We here at Talking Chop aren't going to let you lose the Braves fever just because their season is over. We have another week of coverage planned with more position reviews and prospect rundowns to go along with the positional round tables.

This week we will be looking at the middle INF positions.

Monday: First Basemen Round Table Post
Tuesday: Season in Review: 2B Martin Prado
Wednesday: Top-5 Minor League Second Basemen
Thursday: Second Basemen Round Table Post
Friday: Season in Review: SS Yunel Escobar
Saturday: Top-5 Minor League Shortstops
Sunday: Shortstop Round Table Post

I'd like to congratulate Rickey Henderson on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Many Braves fans get sore at the mention of the Hall because one of the Braves greats, Dale Murphy, has been repeatedly denied entry. The pros and cons for Murphy's induction are argued about every year with little change in the voting in his favor. As for Henderson, there isn't much doubt that he deserved to be in there.

Back in March of 2007, I traveled down to Florida for Spring Training, taking in not only Braves games but other teams in other stadiums. I was lucky enough to have press access to some of these stadiums, including the Mets facility in Port St. Lucie. It was there on the dugout bench during batting practice that I saw Rickey Henderson sitting and talking to a reporter. I got up the courage and sat next to the reporter and waited my turn to talk to the stolen base king.

It's still one of those pinch-me moments, but on that spring day in Florida, I did one of the best interviews I have ever done, and had one of the most candid conversations with a ball player that I've ever had -- and it was future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

I figured this was a perfect time to share that interview once again. Click here to read the interview over at Baseball Digest Daily. Enjoy.

I was lucky enough to get a press credential to Saturday's game against the Brewers at Turner Field. I wouldn't say I was unprepared for the game, but I really didn't have any prepared questions for players like I usually do. I was thinking about what to ask the guys all week, but it just felt cheap asking them things like "how do you feel now that you're out of the race," or "were you disappointed when they traded Teixeira?" I felt that all the normal questions would illicit the same cliched answers and nothing really new, so I took a different approach.

When I walked into the clubhouse a few hours before the game, Smoltz, Glavine, and Frenchy were sitting around one of the tables in the clubhouse chatting, and Smoltz was doing something on a MacBook computer in front of him. The overall mood of the clubhouse was a little lower key than I've noticed in previous visits, but that could have been just an anomoly.

I always like seeing locker layout in a clubhouse. In the Braves clubhouse Francoeur's locker is next to Smoltz. McCann's locker is next to Glavine's. Kotchman's locker is next to Chipper's. Charlie Morton seemed very relaxed before his start. He was sitting in his locker with Chuck James hanging out next to him for quite a while.

There is a big Latino presence in the clubhouse, and many of their lockers are right next to each other, with Diaz (faux-Latino) in the middle. Everyone seemed to be excited that Vladimir Nunez was back with the big club. He was getting a lot of congratulations and handshakes -- makes me think he might be a popular guy.

I was chatting with Gregor Blanco and asked him if he's playing winter ball again this year and he answered with an emphatic yes. Through our conversation he told me he really enjoys playing and credits the high level of competition in the Venezuelan Winter League with helping him get ready for this season. I jokingly asked him if Jeff Bennett was going to go down there again (Bennett's locker is next to Blanco's) and he seemed to think Bennett really wanted to go down there again and play.

I asked Will Ohman if he did any impressions of any of the other Caray's, he said that he didn't, and he was "nothing but a one-trick Charlie."

Bobby Cox is also a pretty funny guy, and even at his age he fits right in as just one of the guys. Yunel Escobar was walking in from taking batting practice and Cox quipped to him, "103 in Havana today." Esco laughed, as did Martin Prado, who was right behind Escobar. Cox said sarcastically to Prado, "It's 123 in Maracaibo."

Cox is an interesting person to be around because he will tell you what he "really" thinks of certain players or situations. Of course, he does all this with the preface of "this is off the record." Needless to say one can learn a lot about the game by just being around Bobby.

A while later Bobby was in the little TV room just behind the Braves dugout talking with David O'Brien and Mark Bowman and doing the "Bobby Cox Show" for radio-man Mark Lemke. Cox was saying that both Ned Yost and Fredi Garcia should be top choices for Manager of the Year. About two minutes later Ned Yost walks up and a hearty reunion ensues.

I liked the approach I took this time around the team. No prepared questions, but I was able to strike up some good conversations with several of the players. I think players appreciate that kind of chitchat interview better than a formal question and answer interview -- I also appreciate the fact that I don't have transcribe any interviews.

Martin does the question-and-answer crossover with Metsblog once or twice a year when we play them. This time he asked D.J. from Metsblog some questions and I, in turn, answered some of D.J.'s questions concerning the Braves as we head into this three game set with the Mets. If you would like to read my Q.A. just click this right here. Here is what D.J. had to say:

1. If the NL most valuable player were awarded today, would it go to Chipper Jones, Chase Utley, or David Wright, and why? (Bonus points given for objectivity.)

No contest here. Chase Utley by a longshot. He has been completely locked in since day one.

2. Which Carlos -- Beltran or Delgado -- has been more of a disappointment for the Mets this year?

Delgado is becoming a major concern. I'm beginning to come to grips with the strong possibility that he will never be the same hitter again. I'm sure the hip has something to do with it. Even though Beltran hasn't been hitting home runs, he has hit eight doubles and provides tremendous defense in center. I'm confident he'll be fine.

3. With all the catcher movement the Mets did in the off-season, are you happy with the work of Brian Schneider so far? Was he worth the cost of Lastings Milledge?

Schneider has had a rough week. First, he sat out a few games nursing a pretty nasty bruise on his right forearm. Now, it looks like he could be DL-bound because of an infected thumb. Bizzare. I had worries about the Schneider/Ramon Castro combo primarily because Castro is so injury-prone. Now that both catchers are down, we are looking at a Raul Casanova/Gustavo Molina combo, which is far from ideal. It's a shame because Schneider has exceeded my expectations offensively, defensively and strategically, specifically his gameplans with the pitchers. As far as the cost of Milledge, don't overlook the fact that the Mets also got Ryan Church in the trade. Church has been the most consistent hitter in the lineup besides Wright up until this point. Meanwhile, Milledge keeps making the same mistakes he made two years ago as a "rookie." I can't say he is missed at the moment.

4. Would you judge the Mets starting pitching injuries (Pedro and El-Duque) to be more of an impact on your rotation than the Braves starting pitching injuries (Glavine and Hampton)?

It's almost a wash. The way I look at it, none of the four pitchers were expected to be the anchors of their respective staffs. Hampton or Pedro haven't pitched on a regular basis in a couple seasons. No Met fan is surprised that El Duque is out. The real surprise is Tom Glavine going on the DL for the first time in his career, if only because of how well conditioned he is. It seems that age is finally beginning to catch up to him. Part of me would like to see him pitch in this series, just to see the Mets knock him around...you know, like the Braves always used to do when Glavine was on the Mets.

5. Does it concern you that the Mets are currently (as of Tuesday) tied for last in the NL with only 10 homeruns as a team? Can your team compete in the power-hungry NL-East with light-hitters like Pagan, Schneider, and Castillo (and to some degree Church) composing a large part of the lineup?

Only a little bit. I mean, if David Wright had the April he had last year, then we'd really have a problem. I expect Carlos Beltran to come around. Ryan Church has been a very pleasant surprise. Honestly, out of the teams in this division, the Mets were built more with pitching, speed and defense in mind. So if they don't have the thump in the lineup, theoretically, they can compensate in other areas.

Thanks a lot to D.J. for participating with us.

A lot of people ask me to describe more about what goes on around the Braves clubhouse and the team that I see when I have press credentials. I've been very hesitant to say too much in the past because the clubhouse and dugout are the players' domain, and a reporter - especially one outside the mainstream like myself - could easily get banned for divulging too much or saying things he or she shouldn't. This is actually why MLB and most teams have really clamped down on who gets press access.

That being said, I think I'm at a point now where I have a good idea of what can be repeated in print and what cannot. There is a lot of funny stuff that goes on in the clubhouse, and many of the players that we idolize on the field are just as cool and down to earth as we'd hope they would be in person.

Chipper Jones is one of those guys who is really down to earth. He, like many baseball players, doesn't flout his wealth or stardom, and most of the time his is pretty much an open book. I've also seen Chipper be very standoffish with the press, especially the last two seasons during his injuries. He will duck the camera then because he doesn't want his frustration at what he seemingly can't control to spill over into the public spotlight. At these times he has intentionally avoided being interviewed (boy, does that really burn O'Brien).

In the clubhouse after last night's game, Blaine Boyer, who had a hit in that night's game, was talking to reporters and Chipper walks by and blurts out towards Boyer, "you're showin me up. I'm the only guy who didn't get a fxxxin hit." There was laughter from all on hand and Chipper had one of those Chipper-like eat-shit grins on his face. So far as I can tell, that is classic Chipper. And believe it or not he's considered a quiet leader.

Frenchy is a lot like Chipper, but like Chipper on Ritalin. He always has that full teeth smile working and a look about him like he's always up to no good. After last night's game in which the Braves scored nine runs off of Cleveland pitcher Aaron Fultz, Frenchy comes in the clubhouse and sees Braves strength coach Frank Fultz and yells across the clubhouse, "I hate to break it to you, but we rocked your brother." Fultz, who's a bit of a smart-alec himself, responds with, "he's not my brother." Frenchy comes back with, "then your cousin or your son, but we rocked him."

In a lot of ways the clubhouse is just like you'd imagine a frat-house or any group of guys who watch a lot of sports or play a lot of sports - there's a lot of good natured "talking shit" going on.

Getting back to Chipper, sometimes he is very chatty with the media, sometimes you can hardly shut him up. I caught up to him on the dugout bench the other day during batting practice right after Terrence Moore (who is really nice in person - makes me think twice about completely trashing everything he writes) got done talking with him. I sat there and interviewed Chipper for a good ten minutes - he just kept talking and talking. He's a guy like that who just gets in a mood to talk baseball, and when he's in it he can talk baseball all day long. I probably could have kept him talking another ten minutes, but I always feel bad if I keep players occupied too long.

Other guys will have moments like that, and a lot of it depends on when you catch them and what they're doing or about to do when you try to interview them. I got several short interviews this year because I was only down there two days and the clubhouse is just not open enough and some players are just not available enough to get to everyone in ideal circumstances.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of a look inside the Braves clubhouse. For the most part, the way players come across in interviews (especially TV interviews) is pretty much how they are in person. Oh, and Bobby Cox is about the most amazing person to ever step on a baseball diamond.

After their win against the Indians the Braves cut three more players from their major league roster, all three were non-roster invitees. Catcher Tyler Flowers and infielders Diory Hernandez and Javier Guzman were sent to minor league camp. There was no surprise for most of these guys. Flowers put on a great show and didn't hurt his stock in the eyes of the Braves as an up-and-coming catcher and first baseman.

The cuts of Hernandez and Guzman thin the candidates for the utility infielder position. This helps the stock of Martin Prado and Brent Lillibridge who are both still fighting it out for the job. Prado has been playing more shortstop in order to prove his ability to fill in for Escobar, and Lillibridge has been playing a lot of third. Both are positions those players have not played in a long time.

I darted over to the back fields for an hour to watch Mike Hampton throw his simulated game. Overall he threw very free and easy and seemed to have good velocity. He called it a "good workout without having to stress the legs too much." He felt good enough to say that he looks forward to pitching on his usual turn in five days.

He threw four simulated innings with Clint Sammons as his catch and Roger McDowell and Bobby Cox looking on. The coaches - Perez, Cadahia, Snitker, Pendleton - were playing the outfield. The batters he faced were Javy Lopez, Scott Thorman, Brayan Pena, and Gregor Blanco. Here is the simulated play by play:

First Inning
Lopez - ground ball to third, one out
Thorman - pop out to third, two outs
Pena - broken bat grounder to third, three outs
Hampton threw 14 pitches in the first

Second Inning
Blanco - ground ball to shortstop on the first pitch, one out
Lopez - fly out to left field (in which Eddie Perez tried to make a diving catch for, but missed - they unofficially called it an error on Perez)
Thorman - He got hit in the upper back by Hampton's third pitch, but being a simulated game, they kept going. Thor then flew out to center field, two outs
Pena - ground ball to short, three outs
Hampton threw 15 pitches in the second

Third Inning
Blanco - fly out to left, one out
Lopez - fly out to deep left-center, two outs
Thorman - grounder to second, some may have called this a hit (since the inning kept going). This also gave Hampton a chance to work out of the stretch
Pena - ground ball to second, three outs
Hampton threw 17 pitches in the third

Fourth Inning
Blanco - All the reporters were fairly certain that Blanco struck out on four strikes - essentially striking out twice
Lopez - he got absolutely fooled a 2-0 pitch that looked like some sort of change, and eventually flew out to center
Thorman - flew out to right field for the third and final out
Hampton threw 13 pitches

It was a rather funny game with Eddie Perez making a loud sound in the outfield every time there was a strike thrown (or called). He sounded like a well seasoned umpire, and several of the reporters remarked that he could have a nice career umping.

As they came off the field, Thorman asked Hampton if he would sign his bruise from where Hampton had hit him. Fun was had by all, especially since Hampton seemed to stay injury free.

Hampton warms up for his simulated game with pitching coach Roger McDowell looking on.

It was a day of cuts as six players left major league camp for the minor league fields. Four players cut were on the Braves 40-man roster, right-handed starters Charlie Morton and Jairo Cuevas, and right-handed relievers Phil Stockman and Zach Schreiber. The Braves also cut non-roster invitees, right-hander Matt DeSalvo and catcher Jean Boscan.

Bobby Cox had great words of praise for Morton, saying that he should "be ready" and that the organization likes him as a starter despite some of the rumblings that he could be used in the bullpen.

Bobby also indicated that Chuck James will make his first start of the spring tomorrow, and is expected to go about two innings. Jo-Jo Reyes, who was scheduled to start tomorrow will follow James for about four innings of work.

Mike Hampton is scheduled to pitch a simulated game at five o'clock today on one of the back fields, so I'll try and check that out and let you know how he looks. I wonder if you can be removed from a simulated game in the middle of an at-bat... we may be about to find out.