Is It That Far Out of the Question for Buddle?

Probably.

But you should still take notice.

Edson Buddle has always been a striker in what you could refer to as, the Eddie Johnson mold. You just can’t seem to get a grip on what the hell is the matter with him, if anything at all. For all I know he is EJ’s clone, save for Buddle has actually had zero (zilch, nada…) success with the national team, while I did read in a history book that one time EJ didn’t look half bad in the red white and blue.

Regardless, in part due to the performance aforementioned Eddie Johnson, the US MNT has what you could call a striker crisis, if you hadn’t heard.

This past weekend, Edson Buddle notched his second hat-trick of the current MLS campaign for the LA David Beckhams in a blowout of the revamped San Jose Earthquakes. Buddle is currently second on the MLS Golden Boot chart to another player you may be familiar with, Landon Donovan. Now I know, I know, it is, after all, Edson Buddle. Really, it is a legitimate argument against it. But one of the main things that Coach Bradley has always preached about player selection is that he will (and has to) choose players who are in form on their club level. It is a simple basic pillar for success on a national team level anywhere around the world, why should it be different for the USA?

Right now, Buddle is as in form as any American striker anywhere on the planet, even if he is Edson Buddle. I know the MLS calendar and the national team conflict constantly and eventually he could get lost in a numbers game and he has just about as much of a chance of being a starting forward for the USA as Jan Koller does… But if he were to stay on form, finishing just about every half-chance that comes his way, could you really not call him up?

Probably. Because, alas, he is Edson Buddle.