Actually, those were two separate deals. We got Jeff Baicher in return for Jair, a player who had great potential and showed promise, but never fully recovered from a broken ankle. We later traded Baicher to Kansas City, but I don't remember what we got. The other trade was definitely a steal. We got Mauricio Wright from San Jose in return for Dan Calichman and (ironically enough) Mike Burns. The only other trade I can think of where we came out ahead was when we sent Imad Baba (Ganouj) to Colorado for Alan Woods and Matt Okoh. I don't remember what we gave up to get Wolde Harris, but he was pretty good for us. Regarding the Gomez deal, maybe Burns was really telling the truth. They could very well have "attempted" to get Gomez. They might have proposed a 3rd round draft pick with Colorado paying Gomez salary not only for the remainder of his career, but a lifetime pension as well. After the Rapids stopped laughing, they called DC and took their offer. But hey, the Revs "tried" and that's all that matters in this orange-slice-at-halftime club.
If that's the case, Gomez would have been like a homeless street person going to the Pine Street Inn and demanding a seven course dinner of pheasant under glass... The guy wasn't playing and was looking at a move somewhere, so I don' t think he was in a position to tell the Rapids to take DC's offer if the Revs were going to give them something better. We'll never know what the Revs offered, but can't we just assume that if the Rapids had more than one offer, they picked the one they felt would help them more?
In this case, I'm fine with the Revs losing out to DC for Gomez, if the price would have been a DP slot, a pretty good and experienced left-sided player, and a 2nd round pick. I know DC also got a throw-away keeper and an international spot, but still a stiff price for a 34/35 year-old. I don't have a lot of confidence that Gomez will be consistently quality over the course of the season, but I do expect some flashes of his brilliance. He would have been to have if the price was right, but not for what DC (out of desperation) was willing to give.
I think we made out better in the Serna/Hernandez/Kamler for Diallo/Williams/Chronopolis trade in 2002, if only for Kamler's contributions.
Yeah, for sure. And, who would've thought that he would be the most significant acquisition in that mega-deal (with DH a close 2nd)? It's more than likely that Gomez and his agent knew that DC and the Revs were among the interested parties and just as likely that, if they really preferred DC, that the let it be known that he wouldn't really be very highly motivated if the Revs dealt for him. After all, there had to be some reason on his part for the lack of results in Colorado - so you would think the Revs would be very concerned about what his attitude coming in would be. Gomez' agent couldn't explicitly determine his destination, but he sure could influence it (especially since he already had a contract in place - which was going to pay him the same wherever he played).
He might have used the Revs' interest to leverage more out of DC, but that really only benefits the Rapids. Suppose you are selling your house and it's worth $500,000. A couple of buyers are interested. One offers you $495,000, which you might take if it was the only offer, but someone else offers $525,000. Which one are you going to take? The Revs might very well have offered the equivalent of the first bidder--a normally decent offer that was fair, given the circumstances. Then DC comes along with a better offer, so who are the Rapids going to prefer? Lots of people will argue that DC overpaid, so the Revs easily could have made a very fair, credible offer that DC (foolishly) topped. No shame on the Revs part, but we will never know what they had in mind. The Revs may have wanted him, but not badly enough to do something stupid.
Maybe so. Let's say they preferred DC, which is not at all far-fetched. So the agent could leak/hint to the Revs that if they are interested in Gomez, fine, he's a true profesional, but he would be less thrilled than if it were DC. Message to the Revs: You can see about swinging a deal, but everone might be better off if he ends up in DC. The Rapids don't care where they send him as long as they get the most value. The Revs might realize that they are second-choice, so they make a "courtesy" offer that the Rapids won't likely go for unless it's the only offer. Meanwhile, DC knows the Revs are "interested" and feel they need to sweeten the pot so Gomez doesn't go to a divisional rival. They get their man, but at what cost? The only flaw is that it is not in Gomez' agent's best interest to weaken his client's future team more than necessary. I don't think the agent has that much sway over things--this is a business and they will do what suits them. If the player ends up happy, that's a nice bonus, but it isn't going to be much of a consideration. These guys are mercenaries and everyone understands it.