Talking Points 8/28

1

So Darron Thomas will start at quarterback for the Oregon Ducks.

Coach Chip Kelly announced via Twitter on Friday that the redshirt sophomore beat out fifth-year senior Nate Costa for the job in competition to that started in the spring.

Big news for Ducks fans.

But this doesn’t mean Thomas has locked down the job for the next three years. Nor will he be asked to carry the Ducks, who have the best running game in the Pac-10.

Besides, as Costa knows from painful experience, Oregon quarterbacks don’t often survive a season without getting hurt. He’ll likely get his chance.

2

Stephen Stasburg lived up to the hype when he joined the Washington Nationals this season. In 12 major-league starts he struck out 92 of the 274 hitters he faced.

It now appears we won’t see Strasburg pitch in 2011. He is seeking a second opinion, but it appears he will undergo Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow. That means 12 to 18 months of rehab.

It’s tempting to wonder if overwork contributed to the injury, although we’ll never know the answer. Still, Strasburg is lucky. And not only because he is young and wealthy.

He’s lucky because the surgery exists to save his pitching career. Tommy John surgery has saved the careers of many pitchers. It doesn’t always work, and there’s no guarantee Strasburg will be the awe-inspiring thrower he was before the injury.

But all baseball fans should be pulling for him.