Beckerman on the Saborio situation: An opportunity for players to step up

Kyle Beckerman, Real Salt Lake captain, might be fiery on the field, but with the media in regards to the Alvaro Saborio situation that's been developing in recent weeks, he's been anything but.

During an interview on ESPN 700, Beckerman gave his take on the tricky situation surrounding Saborio, offering a balanced and reserved read on the situation. While we don't glean any additional details about what happened, it's always good to hear a measured, considered statement from the team captain.

Well, so far, I think we don't know a ton of details, or I still don't know a ton of details or what to believe and what not to. We had to react that he wasn't there. He was in our plans to be in the starting lineup, and then we reacted in a really important game.

Now, every game is so important. For us, it was just about adjusting as quickly as possible, making sure everybody knew where they were playing, and I think it went really smoothly. I think Jeff did a good job of getting the calls out there and making sure everybody was ready with a young, pretty inexperienced back line that we had to adjust. I don't know.

We'll wait to hear some more details as the days go on. They could be hearing some other stuff in New York, but I'm here in Salt Lake. I'm not totally sure that there are more details that they know for sure or what, but the main thing we had to do is just react. It's okay. It just gives an opportunity for other guys to step up, and that's what guys were able to do on Sunday.

Most of that stuff is with the GM, with the coaching staff. The players — the veteran players might get a heads-up before it's told to the rest of the team, but for sure, we're not getting phone calls or anything like that. It's all upper management stuff.

Key to all this, I think, is what Beckerman says about other players stepping up — whether that's Devon Sandoval excelling in the central position or Sebastian Jaime starting when he might otherwise have been on the bench. The contributions of players who are actually with the team at the moment are more important than the non-contributions of those not with it, and that's not likely to change.