The New York Times News Service article on former Eastlake and San Diego high schools basketball star Jeremy Tyler Tuesday (love that new SignonSanDiego Web site, groan, can't even find a link now), which was splashed on the front page of Yahoo! on Monday, is certainly a cautionary tale about sending a child into a man's world literally on the other side of the earth.
Tyler, if the article is accurate, appears about as mature as I was at that age, or you were (are). Which is to say, not very. But that's okay. The one thing sadly missing from the entire Tyler tale is he is missing out on his childhood and the personal growth process that comes with it. The poor guy should be just a kid enjoying his senior year of high school without a bunch of adults pushing him to be something now that he won't be for a few years.
The article makes it seem like the problem is Jeremy Tyler. It's not. The problem is the adults who surround him, constantly pushing him faster and faster toward imagined millions until he now obviously believes it all himself. Because the adults are saying the dream is true, Tyler has fully bought in to the fantasy long before he can make it a reality.
You can't punish a teenager for being immature, especially when he's alone in a foreign country. Immature is what he is supposed to be.
A couple other thoughts:
-- the Israeli coaches and teammates say the kid can't play and knows very little about the game. That's why he left San Diego, because he wasn't going to get better here. The high school basketball coaching and competition here just isn't that great. We have some wonderful exceptions here, of course, but Tyler's shortcomings are the exact reason why he went somewhere else, so he could learn. No surprise.
-- Tyler's unwillingness to work to improve his game, if the article is correct, could fill several posts in itself. Inattention to fundamentals is what constantly costs Americans in international competition, but you've heard all that before. Now couple that with Obama's America, where the expectation that everything should just be handed to us has come to fruition, and you end up with not just Jeremy Tyler, but millions of Jeremy Tylers. Thankfully, there are millions of others, youth and adults, who have not abandoned the work ethic, but the reason why our nation is in some trouble is that too many have slid down the easy path.
My bet is the kid will come home after the season, reflect, and go back to Haifa next year as a much-improved player.
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The biggest off-season question in local baseball circles is whether the Padres will hold onto 1B Adrian Gonzalez or trade him for prospects. The problem is that he'll command a hefty salary after next year, more than the Friars can afford, so do they trade him now for a pile of prospects, send him packing in a more hasty trading deadline deal next summer, or let him go free agent after 2010 in exchange for a first round compensatory draft pick?
The discussion over Gonzalez' fate arose after the team sent a season-ticket brochure that didn't include the picture of their most-marketable player. New GM Jed Hoyer might be tempted to work a trade since he tried to obtain him for his previous employer, the Red Sox, a franchise brimming with young talent. Plus, the Padres have a ready-made replacement in slugger Kyle Blanks.
It will all come down to Hoyer's assessment of the Padres personnel.
My own opinion is they have a pretty good foundation from which to build from. They aren't the contenders former GM Kevin Towers believes them to be, but neither do they need an infusion of young prospects -- more foundation. They need to plug in actual star players at a few weak spots: CF and the starting rotation, and then they might actually be competitive in the NL West. You don't build up by sending out the face of the franchise.
The most recent example of a stars-for-prospects trade was P Jake Peavy to the White Sox. The kids they received in return were kinda, sorta, okay. Nothing special. Unfortunately, nothing special won't get them anywhere in the NL West race.
It'll be interesting to see if Hoyer views the Padres the way I do. I'm sure he won't see them as Towers did -- it's partly why he was let go. However, if he pulls the trigger on a Gonzalez-for-prospects trade, it will be because he doesn't think there is much talent here at all.
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Mid-season grades for the various Chargers units:
Quarterback: A.
Philip Rivers is among the top five in the NFL.
Running Back: B.
Few yards, but there aren't holes. Sproles and Hester have made great plays, on offense and special teams, that have won games.
Receivers: A.
Vincent Jackson is third in receiving yards for a reason. Malcolm Floyd made my preseason prediction of a breakthrough a winner.
Offensive Line: D.
Can't push a chair across the floor, but pass blocking has improved a bit.
Defensive Line: C.
Still not strong vs. the run, but not getting blown off the ball anymore. The LBs are now getting to the QB, so the line has to be doing something right in tying up opposing pass blockers.
Linebackers: C.
Still struggling overall, but pass rush has improved as Shawne Merriman gets back in the swing of things.
Defensive Backs:
C-minus. An F a few weeks ago, maybe, but improved heat on opposing passers helps.
Kickers: A.
Not much needs to be said.
Coaching: B.
Steady and unspectacular, and again held the team together following a rough start. A 5-3 record and a deficit of only one game in the AFC West has them sitting pretty.
Comparing the Chargers and Broncos schedules over the next few weeks, I think there's a very good chance the Bolts will be in first place by the time we send our relatives home on Thanksgiving night.
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