Vanney In, Kirk Out for the Galaxy

By: Laurie | February 15th, 2008

Anybody ever catch reruns of the old, original “Star Trek” series? (It’s one of my husband’s favorite shows, so I’ve seen all the episodes in the interest of marital harmony.) In honor of Capt. James T, I would like to say into my communicator:

Kirk out.

(Yes, I am easily amused. Especially when Fridays roll around. Work with me here.)

What I mean by this is that our Quavas is headed out the door to DC in exchange for long-ago Galaxy defender Greg Vanney. Because apparently it felt so good to have former Galaxy guy Carlos Ruiz back in town that we’re going to start a collection.

I’m a little puzzled by this one. Vanney has had a great career. (And he was the first American ever to play in the French Ligue 1, which places him high in my French-football-loving opinion.) And with Ty leaving and Abel Xavier a question mark, we’re desperate for experienced central defenders. On top of that, Quavas has been plagued by injuries recently, including things like plantar fasciitis, which is notoriously hard to treat effectively. But Quavas isn’t even twenty. Vanney is thirty-three, an age which is pretty much the definition of “twilight of his career.”

And then there’s that money thing. Last year, according to the Players Union website, Vanney made $236,667. I think I read he was out of contract, meaning we’re not obligated to that much. But how much of a pay cut will he be willing to take to play in LA again? Half? Less that half? (Quavas made $111,000-ish. He was former Generation Adidas, so I’m not sure whether or not that counted towards the salary cap. If not it would have been silly to trade him.)

I’m not sure about this one, but I’ll give Vanney the benefit of a doubt. The proof will be on the field.

But in the meantime, to continue the space travel sci-fi thing, I’ll give you this comment from reader “bluemeanies:”