I'm not very well-versed in exactly how the arbitration process works, but excluding arbitration-eligible players, in 2008 the Crew has only $35.988 mil. committed in salaries. The excluded players are: Estrada, Hardy, Mench, Vargas, Capuano, Wise, Spurling, Shouse, Bush, & Aquino (*barf* http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/sick.gif). If you randomly assign $5 mil to Bush & Estrada & Mench, $4.5 to Capuano & Vargas, $2 to Shouse, $1.5 to Wise, $1 to Spurling, and $3 to Hardy (no idea if he'd get more or less) - that equals $67.488 mil. in total committed. Plenty of room to sign an impactful FA, and who knows where that money would/will be best spent. It's not like we can't improve, too. (I understand I have no authority on the topic, but if anything I tried to err on the side of larger arbitration increases than will occur.)