Guevara quits on the Red Bulls

What is the best way to earn a one-way ticket out of town when you no longer want to play for the team you're on? You give up.

That is essentially what Amado Guevara has done to the Red Bulls for the better part of two months this season. After testing his team's patience by missing the last two weeks of the preseason by remaining in Honduras, Guevara returned to New York a shell of his normally dynamic self. He constantly would avoid making tackles and regularly gave up on plays that required any sort of serious effort. Rather than create chances for the Red Bulls, he created problems, leaving his teammates short-handed as he did his best impression of a ghost.

At first, most thought it was just a case of lacking fitness. A former league MVP couldn't possibly keep playing this way. He surely would come around wouldn't he? Guevara never did. Except for some moments of brilliance against Real Salt Lake, Guevara's first six games were downright painful to watch. It wasn't just a case of form, which can escape the very best of players briefly. Guevara wasn't trying and nobody could figure out why.

Guevara wants out, plain and simple. Whether it is a secret desire to make one last run at Europe, or the belief that his playmaking exploits would be better suited in Dallas or Los Angeles, Guevara came into this season with an eye on the exit door and his play showed it. Once he decided the Red Bulls weren't the best team for him to play for, Guevara just stopped trying, stopped fighting and stopped caring.

Mo Johnston's moment of clarity came last Saturday. Johnston watched Guevara yell his way as Guevara paraded off the Giants Stadium turf, rather than sit on the bench after being replaced during the Red Bulls' 1-1 tie against Chicago. Johnston could no longer ignore what many had warned him for months, and what the past month's game films had shown, that Guevara was more trouble than he was worth.

If Johnston was angry, Guevara's teammates were downright furious. They had watched the Honduran playmaker receive preferential treatment and abuse his status as the team's star for years, so tolerance quickly turned to resentment as Guevara wasted game after game playing like the extra body in a scrimmage. Saturday's episode sealed it for many Red Bulls players, who couldn't believe that Guevara would storm off the field and then have the audacity to watch the remainder of the match from a front-row seat in the stands.

Things only worsened on Tuesday, the team's first day of practice this week. Guevara rejected Johnston's request for a meeting to discuss his actions on Saturday and then he begged out of practice with a pair of mysteriously minor injuries. Maybe Guevara knew just how angry his teammates were. Perhaps he could sense the vigilante justice that awaited him in the form of the type of tackles normally reserved for Saturdays.

Johnston saw it in the eyes of his players that day. Guevara had to go, but where could the Red Bulls send him? Dealing him within the Eastern Conference could be costly because Guevara seems perfectly capable of coming back to haunt the Red Bulls. That leaves the Western Conference, where teams are interested but are also aware that the Red Bulls don't exactly have bargaining power.

The low-ball offers have Johnston weighing the options. Does he pay a portion of Guevara's salary to make dealing his highest-paid player that much easier? Does he take the chance of dealing him within the Eastern Conference if that is where the only legitimate offer comes from? Johnston is willing to wait things out, not only to get the best deal possible, but to also let Guevara sit at home and think about what he has done to the Red Bulls.

Who are the leading candidates to acquire Guevara? FC Dallas has been linked to Guevara since the offseason, and league sources say it is Guevara's preferred destination, but the Hoops are said to be making offers far weaker than the Ronnie O'Brien-for-Guevara swap the team was originally prepared to make.

The Galaxy would make sense because the champions have the type of pieces to make an enticing offer (with Todd Dunivant and Kyle Martino among the players the Red Bulls would covet), but Alexi Lalas probably isn't in a hurry to reunite with the player he spent the offseason feuding publicly with. One league source said Lalas would be willing to work with Guevara again, but the Galaxy has not been among the more serious suitors.

One team that should be thinking about trading for Guevara is the Chicago Fire. The Fire is a month away from opening its new stadium and it currently lacks a true star player to place on its billboard. Team president John Guppy is familiar with Guevara from his days with the MetroStars and can imagine what the Fire forwards could do with Guevara providing the service. The Fire also has a player in Ivan Guerrero that would make Johnston willing to deal Guevara to an Eastern Conference team. Guerrero is the type of dynamic left back that Johnston has dreamed of acquiring in order to field the 3-5-2 formation he prefers.

Wherever Guevara goes, he will have to deal with not only the expectations of being regarded as one of the league's best players, but also a rightfully earned label as a clubhouse cancer. Having a reputation of giving up on your teammates isn't something you want to have but Guevara now has it on his résumé, right alongside the title of former league MVP. If Guevara isn't careful, all he will be remembered for is being a special player who wasn't worth the trouble.

Game Previews

It is that time of the year when temperatures rise and pressure increases on coaches. Whether it is Los Angeles coach Steve Sampson, who received the dreaded vote of confidence from Alexi Lalas last week, or Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger, who experienced his first road victory last week, the men on the sidelines will be feeling the heat every bit as much as their players when the summer starts to boil.

Speaking of heating up, FC Dallas is off to another hot start. Colin Clarke's squad has the most points in the league and could get even better now that Richard Mulrooney has made his way back from last year's knee surgery.

Chicago Fire at Houston Dynamo

The Dynamo has been terrific at home but a host of injuries coupled with the absence of Brian Ching could leave Houston vulnerable to an upset against the toothless Fire. Chicago continues to struggle generating chances and won't find the going any easier against a tough Houston defense that should be stingy even without injured center back Adrian Serioux. Dynamo 1, Fire 0

Chivas USA at Red Bulls

Bob Bradley makes his return to Giants Stadium with his new team and when he gets a look at his old team he will be glad he left. The Red Bull circus rolls on as they prepare for life without Amado Guevara. It shouldn't be too tough since they've basically had six games to get used to just that. We will see the Edson Buddle-Jean Philippe Peguero strike force for the first time. Expect Youri Djorkaeff to flourish in Guevara's absence as his team tastes victory for the first time this season.

Red Bulls 2, Chivas USA 1

D.C. United at Columbus Crew Alecko Eskandarian is back and his return as a dangerous striker has proven to be the key piece in D.C. United's return to championship contender status. The real surprise here is Sigi Schmid's masterful job of securing 10 points from seven games with a young team few could have expected to stay out of the East cellar. Even with the Crew's hot start, beating D.C. is too tall a task.

D.C. United 2, Crew 0.

New England Revolution at FC Dallas

The game of the week features the league's hottest team (New England) against the team with the most points in Dallas. The Hoops have been solid at home (4-0-1 in five matches) but have been less efficient in recent weeks, posting a 1-1-2 mark in their past four matches. The key here will be in central midfield, where Shalrie Joseph has been playing some of the best soccer in the league for New England, and Mulrooney is looking to regain his pre-surgery form. Give the edge to the Revs, who are firing on all cylinders.

Revolution 3, FC Dallas 2

Kansas City Wizards at Real Salt Lake

This match might have been considered an easy pick just a week ago, but Real Salt Lake's romp over the Galaxy coupled with the Wizards' continued struggles to find the next make this one tough to call. Real Salt Lake has some offensive weapons that can test Kansas City but the Wizards have a strong enough defense to keep RSL from extending its winning streak to two matches.

Wizards 1, Real Salt Lake 1

Colorado Rapids at Los Angeles Galaxy

Jovan Kirovski has to be licking his chops. The former U.S. national team forward is off to a hot start and he now gets to face the coach who ran him out of Los Angeles. Steve Sampson must be staring at the two trophies he helped win a year ago and wondering why his job is in jeopardy. Call it Sigi's revenge. With no Landon Donovan, the Galaxy will struggle to create chances, but Colorado's poor road form should help both teams leave with a point.

Galaxy 1, Rapids 1.

Last week: 3-3 Overall: 11-16

Ives Galarcep covers MLS for ESPN.com and is a writer and columnist for the Herald News (N.J.). He can be reached at Ivespn79@aol.com.