Jurgen Klinsmann and staff picked their players for January camp in lead up to a game with Canada on Jan 29 and Honduras on February 6th. The list has 25 total players, 21 of which are currently playing in Major League Soccer.
While I think Eddie Gaven should be called in, I do think Klinsmann does a good job at picking in form MLS players. Below will be the list of call ups with those of whom I believe got "snubbed". So, instead of just going with my feelings I'm going to use process. What I am going to do is use my own MLS player ratings from the 2012 season to do so.
"HB Player Score" = My own MLS player rank that I update throughout the regular season. It can be found on the right of this page or here.
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HB Player Score : My USA MLS Rank : Name : POS : Team
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DEFENDER CALL UP LIST
84 : 1 : Steven Beitashour : D : San Jose
84 : 2 : Justin Morrow : D : San Jose
74 : 4 : Matt Besler : D : Kansas City
72 : 6 : Tony Beltran : D : Real Salt Lake
66 : 9 : Jeff Parke : D : Philadelphia
65 : 15 : A.J. DeLaGarza : D : LA Galaxy
55 : 21 : Connor Lade : D : New York
33 : n/a : Omar Gonzalez : D : LA Galaxy
MISSED AND/OR 'SNUBBED'
72 : 6 : Bobby Boswell : D : Houston
71 : 7 : Chance Myers : D : Kansas City
NOTES
The MLS list for Defenders is good, not any real notable misses here. Boswell has been around for quite some time and had another excellent year. He and the Crew's Chad Marshall cut from the same cloth. Honestly, I'm not sure where Boswell stands as far as interest in the USMNT these days. Sometimes players just fall out of favor. Also, I've came to terms with the fact that Myers is a good player, call him in already.
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MIDFIELD CALL UPS
85 : 1 : Graham Zusi : M : Kansas City
72 : 5 : Brad Davis : M : Houston
70 : 8 : Kyle Beckerman : M : Real Salt Lake
66 : 9 : Brad Evans : M : Seattle
48 : 18 : Benny Feilhaber : M : Kansas City
MISSED AND/OR 'SNUBBED'
78 : 2 : Eddie Gaven : M : Columbus Crew
77 : 3 : Dax McCarty : M : New York
75 : 4 : Sam Cronin : M : San Jose
70 : 7 : Perry Kitchen : M : DC United
NOTES
MF is where I feel Klinsmann deviated from picking based on results and went more with his gut and / or who he feels fits his system. Eddie Gaven, Dax McCarty and Sam Cronin should be disappointed. I had Eddie Gaven ranked 9th overall in the league and, as a US citizen, only behind Zusi. The only reasons for his exclusion would be because he mostly plays out of position (or in multiple ones), goes down too easy and plays for a coaching staff that isn't well regarded.
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FORWARD CALL UPS
100 : 1 : Chris Wondolowski : F : San Jose
73 : 3 : Will Bruin : F : Houston
69 : 6 : Eddie Johnson : F : Seattle
30 : 11 : Edson Buddle : F : Colorado
28 : 13 : Juan Agudelo : F : Chivas
MISSED AND/OR 'SNUBBED'
77 : 2 : Kenny Cooper : F : New York
71 : 4 : Chris Pontius : F : DC United
70 : 5 : C.J. Sapong : F : Kansas City
NOTES
Too often are attacking players chosen because of how well the could be. I like both Eddie Johnson and Edson Buddle but if they have been outdone by others in the same league, why call them? I heard Pontius turned the camp down due to injury. I've heard nothing on Cooper. I like him and think that outside of support from Thierry Henry, can help you win games. Agudelo is just on my bad list. He has yet to prove anything other than 'show promise'. I believe in results. You should too.
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GOALKEEPERS
70 : 2 : Tally Hall : GK : Houston Dynamo
69 : 4 : Sean Johnson : GK : Chicago Fire
54 : 10 : Bill Hamid : GK : D.C. United
NOTES
No 'snubs' here. I really like that Tally Hall got a call. Andy Gruenebaum? I think he is right here with Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid (and Nick Rimando) but with GK position it is more about familiarity (for me). Pick a guy and stick with him.
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FINAL OBSERVATION
All the players picked played for teams in the top half of the table, save for Juan Agudelo
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