Our own Martin Gandy was interviewed this week in USA Today's Sports Weekly for his work at www.talkingchop.com! We're pretty excited for Martin as you can probably tell. Here's the story as told by Mr. Gandy...otherwise known as Gondeee to his fans...

Sometime last week I got a rather innocuous email from a reporter from USA Today's Sports Weekly who asked if I would be open to doing an interview about blogging and the Braves. I said yes, he sent me some questions, I sent him back the answers, and lo and behold it now appears in this week's edition of the paper/magazine. If you turn to page 12, you'll see this:

In the interest of not reprinting full stories or articles (something news outlets don't like you to do - something about selling papers), I will only post the first half of the interview. I am told that it may appear on line at some point, so I'll let you know when that happens.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads and/or comments on this blog. I have seen the Talking Chop readership grow by leaps and bounds over the past year, and it's nice to know that all this blather I'm constantly spewing is not falling on completely deaf ears. Thanks for reading and participating, and Go Braves!

Another pitcher goes down for the season…

Via the Blue Jays Media Relations Department:

The TORONTO BLUE JAYS announce that LHP B.J. RYAN underwent surgery today to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (Tommy John Surgery) in his left elbow. The surgery was performed by Dr. Timothy E. Kremchek in Cincinnati and was deemed successful. Under the advisement of Dr. Kremchek, Ryan is expected to ready for spring training next season.

RYAN, 31, first experienced soreness in March during spring training. As per the advice of Dr. James Andrews and in conjunction with team doctors, it was recommended he rest and rehab for two weeks. At the conclusion of this period, Ryan was pain free and began throwing.

After his appearance on April 14 vs. Detroit he complained of pain in the elbow and stated it was worse than it had been previously. Ryan was shut down immediately and traveled to see Dr. Andrews, at which time he received an MRI. After examination Dr Andrews in consultation with Dr. Kremchek agreed the best course of action was four weeks of rest. As is common with this program his arm was tested after the third week of the four week program. The test was administered by Dr Keith Meister in Texas. As the pain had not subsided surgery became an option.

Ryan traveled to Dr, Kremchek’s office on May 8^th, at which time he recommended surgery. After consultation with the Club, all parties agreed UCL surgery was the best option. It was completed today May 10^th.

After just a month into the season, the Cincinnati Reds have sent third baseman Edwin Encarncacion to the minors. According to the article at SI.com, the Reds grew weary of his inconsistency in hitting and fielding. Hello...it's one month!

Does this sound familiar to the way the Pirates treated Aramis Ramirez when he was in Pittsburgh? Well that worked out well huh? Now Ramirez is a perennial All-Star in Chicago.

Unbelievable...

Photo: Bill Richardson, Baseball Digest Daily

David Ortiz had a monster offensive night for the Red Sox Wednesday

• Prince Fielder reached base 3 times, and Geoff Jenkins had 2 hits, a home run, and drove in 2 as the Brewers beat the Nationals, 3-1, to win their 6th straight game. Claudio Vargas allowed just one run on 4 hits in 6 innings for Milwaukee, and Jason Bergmann yielded just one run on 2 hits over those same 6 innings for Washington.
• Aaron Miles had 3 hits, and Scott Spiezio had 2 hits, 2 RBI, scored twice, and walked as the Cardinals cruised past the Rockies, 9-2.
• Carlos Delgado homered, doubled, and drove in 2, and David Wright reached base twice and had 2 RBI as the Mets took the rubber game of the series against the Giants, 5-3. Dave Roberts hit a home run, walked, and drove in 2 runs for San Francisco.
• Ryan Howard hit a grand slam, and Shane Victorino added a 2-run shot as the Phillies scored 9 times over the last 3 frames to crush the Diamondbacks, 9-3. Jamie Moyer picked up his 4th win of the season, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings. Randy Johnson gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings for Arizona. He also struck out 9.
• Andy LaRoche reached base 4 times, and 5 different Dodgers drove in a run as Los Angeles defeated Florida, 5-3. Brett Tomko picked up his first win of the season after allowing 3 runs in 6 2/3 innings.
• Cha Seung Baek pitched a complete game 6-hitter, Jose Guillen homered and drove in 4 runs, and Raul Ibanez had 3 hits, 2 runs, a double, and an RBI to lead the Mariners to an easy 9-2 win over the Tigers.
• Tampa Bay’s James Shields pitched 9 scoreless innings and allowed just 3 hits, and Baltimore’s Erik Bedard pitched 7 scoreless innings and also allowed just 3 hits but neither pitcher figured in the decision. Instead it came down to Aubrey Huff and the bullpens to decide the outcome of the game. Huff would ultimately leave the evening a hero after belting a solo walk-off home run in the last of 10th inning to score the game’s only run and give the Orioles a 1-0 win over the Devil Rays.
• Mike Mussina pitched 6 solid innings, and Derek Jeter had 2 hits, a walk, a stolen base, and 3 RBI as the Yankees record reached .500 with a 6-2 win over the Rangers on Wednesday night. Sammy Sosa had 2 hits and Brad Wilkerson hit a home run for Texas.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed just one run in 7 strong innings, and David Ortiz went 4-for-5 with a double, home run, and 3 RBI to pace the Red Sox offense and lead Boston to a 9-3 win over Toronto. Alex Rios went 4-for-4 with a double and a walk, and Lyle Overbay hit 2 home runs for Toronto.
• Woody Williams allowed 2 runs on 6 hits in 6 2/3 innings, and Lance Berkman homered and drove in 2 runs as the Astros edged the Reds, 3-2. Matt Belisle was the hard-luck loser for Cincinnati. He pitched 7 innings without giving up an earned run.
• Chipper Jones tied the game with an RBI double in the 7th inning, and Andruw Jones followed with an RBI single to put Atlanta ahead for good and help the Braves to a 3-2 comeback win over the Padres for the second night in a row. John Smoltz pitched 7 strong innings for Atlanta, and his counterpart, Greg Maddux, gave up just one run over 5 1/3 innings for San Diego.
• Alfonso Soriano led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run that would prove to be all the offense Chicago would need as Jason Marquis pitched a brilliant 3-hitter and the Cubs went on to shut out the Pirates, 1-0.  Tom Gorzelanny pitched very well for Pittsburgh despite taking the loss. He allowed just one run on 6 hits in 7 innings of work.
• Paul Konerko and Rob Mackowiak each reached base 3 times, and Ryan Sweeney drove in 2 runs to help the White Sox to a 6-3 win over the Twins. Rookie John Danks picked up his first major league victory after allowing just one run on 3 hits in 6 2/3 innings for Chicago.
• Mike Sweeney hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie, and the Royals bullpen hung on in the 9th inning to preserve the 3-2 win over the A’s. Gil Meche had another strong outing for Kansas City while Dan Haren was equally as impressive for Oakland. Mark Teahen reached base 3 times for KC, and Jason Kendall had 3 hits for the Athletics.
• Kendry Morales hit a 2-run home run in the 7th inning, and Gary Matthews Jr. followed with a solo shot in the 8th inning as the Angels rallied to beat the Indians, 3-2. Both starting pitchers, Paul Byrd of Cleveland and Jered Weaver of Los Angeles, had respectable outings on the hill. 

BDD Player of the Day – Chicago Cubs Pitcher Jason Marquis