Cristman to KC for...for..?

In a curious move to free up its second-leading scorer, the Revolution traded forward Adam Cristman to Kansas City for allocation money and KC's natural third-round selection. In other words, the Wizards bought Cristman before Seattle could swipe him for free in today's expansion draft. Makes sense...for the Wizards.

The Revolution? Not so much. Okay, so Cristman wasn't the most graceful forward the team has seen. In fact, there were times he looked downright clumsy. His legs went one speed (slow) while his upper body went another (slower). Somehow, he managed a score a bushel of goals (six!)during the middle of the season. Two of them were against LA, so that's not saying a whole lot.

But given how painfully depleted New England was up top, I fail to see the reasoning behind the trade. Without Cristman, it's Taylor Twellman, Kenny Mansally, Kheli Dube, and Argenis Fernandez. Mansally and Dube will be back. Twellman may head overseas. Fernandez is on the unprotected list.

The fact that the club is trading away one of its only scoring threats is just the latest in a series of bewildering roster moves. During the past twelve months alone, the Revolution have either traded away or failed to re-sign three of their second-leading scorers (Andy Dorman, Pat Noonan, and Cristman).

And for what? Allocation money? The day the Revolution actually apply those monies toward a Designated Player Allocation will be the same day Matt Reis dons a toupe'. Some have speculated that the money will go toward its youth academy. Youth Academy...Youth Academy...*

(*Bueller...Bueller...)

The Revolution have been one of the better clubs in MLS since the turn of the century. They did so by bringing in good players and drafting well. But they aren't Midas. And lately, they've been anything but. They've drafted badly. Leandro deOliveira, Wells Thompson, and Rob Valentino have played a combined 45 games. All were played by Thompson, whose picture can be found on Wikipedia's entry for "sophomore slump." The only recent trade in which the Revolution prospered was the Chris Albright deal with L.A.

Maybe Steve Nicol knows something I don't. The probability of that is very high. But, unless the organization has regained its magic touch, the Cristman trade appears to be only the latest in a series of head-scratching moves.

***

With class from 4-7pm, and a feature on the job market for this year's college graduates due by midnight, I'm not sure if I'll have another post in before tomorrow. So, to all thirteen of my brilliant readers...Happy Thanksgiving!