Marry/Boff/Kill: Corben Bone

"Marry/F**k/Kill" is a game of the Internet age, and the rules are simple: name a group of three people ("Iron Man and Thor and Captain America," "Blanche, Rose or Dorothy"), and ask the crowd to choose one fate for each of them - one to partner with for good, one explored for a connection but not kept, and one cast off into the outer darkness. Fans of 30 Rock will recognize this game in its safe-for-primetime version, Marry/Boff/Kill, which name we're borrowing because we do not want SB Nation getting angry emails.

Here at Hot Time, we're going to use the game to talk about players - specifically Chicago Fire players, naturally. We're going to use it as a way to talk about the roster. It works like this: ‘Marry' indicates a willingness to keep the player regardless of cap issues or any other considerations; ‘Boff' (i.e., ‘F**k) means that we're, uhh, f**king the player over, asking for modifications to their contract or running them through the Re-Entry Draft process - we're interested but not on these terms; and ‘Kill' means terminating the player's contact with CF97.

We're going to present some kind of argument for each outcome, and let the community have their say. I mean, why not? It's something like three months until the first preseason friendly. In case you didn't get with the action earlier, we started the series with Logan Pause, then featured Gonzalo Segares, Chris Rolfe, Joel Lindpere, Egidio Arevalo Rios, Hunter Jumper, and Bakary Soumare.

Corben Bone, #19, 25 years old

2013: 1 appearance (0 starts), 3 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists

Career: 18 appearances (8 starts), 677 minutes, 0 goals, 1 assist

$46,500 base salary, $49,000 guaranteed

When the Fire drafted the Texican Xavi in 2010, he was expected to challenge for a starting role as an attacking midfielder - and at the midpoint of 2011, he seemed to be on track, starting seven times before June. Once Frank Klopas took over as manager, though, his playing time became asymptotic to zero - in the last two seasons, he's made a grand total of three sub appearances for a total playing time of 29 minutes.

The case to ‘Marry'

Bone came into the league on a Generation Adidas contract, meaning he made good money ($161k per year), none of which counted against the salary cap. That deal ended after 2012, and Corben, rather than shopping around for a better deal, took a massive pay cut to stay with the Fire. He has yet to make a strong case for substantial playing time, but he's loyal and apparently fits well in the locker room. Will Yallop see something Klopas missed?

The case to ‘Boff'

It's unlikely we could keep Bone for less than he's making now, but there's usually a way, should both parties be willing. Three minutes playing time for a 25-year-old doesn't scream "Pay me!", certainly. I'd consider a season-long loan a form of ‘Boff'ing; should the opportunity present itself, hopefully Corben will leap at it.

The case to ‘Kill'

Sometimes you've gotta be cruel to be kind, right? Whatever the front office saw in Corben in the winter of ‘09-'10, we haven't seen it on the pitch for the Fire. Perhaps Bone can find his footing with more playing time on a team in a lower division after CF97 cuts him loose.