn't ready for prime time. But Meara, if the "April return" scheduling is right, is about ready. In that light, it seems a bit odd the team would take out what looks like a goalkeeping insurance policy at this point. Unless last year's runaway Rookie of the Year (for most of the season, anyway) isn't on schedule as we all had hoped.
That's all assuming the move is, you know, actually happening. Last year, we found out about the Juan Agudelo-Heath Pearce deal via Twitter, with Pearce breaking the news he'd been dealt himself. On the flip side, Tyler Ruthven tweeted that he'd been signed and we all thought the Red Bulls had some depth on the backline. Until he wasn't. Currently, Ruthven is trying out with Swedish side IK Brage.
Hartman, for those who don't know, spent nearly 10 years with the LA Galaxy before stints with the then-Kansas City Wizards, where he broke Tony Meola's all-time MLS saves record, and Dallas. He was released by Dallas at the end of last season, and wasn't picked up in the league's Re-Entry Draft.
Also worth noting, Thierry Henry and Hartman had a weird moment when both sort of went to kick the ball at the same time, and Hartman got injured. It's a bit of a weird situation, so it's probably best seen in video.