MLS Table Talk | Parity Police Beatdown

You just knew that, one day, the Parity Police would come calling for Chivas USA. Still, the alacrity with which the Goats have been reeled in is a bit startling. Despite having been caught by Houston, however, there is still a big gap between the top two and the rest of the Playoff Pack, who are condensed in a three point sandwich between DC United (22 pts) and CrewWiz FC (19 pts apiece). A narrow, two point gap has opened between the playoff sides and the "I coulda been a contender" crowd, consisting of the Rapids (17), Revs (16), RSL and LA (15 each). And, in a freakish symmetry with the top of the table, the foot o' the table troglodytes are hanging out 5 points beneath the Gals, with the Bulls and Quakes (9 points each) trailing Dallas (10). Other talking points..?

• The points per game table throws up two exceptions to the picture outlined above. While the Dynamo and Chivas are locked on 27 points, the Dynamo have reached that total in two fewer matches giving them a 2.1 to 1.8 lead in ppg. The second anomaly? The Rapids, whose 1.5 ppg puts them squarely amongst the playoff sides (ranging from 1.4 to 1.6 ppg) and not with the trailing pack (1.2 to 1.3 ppg).
  
• Chivas table woes are not confined to position either, with the Dynamo taking a firm lead in goal differential (+11 to +7), and the upstart Sounders closing in as well (+6). At the opposite end, the Bulls and Quakes continue to match each other for futility (-11 each). The strange differentials? RSL at +2 despite being four points off a playoff spot and trailing the Revs by a point despite the later being on -5, though that's easily explained by RSL's early-season thrashing of the Revs. But what about TFC, sitting in a playoff spot at -3?
  
• Goals per game is a pretty condensed pack, with DC United boasting a narrow lead at 1.6 gpg. That said, the entire rest of the league, except the Red Bulls, is scoring at a rate of between 1.2 and 1.5 gpg. The Bulls? Well, their 0.6 points per game awfulness is reflected in 0.9 goals scored per game.
  
• Goals allowed per game is more spread out. The western powers: the Dynamo (0.6 apg), Goats, and Sounders (0.8 apg each) continue to lead the way, with KC (1.2) and DC (1.3) atop the East. Shockingly, the Red Bulls are not flying the "worst in the league" flag, as the Quakes hold aloft that particular banner at 2 apg.
• Where the Bulls one again return to "form" is in the loss column, where their ten leads the way. And while the draw column is all over the map (LA leads the way with 9, five teams post lows of 3), the win column aligns pretty well with the segmentation of the table. The two lead dogs have 8 wins apiece, the playoff contenders all have 4 or 5 wins, save for the Galaxy, who have 2, the same total boasted the by the three bottom dwellers.

So that's how the numbers play out this week. Nothing particularly startling, save for the equality in scoring records. Anything jump out at you?