Beita made SI's Steve Davis' Team of the Week: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/steve_davis/10/03/mls.week29/index.html?sct=sc_wr_a1
So, for the second year out of four since the Quakes returned, it looks like our assist leader will be our right back. Great for Beta, but, it points out our lack of creativity in the midfield.
Hey, I'm a big Beta fan, but he's a long way off as far as the Nats go. He needs a few years starting (and learning) in the MLS.
"Beitashour on MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week" (SJEarthquakes.com - Wednesday, 10/5/11) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Beita made another MLS Team of the Week today. Dude is a stud and we need to re-sign him to a new contract that gives him a raise and keeps him here for a few more years. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/10/26/mlssoccercom-team-week-week-32
I think it was Chewie who said he wouldn't amount to anything. (And/or maybe that was Morrow she was talking about).
frank does an inexplicably good job at the draft, one of the few things ill give him credit for these days.
Not by me -- I worked for the San Jose Frogs and had the opportunity to watch him in those games. It was no surprise to me that he turned out to be a good acquisition...
Just one more in a series of reasons not to read Ives Galarcep. I was hopeful about Beta from the first. We had had him in camp, so JD and Frank knew exactly what they were getting. They were also drafting for a position of need. It was a good move, even if it hadn't worked out this well. There have been mentions here and elsewhere that the Quakes have been drafting quite well since 2008, and that Yallop deserves credit for this. Again, I can't figure out why. Frank has never ever drafted well and usually trades away most of his pick. The only time that has ever changed is since he came back to SJ in 2008. I think that the good drafts are mostly down to JD. Maybe JD, Ian, and Batty. At the last draft, we could see Frank, Ian, Mark, Jason, and JD all putting their heads together. I'm sure that it's a team effort, but I'm also pretty sure that JD has said: "We are going to draft and not trade away our picks." Of course, the JD haters will disagree with me because everything that goes well with the team must be because of Frank, while everything bad about the team has to be JD's fault. I think it's more of a mixed bag. Even if it was JD who brought Beta into camp for a look, I think that Frank had to agree that they draft him. And Steven Beitashour is freaking great!!! That leaping block he made to save us a goal a couple of weeks back was just amazing. Sure he's young and still gets schooled by crafty older players, but those days will be coming to an end. GOOOOOOO QUAAAAAAAAKAES!!!!!!!! GOOOOOOOO BEEEEEEETAAAAAAA!!!!!! Fire Frank!!! - Mark
Your credit is misplaced. I'm pretty sure the drafts are a team effort, and I'm pretty certain that JD has a big hand in them. Frank's natural inclination is to trade away his draft picks for "proven" veterans. The fact that he isn't doing so now is a sign that someone else is forcing his hand. GO QUAKES!! FIRE FRANK!! - Mark
No, he (or the amorphous they) still does it, most recently with Lenhart. I think the biggest difference is that with the expanded rosters and reserve league, there's more of a chance for the marginal later pick to get a chance to prove himself, whereas back in the day college rookies had to somehow earn a spot in preseason on an 18 or later a 22-man roster.
I am glad that Beta has been doing well. He still has things to learning like positioning but his upside is very encouraging. The speed and determination is just great asset. He should be out starter from now on. As for the draft, it is one thing to pick good players, but these young players need to get some minutes. I agree that the expanded roster and the reserve games help. Still, I would love to see Frank and whoever may replace him to give these players some more time on the field to develop and also not to put them in the dog house so quickly. I guess Beta, Morrow and Baca work out fine, and I hope that Ring and Ampai get the chance to develop before being placed on another team's bench.
its looking like Morrow is starting to make a Beita turn so im very pleased with that. I was mortified we were going to dump him. That guy was arguably the best left back coming out of that draft. Im glad he finally got his chance. Its helping allay my fears of Ampai slightly. Im excited with these skill guys we are getting. With Beita, Morrow, Baca, Ampai, Dawkins, we have the potenial to mold into something special for this league. Its just a matter of utilizing them correctly, not sure frank is that guy to do that
I'll admit it, I was underwhelmed when we selected Beita but he has proven me wrong in a big way and I've never been more pleased. Pass the crow this way.
Yes. Chewie said that Beta and Morrow both sucked. She gave me a lot of grief about this, even after Beta's first season where he did get some good minutes. Like Frank, she doesn't like the young guys. Trading away one pick for an established player is not the same thing as trading away all or most of your draft picks. In 2008 we traded away most of our picks. We haven't done it since. And we've been drafting much better. It's one of the few things we do well. Unlike many here, I do not believe in drafting "the best available player." My view is that you draft for need, always. Thus, I thought that the Beta draft was good. He plays right back and right mid, positions where we needed help then, and now. I didn't know if he was any good, but I knew that he played a position of need, and that we had had him in camp. So I was hopeful. Look at the coming draft. Where do we need help? We need a right-mid, a left-mid, a right-back, and a left-back. Note that I think Morrow and Beta should be our starters at right- and left-back, but we have no one behind either of them. (Both Corrales and Leitch should be put out to pasture. I don't think Ward wants to be with San Jose at all.) So we should be drafting for backups at those spots. Besides, it will take anyone we draft a couple of seasons just to be ready, and we'll still need backup defenders. At right- and left-mid, we have one starter in Dawkins - if we can keep him. We have a maybe starter in Gjoey. We have crap all for backups at those positions. (I never want to see Corrales play left-mid ever again.) So, we should draft at least one left- and right-mid (some of those guys can play the left- and right-back spots too), and then maybe score a player from another league. I'm thinking: - - - Lenhart (or Flash) - - - - - - - - Wondo Simon - - - Baca - - NewGuy Justin - BB - - Jason - Beta - - - - - TheBusch NewCoach!! With new backups at all of the outside positions. But whatever we do, we need to stabilize the lineup. We need for the same "group of guys" to play together as often as possible. We need not to shift guys positions, even if we have to replace someone because of injury or suspension, we should just bring on the backup, and leave every other player in their correct position. (But Frank is far too stupid to do this.) And Klinsman should cap Beta as soon as possible. Not because I think that Beta is ready to start on the national team, but because I think that he will be in the near future, and because another national team could take him away from us!! The question isn't whether or not Beta is ready now, it's whether he will be ready in 2014. I think it is likely that he will be. GOOOOOO QUAAAAAAAKES!!!!!!!! Fire Frank!! - Mark