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Chris Young voluntarily ended his 2009 season pitching for the San Diego Padres, opting instead for arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder to repair an injury that has prevented him from pitching since June 14. The Padres' team physician, Heinz Hoenecke, will perform the surgery on Monday (Aug. 17).

Young, in this story by Corey Brock of MLB.com, felt compelled to have the surgery in order to be fully ready for the start of spring training in February 2010. The 1999 HP graduate who took the Scots to the state title finishes the season 4-6 with a 5.21 ERA in only 76 innings. He tried two attempts at throwing on the side following the injury, but the pain would not go away.

The season-ending surgery will postpone for another year the first meeting between Young and fellow ex-HP ace Clayton Kershaw. The two have yet to start against each other, but the Padres and Dodgers will play 18 times in the 2010 season.

Just checked the TV listings, and HP-ex Matthew Stafford's NFL quarterbacking debut will be shown on the NFL Network at 9 a.m. Monday morning (Aug. 17).

Stafford entered the game at the 6:31 mark of the second quarter, meaning it's a good guess he will appear in the edited re-broadcast around 9:20-9:30 a.m.

We link to the Detroit Free Press' story on Matthew Stafford and his first game appearance in a Lions uniform. It's complimentary of ex-HP quarterback's response to throwing an interception on one of his first NFL passes:

Stafford overcomes rough start

Taken from the Detroit Lions' website, here are some selected post-game quotes from Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford on his debut, along with head coach Jim Schwartz:

I just saw the highlights from Detroit's preseason game tonight and Matthew Stafford's debut. He threw an interception before he threw a TD, but such are the ways of rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. Both plays went for touchdowns - the one of offense looked a lot better.

In fact, it was the same pass so many HP and Georgia fans have seen over the years. Fade pattern to the right side, where only the receiver has a chance to catch the pass. Stafford lofted it, or zipped it (can you do both on the same pass?) right over the shoulders of Derrick Williams, who hauled it in at the goalline desptie baing mauled for a 25-yard score. Two stories in the Detroit newspapers called it a "gutsy" throw. We all know he's thrown that pass in his sleep for years.

The interception came after Stafford bobbled a shotgun snap, picked up the ball, and then threw off his back foot to the sideline, a sure-death result for any NFL quarterback. The receiver never had a shot, but Falcons linebacker Tony Gilbert sure did on the 42-yard return for a touchdown.

Stafford, who entered the game with 6:31 left in the second quarter, led Detroit on an 80-yard touchdown drive on the next possession. Detroit won, 27-26, on Jason Hanson's last-second field goal.

I've never been a Joe Torre fan. Can't say why exactly - maybe because he spend so many years with the Yankees. But after having a pre-game shoot-the-bull conversation with him back in June when the Dodgers played in Arlington, and after reading his quotes from afar regarding Clayton Kershaw this season, I'm fast coming over to his side. Here's what Torre said in Ken Gurnick's story on MLB.com following Kershaw's tough stay on the mound Friday night:

"The kid battled," said Torre. "It was interesting. His last bad start he couldn't throw strikes. Today, he threw strikes, he got ahead in counts, but didn't do a good enough job with two strikes. His balls found the middle of the plate."

That's as close as it comes to a manager defending his player after a frustrating game. It was more runs than Kershaw had allowed in a start since May 12. Of course, when your own lineup only scores one run, it's hard to make any pitcher a winner. But I like the fact that Torre still calls Kershaw "a kid" even though he's been in the Dodgers' clubhouse for more than a year now. That's code for cutting Kershaw some slack as he continues to learn and achieve in the major leagues.

Kershaw's next start is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 at home against St. Louis, a lineup he held scoreless for eight innings with a four-hitter last month in St. Louis.

It was a rough night for Clayton Kershaw in Arizona on Friday. The former Scot pitcher was roughed up for three hits in a four-run, 35-pitch second inning, but also gave up three walks and had two wild pitches. Control wasn't an issue - Kershaw racked up nine strikeouts - but it just didn't go his way, prompting him to release a rare strong show of emotion in slamming his glove down in the dugout after coming out and kicking a cup on the ground.

Kershaw's comments, as told postgame to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (read the story here):
"It was frustrating," he said. "It was a bad inning. I could have controlled the damage a lot better than I did. I didn't do it. I felt fine physically, but couldn't put the ball where I wanted it and didn't have control of anything. They had good at-bats. There were no easy outs. There were going deep into counts. Every time I felt I had to strike them out to get them out."

Kershaw, now 8-7 with a 2.91 ERA, came into the game carrying a 5-1 record with a 1.08 ERA in his past 10 starts. The four runs were the most he had given up since May 12.

For the second time in three starts, ex-HP pitcher Clayton Kershaw pitched a great game only to see the LA Dodgers' bullpen lose the game afterward. Kershaw had a two-hitter through seven innings against Atlanta on Saturday night, but was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded in a scoreless game. Pinch-hitter Mark Loretta struck out swinging, and Atlanta ended up winning 2-1 in 10 innings.

Kershaw also struck out 10 batters, beautifully displayed in the video coupled with this game report. Choose Kershaw's video from the selections below the main video box.

I gotta say, it's just fun watching Clayton pitch in the bigs now. And I love these video wrap-ups watching him make hitters look silly with his breaking ball.

Or so says Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. And so did the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan in Monarrez's recap of Day 5 of the team's training camp. Here's the story link, but we present this snippet to whet your appetite:

But when it came to discussing No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford, Linehan could not say enough good things.

"I don't feel like I'm coaching or talking to a rookie when we work with him," Linehan said. "I know you hear that and it's not just talking, saying that's how it is because he was the No. 1 pick and all that stuff. He has a very natural feel for the game and understands concepts. He can translate things he's done before to what he's doing now without a lot of repetition. He can go right to it and make that decision and make that transformation. So, pretty impressive that way."

Linehan was asked if Stafford at least had to unlearn anything from college that might not translate in the NFL. On the contrary, Linehan said, all of Stafford's previous experience has him primed to succeed at this level.

Stafford looked sharper than Daunte Culpepper and Stanton. Stafford did a good job with his reads and fitting passes into tight spots. Culpepper connected with tight end Jake Nordin on a bootleg that resulted in a touchdown. But during a situational drill, Culpepper's offense looked out of sync, and after a long pass fell incomplete without a receiver in the area, he yelled in frustration.

We plan to bring you daily highlights, or at least updates, on former HP quarterback Matthew Stafford and his competition with former All-Pro QB Daunte Culpepper for the starting job in Detroit. Here is today's camp highlights, courtesy of Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press:

CAMP HIGHLIGHTS: Quarterback Matthew Stafford looked better than Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton. Stafford did a good job with his reads and fitting passes into tight spots. During seven-on-seven drills, he read the defense well and checked down to Adam Jennings, who dropped the ball.

Stafford will get his first game test on Sept. 15 when the Lions host the Atlanta Falcons in a preseason game.