I caught up with Braves relief pitcher Peter Moylan in the middle of spring training in the Atlanta clubhouse. Peter's a jovial guy who is looking to crack jokes whenever he can and often answers questions with a tinge of sarcasm. He's a real joy to interview, and he's someone who is almost always available to answer a few questions. Hopefully we'll get to see him pitch again this year, but it's looking more and more like he's destined for Tommy John surgery.

Martin Gandy:  So how was your off-season.

Peter Moylan:  It was good, really good. I went back [to Australia], worked out a lot actually, went down to the beach a lot, and swam and ran and hopped on the bike... tanned, all the important stuff.

MG:  Did you work on anything in particular?

PM:  No, not really. I started playing catch in November and didn't throw any pins until I came over here, then when I came over here is when I started getting it going again.

MG:  How would you assess your 2007 season?

PM:  It was pretty good. There's room for improvement. I've spent the majority of spring training working on a change-up that will help me be more consistent against left-handed hitters. I'm looking forward to starting the year, and there are new challenges every year, and it's going to be tough to build on what happened last year but I just sort of see it as a challenge.

MG:  Do you feel that your role is defined already as the setup man?

PM:  People have told me that as well, but nothing has been said, and no one actually comes and says, "oh, your role's going to be this."

MG:  What about long relief, you did a lot of long relief early in the season last year. Which role do you prefer?

PM:  Doesn't matter if it's the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth inning, it doesn't matter, I go at it with the same mindset.

MG:  Well, there's a difference in pitching three than pitching one inning.

PM:  Sure, but you get more rest when you pitch three. I'm the kind of guy that wants the ball every single day, so it doesn't matter to me what inning it is.

MG:  Describe yourself as a pitcher.

PM:  Junk-baller.

MG:  Junk-baller? A side-arm junk-baller.

PM:  You got it. I pitch to contact to try and get guys to hit it on the ground.

MG:  Now that Damian Moss is in camp along with Phil Stockman, do you feel any extra pressure being that the team still does have a one Aussi policy?

PM:  Well, I think we're going to break that tradition. There's always room for more Australians -- that's just how we roll.

MG:  You're just taking over the baseball world.

PM:  <laughing> That's right! One Aussi at a time.

MG:  Do you look at your stats during the season?

PM:  Not really, but it's pretty hard not to with reporters asking questions about certain stats. But I don't go home after every game and see how my ERA's looking. I know whether I've done my job and that's all I care about.

MG:  Do you pay any attention to any one particular stat?

PM:  I mean ERA's can get... you have one bad outing in a year and your ERA can get blown out of proportion.

MG:  Okay, thanks a lot Peter.

Here is my spring interview with Jeff Francoeur. It's a pretty short one, Frenchy was in a hurry and didn't have that much time to stop and talk. One of my questions is no longer relevant, but I left it in there because I like how he answered it. Hopefully you will enjoy this brief interview with Jeff Francoeur.

Martin Gandy:  How was your off-season?

Jeff Francoeur:  It was good. I got married, obviously. Other than that, just worked out a lot and tried to get ready for the season the best I can.

MG:  How much did the wedding planning and events intersect with your baseball-related off-season?

JF:  It wasn't bad, because I got married so early, so when we got back I just got going right away and kept it going -- it was fun.

MG:  Did you work on anything in particular this off-season?

JF:  Like I said, just really getting stronger -- lifting a lot and trying to work on that and seeing what could happen. So far I feel good this spring.

MG:  How would you assess your 2007 season?

JF:  I would say it was a good step for me in my development as a player. I got a lot better in certain areas and hopefully I can continue to strive for more of that this year, to keep doing better and move up. I feel like I got a good start and made some adjustments last year and hopefully I can continue to make them this year.

MG:  Have you set any goals for yourself this year?

JF:  Not really. Obviously as a power hitter your goal is always 100 RBI if you get the chance. But my goal is really just to concentrate on my on-base percentage going up and getting walks.

MG:  Some people describe you as the sexy guy on the Atlanta roster.

JF:  <laugh>

MG:  Do you feel threatened, now that Javy Lopez is back, that he might steal that title?

JF:  I think that's gone. I think Javy's got it back -- all the girls love Javy. So, what are you gonna do.

MG:  What is your favorite baseball interview cliche that you use?

JF:  Probably "just continue to improve." You hear everybody say it all the time, and it's the truth.

The interviews are back after a two week hiatus of opening week distractions and computer breakdowns. I caught up with Braves reliever Blaine Boyer during the middle of spring training in the Braves clubhouse before a game. Blaine's a great guy to talk to because he'll ramble on and on with every question you ask him, which makes his answers all the more interesting. He's also extremely nice and always has time to answer every question. He wears a small wooden cross on a string around his neck and seems like he's a very spiritual person, but still humble in his spirituality -- you'll see some of that come across in this interview.

Martin Gandy:  Talk about the last couple of years with the injuries and what you've gone through.

Blaine Boyer:  I had surgery in 06 and I came back and got injured the last day of spring [07], my oblique. I rehabbed that for the first month, came back, went to Richmond, pitched there for two, three weeks, called up to Atlanta, pitched in Atlanta for a little bit and then they wanted me to start down in Richmond, so I went down to Richmond to start and finished up there in Richmond last year.

MG:  How is it going back and forth between starting and relieving; you actually led the Southern League in innings several years ago as a starter.

BB:  It's a different animal for me, and for some people it's not, but for me it was different because I didn't really want to, but I changed my mentality when it came to starting and relieving. I think I tried to pace myself too much as a starter, and that's something you really just can't do. You could be throwing four scoreless and I'm always thinking, "gotta get to the seventh inning." I wish you could just go max out every time, every pitch, kind of like I feel that I can relieving. Just being able to go in there and just trying to blow people's doors off. As a reliever that's kind of more my mentality. I wasn't able to perfectly harness that when it came to starting.

MG:  So you almost prefer relieving, is that what you've come to realize?

BB:  I honestly will do whichever one, I don't really care. I don't necessarily prefer one over the other, I just know that I'm kind of more geared towards relieving right now.

MG:  How would you describe yourself as a pitcher?

BB:  Fastball, change-up, curveball guy. I've got a good fastball, good change-up, good curveball on any given day. I like to go after hitters and just attack the strike zone -- don't really give into anybody. That's really kind of how I gear myself as a pitcher.

MG:  How disappointing was it getting injured right there at the end of 2005?

BB:  It was pretty devastating, especially going into the playoffs -- you know, that's what you dream. I contribute it a lot to what God had in store for me, and I was really able to go through an interesting time where He taught me a lot of lessons through the downs and some of the ups as well. But right now I feel better than I did in 05. I feel like I've got more pop in my fastball, and I'm able to throw my curveball and change-up for more strikes now. So I'm super-blessed to be where I'm at right now, so I wouldn't change it for the world. I hate the fact that I had to miss out on 06 and have that surgery, but you know what, He had His plan, and His plan is certainly better than my plan.

MG:  Did you do any special rehab this off-season to build yourself back into top playing shape?

BB:  This past off-season I got together with Frank Fultz, our strength coach, and I absolutely crushed my legs. I just wanted to get my legs as strong as I could possibly get them to take some pressure off my arm and really just get my body in good shape, or where it was, and I've gone beyond that point now. It was a great off-season workout -- something I'm certainly not going to change here in the future.

I caught up with Mark Teixeira in the Braves clubhouse just before batting practice. He is a pretty intense person and while he may come off as a bit short below, that’s just how he it -- succinct and to the point. He also seems like a really nice guy and he was gracious enough to take time before he had to go out for BP to talk with me.

Martin Gandy:  How did you spend your off-season? 

Mark Teixeira:  Working out, hitting, running, doing all the thing to get me ready for the season.

MG:  Do you work on any particular part of your game?

MT:  No I’m just working on getting everything better, everything tuned up and ready for the season.

MG:  How would you assess your 2007 season?

MT:  Successful -- I wish we would have made the playoffs, but it’s a good learning experience for this year and it makes us hungrier.

MG:  How was it being back in Atlanta, I know you went to school here at Tech?

MT:  It’s great, you know, I’m seeing a lot of friends and family that I don’t get to see a lot, and being back in a city that I know and with a team that has a chance to win.

MG:  Making any long term plans in Atlanta?

MT:  No, no long term plans anywhere right now.

MG:  That was a good dodge. Describe yourself as a hitter?

MT:  O, I let other people describe me as a hitter -- you can ask someone else that question.

MG:  Are you big on video of yourself to help you work on your swing?

MT:  Yeah, there’s always ways to improve, and I think that watching video and getting scouting reports are always good -- they are always successful ways to make you a better hitter.

MG:  What are you looking at when you watch video?

MT:  Just positive reinforcement.

MG:  Last questions, what is your favorite baseball interview cliché that you like to say?

MT:  Um, "taking it one game at a time."

MG:  How often do you use that?

MT:  It’s true, it’s a cliché but it’s true, and especially in baseball, that’s the only way to do it. If you’re worried about 162 games in April it’s going to be a long season for you.

MG:  Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.

MT:  All right, no problem.

Brandon's a real nice kid and very easy to talk to while still a little shy. I caught up to him at his locker in the Braves clubhouse about two weeks ago when he was still trying to make the team (he has since been cut and assigned to triple-A Richmond). His answers are bit shorter than most player's answers, and I probably didn't catch him at the most opportune time, but it is what it is -- there's some interesting stuff about Mexico and what he's working on in his swing.

Martin Gandy:  So how was your off-season?

Brandon Jones:  My off-season was good -- it was kind of short, I went over to Mexico to play winter ball. I was over there for like two and a half months.

MG:  That's right you were; you played a lot in center field out there, how was that, was that your first time in center?

BJ:  I mean, not really, I played a little bit in center last spring. They needed someone to play center, so I played a little center field over there -- it wasn't bad.

MG:  How was playing in Mexico, have you ever done that before?

BJ:  No, it was way different. [laughing] Way different.

MG:  What was different about it that sticks out in your mind?

BJ:  The games are a lot slower over there, and the atmosphere was just different -- just different from the States.

MG:  Did you work on anything in particular while you were down there?

BJ:  I was just over there getting at-bats in, just trying to help out with staying back on off-speed pitches -- that was basically it.

MG:  What kind of hitter do you see yourself as?

BJ:  More of a line drive type of hitter. I've got a little power, and I like to try to stay in the gaps and try not to pull too much.

MG:  Do you watch any video or film of yourself hitting?

BJ:  I mean, I haven't this spring, but I probably need to start watching a little video to see what I'm doing wrong and all that.

MG:  Do you feel you're not right yet?

BJ:  No, I'm not right.

MG:  Does this happen every spring?

BJ:  Basically, yeah, I start off slow. Hopefully I can get things going here quick.

MG:  What do you think you'll look for when you look at video?

BJ:  I've been trying to look at my at-bats this spring so I can correct the stuff that I'm doing or not doing.

I caught up with Brent Lillibridge a week ago in the Braves clubhouse just after a ballgame. He's a great young man to interview -- very attentive and responds with what I think are pretty complete answers.

Martin Gandy:  So how was your 2007 off-season?

Brent Lillibridge:  It was good, it was relaxing, and I got healthy which was the number one purpose of the off-season. I didn't go rushing, trying to play some extra baseball or anything like that.

MG:  You were supposed to go down and play winter ball weren't you?

BL:  Yeah, I was supposed to go to Mexico, and that was just all dependant on how my body and my wrist felt. By the time I started to fell 100 percent it was about December it would have been starting all over again, and you don't want to be thrown into the middle of a bunch of guys who have been playing at least an extra 50 games. So it was the best situation; I get to work out and get strong and then hit a bunch at home. Then I came here and I'm feeling pretty good. Just getting the reps in, getting a bunch of innings in, getting a bunch of at-bats -- which is going to be huge for me, and I think I'm in a better situation this year with how I feel at the plate, than I usually do until the end of April.

MG:  Did you work on anything in particular this off-season?

BL:  Just being able to swing -- that was the big thing -- without any pain. Having comfort hitting the inside pitch without having pain when swinging. So, it was good, I just got a `bunch' of swings in, which is always important. I came down here early swinging.

Note:  During that last answer, he was holding his wrist and showing it as the place where he was injured.

MG:  Is the wrist thing a new thing or is that something that's been going of for a couple of years?

BL:  It's been in and out, it all depends on a bad swing or a tweak. It was the left wrist, and basically I got a slight inflammation that just doesn't go away, and I have a sharp pain when I did swing. And it bugged me, but I played the whole season last year -- half the season with it, and obviously did fine. Now that I'm 100 percent I'm definitely excited about seeing where the opportunity takes me.

MG:  You're a guy who steals a lot of bases, so are you one that slides in head first or feet first?

BL:  I'm usually a head first guy.

MG:  Is that going to change?

BL:  I think there's some advantage to it. Some situations you're going to see me still go head first, but when I think I have the base stolen I'll probably go feet first. Everywhere else on the bases I'll go feet first, just for protection-wise and longevity. When you're playing this game you've got to stay healthy, and that's the number one reason.

MG:  Do they have you playing any other positions this year in anticipation of you maybe being a utility guy and filling in for Infante?

BL:  Yeah, I hope so. I've been playing a bunch of third base and shortstop -- basically half and half -- and been doing really well defensively. I haven't played third base in pretty much my whole career, and I looked pretty good. I made the regular plays and tired to make some big plays, but I feel comfortable over there. That's going to be huge thing being able to play utility, and I know I can play second base easily, and just work on maybe turning some double plays and stuff. I want to let them know I can play anywhere and I can do that job.

MG:  How about centerfield?

BL:  Nothing's been said or anything. I played centerfield my first two years of college. I played on the USA team as the starting centerfielder, so I've got plenty of time, but recently none, but catching fly balls in not as hard a transition as going from playing the outfield to the infield. I definitely think it'd be smooth if I had to go out there for one game -- it's obviously not a long term thing -- but wherever it takes to be on the roster come April first or second or whenever that is and we'll just go from there.

MG:  Okay, good luck to you.

BL:  Thank you.

Photo of Brent Lillibridge courtesy of Chip Jett.

I caught up with Braves pitcher John Smoltz in the clubhouse at Champion stadium last week. John was in between workouts and was gracious enough to answer all of my questions. He's one of these guys who has been around long enough to know how interviews go. He took his time answering questions while he patiently sat in his locker. I really relished the opportunity to once again talk with John -- his demeanor makes him easy to talk to (even though he's sort of larger than life). I hope you enjoy this, the first in my series of 2008 Spring Training Interviews.

Martin Gandy:  How was your off-season?

John Smoltz:  My off-season was a very interesting one with a lot of challenges, but it ultimately was a good one.

MG:  Do you pay attention to or watch the moves the club makes in the off-season, and how did you feel about those moves?

JS:  I feel good about our moves. Everyone's made some moves to improve in our division, and I think our moves were as good as they could have been. We addressed them in the off-season instead of a trade here or there at the All-Star break or shortly after; I live what we've done.

MG:  Of the teams you've seen over the years since you've been a Brave, how would you compare this one to those teams?

JS:  Well, it has the deepest rotation than we've had in a long time, and so comparisons will have to be made based on how we go out and produce; but it has on paper the deepest staff we've ever had.

MG:  Are you excited to have the guy in the locker next to you [Tom Glavine] back?

JS:  Yeah, you know it's like he never left and certainly he's going to help us win. You know when he was here for 14, or how ever many years it was, we were in the playoffs so hopefully we can continue his string while he's been here.

MG:  How would you describe yourself as a pitcher?

JS:  I think I'm one guy who can adapt to many different situations both physically and mentally and be able to get a guy out, and figure a way to get a guy out.

MG:  Do you find yourself, as you're getting older, trying to reinvent yourself or change yourself?

JS:  No, I'm still trying to upgrade, I still have -- I believe -- the ability to upgrade, the ability to make pitches when I have to, and certainly I still think I can get better.

MG:  Are you working on any of that changing or getting better on the back fields in the early days while doing your own spring training regimen?

JS:  I'm working on some pitches that are going to help me take some stress off the rest of the year, and hopefully make me and us a better team for it.

MG:  Where did you get that idea?

JS:  Well, I've been wanting to do it for years, but this is the best time and opportunity to do it. I made some improvements last year on it and I want to build on it.

MG:  Are you teaching yourself these pitches, or is anyone else helping you learn these new pitches?

JS:  No, I'm pretty much working on them. I know that I've had a lot of experience in how to throw certain pitches -- just have to execute them over and over again to feel confident under the gun.

MG:  Thanks a lot for your time, I appreciate it.

JS:  You got it.

Photo of John Smoltz courtesy of Chip Jett.

Your friendly neighborhood blogger was working tirelessly down in Florida the past couple of weeks trying to snag all the interviews he could. He/I was moderately successful - about as good as last year - getting many of the big names, both Atlanta Braves and Braves prospects.

I'll be posting them beginning with a John Smoltz interview hopefully tomorrow. After that I'll be posting the other interviews every other day or so. In the past I've committed to a schedule only not to live up to it, so this year I'm not putting myself on a timeline, but I will try to get them out in a timely manner. They will be released in the following order:

John Smoltz
Brent Lillibridge
Brandon Jones
Mark Teixeira
Blaine Boyer
Brian McCann
Jeff Francoeur
Peter Moylan
Mark Kotsay
Chipper Jones
Charlie Morton
Jason Heyward
Gorkys Hernandez
Jordan Schafer
Eric Campbell
Jeff Locke

Those of you who have seen my interviews before know that I have a standard battery of questions which I ask each player. After a few interviews you'll figure out the usual questions. This may seem a bit repetitive, but I enjoy seeing how different players answer the same questions. It's interesting to see the differences or similarities of opinions on the same team.

I'm starting with Smoltz and Lilli as they are pretty good interviews. Some of them are a bit short, including McCann and Kotsay, but others are pretty long. Boyer, Chipper, Morton, and Locke are all talkers, so those are going to be some long interviews, and they should be really enjoyable.