Shrewd Moves

I have to say that -- if the rumors are to be believed -- the first player moves of the Chicago Fire's John Guppy era are remarkably good. Word on the street is that midfield mainstay and Fire original Jesse Marsch may be headed to Los Angeles for a reunion with former Fire coach Bob Bradley at Chivas USA, while another member of Bradley's inaugural squad, Diego Gutierrez, will return in a trade with second-year midfielder Will John.

While Will John showed some promise, he was in the bottom half of Dave Sarachan's tremendous rookie class from 2005, and the returning skipper has about eighteen picks in this year's SuperDraft with which to replace him. So it's not that big a loss.

To be fair, the departure of Marsch isn't really a great move, but there was an overwhelming amount of chatter that made it seem pretty inevitable. The rationalization is that when the team is at full strength, he's on the bench, and as such, his salary dollars would be better spent elsewhere. Which obviates the sentimental side for fans, and necessarily ignores some locker-room whispers. Plus, he's going to a Western Conference team, where he can only exact revenge twice a year in the regular season.

So if you've got to give up somebody like Marsch, there are exactly two players you could bring in as, effectively, emotional "cover" for fans who might be upset. Internet rumors have said that DC United was asking too much for the rights to Dema Kovalenko, so Gutierrez gets the nod. Either one can cover for Chris Armas at defensive midfielder until the Fire captain gets back from his most recent ACL surgery.

Looking around the field, though, maybe Diego wasn't second choice. Marsch's departure highlights the issue of higher-paid players who don't get enough playing time being a salary liability, which means -- and I don't think this is really a secret -- Honduran Samuel Cabellero might not return, either. If, for some reason, either C.J. Brown or Jim Curtin were to exit as well, second-year defender Gonzalo Segares could slide into a center back position with Gutierrez on his flank. I'm not sure if this move constitutes "writing on the wall" for two of those three defenders (Caballero, Curtin and Brown), but it very well might.

In any event, if there was no way to keep Marsch in Fire red for another year, this was a smart move. And as Guppy's first, it's pretty encouraging.