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Shipping Moreno: The Lone Mistake in Houston History?
Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 02:42 PM by Jeff Bull
(PREAMBLE: When watching a game a bunch of questions and concepts come to me, some of them general and some from the game. On the occasions I remember to write them down, I’ll kick ‘em out there...or, rather, here. And this one's for you, Martek...)
As confessed in my write-up on the Columbus Crew’s stirring road win (or was it DC’s perplexing loss?), I rate Alejandro Moreno about as highly as one can rate a non-marquee forward. Call him the league’s best second banana goal-scorer. Between brains, hustle, and competent finishing - and that’s arguably better than competent so far this year - I count Moreno a solid asset for any team. Put another way, if you can’t have two great forwards, you could do a hell of a lot worse than to have Moreno.
That brings me to the Houston Dynamo, a team that most certainly does not have two great forwards; on the days when Brian Ching is either absent or out of it, it’s hard to argue they have one good one. They had Moreno on their roster until early 2007, but traded him to the Crew for Joseph Ngwenya. Whatever you think of Ngwenya or the trade, we all know one thing: Houston could really use a forward right now...which goes back, in turn, to thoughts about doing a hell of a lot worse.
So here’s the question: if you are/were a Houston fan, would you rather have Moreno back right now or are you content with the memories of Ngwenya’s equalizer in last year’s MLS Cup? Did Houston get enough, in the grand scheme, when they traded Moreno for Ngwenya?
As confessed in my write-up on the Columbus Crew’s stirring road win (or was it DC’s perplexing loss?), I rate Alejandro Moreno about as highly as one can rate a non-marquee forward. Call him the league’s best second banana goal-scorer. Between brains, hustle, and competent finishing - and that’s arguably better than competent so far this year - I count Moreno a solid asset for any team. Put another way, if you can’t have two great forwards, you could do a hell of a lot worse than to have Moreno.
That brings me to the Houston Dynamo, a team that most certainly does not have two great forwards; on the days when Brian Ching is either absent or out of it, it’s hard to argue they have one good one. They had Moreno on their roster until early 2007, but traded him to the Crew for Joseph Ngwenya. Whatever you think of Ngwenya or the trade, we all know one thing: Houston could really use a forward right now...which goes back, in turn, to thoughts about doing a hell of a lot worse.
So here’s the question: if you are/were a Houston fan, would you rather have Moreno back right now or are you content with the memories of Ngwenya’s equalizer in last year’s MLS Cup? Did Houston get enough, in the grand scheme, when they traded Moreno for Ngwenya?
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Trades that win you Cups are always, always worth it. I apologize for this idiotic example from my adolescence, but it's the best example I can think of. Rick Sutcliffe to the Cubs, Mel Hall and Joe Carter to the Indians, early 1984. Definitive short-term for long-term deal. Now, if the Cubs had won the World Series that year, the ONLY way that's even arguably a bad deal is if Carter won multiple World Series for Cleveland, instead of one for Toronto, on his way to the Hall of Fame.Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 03:05 PM by Dan Loney 
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Yes! That's exactly what I'm after! Great response. I have no rebuttal. I just have soft spots for certain players and a corresponding urge to stick up for them...even over championship rings.
Put it this way: the Revs will burn the last bridge connecting me to that team if they win MLS Cup without Pat Noonan.Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 03:09 PM by Jeff Bull
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I like thinking about this stuff, too.
It is a classic US sports conundrum, do you trade a guy who's going to give you multiple All-Star years somewhere down the road for a guy who gives you a substantially better chance at one championship?
Most teams will give you the same answer Dan does: yes. In the American sports paradigm (that is, caps, parity and such) you only get a shot at a title so often (I raise this because that makes it different from a ManU scenario where you can expect to be in the hunt over and over again for the foreseeable future), and it is believed that winning one changes the history of your franchise forever (again, different from ManU, and maybe the Yankees). Even if Houston is worse this year and going forward because they don't have Moreno, they will always be able to say they won Back-to-Back championships "back in the day" kinda the way the Rockets will always be able to say this.Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 05:23 PM by Stan Collins 
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Both Moreno's and Ngwenya's productivity went up after that trade. Previous to it, neither had had spectacular seasons. So the trade was definitely worth it. And given Kinnear's talent for getting the most out of his personnel, this may be water under the bridge come November.
Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 05:26 PM by DoctorD
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Have to agree, even though i was sad to see the only dynamo latino go last year, i don't think he would have produced the way Ngwenya did for us. Plus who would have thought he would be wearing a 10 and in the race for golden boot. I hope he has a great season and earns a national cap for... what is it Venezuela???
anyone else think it was funny he was scoring on wells?Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 08:20 PM by 3VIL L33T
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I'd love to be able to say one way or the other because at this point in the year there's no telling. Check back in a couple of months or at least after the Austrian season is over. At that point there's some chance Ngwenya well be back. (Is that the kind of denial only a fan can muster or what?)
At this point it seriously looks like we can take our trophies to the basement because of that trade, even if we're only there a year.Posted 22 Apr 2008 at 07:32 PM by FCLouie
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