Talking Chop

Here's a look at the major stories in the world of the Atlanta Braves for the week ending on October 25th:

  In the Press...

• There were some suggestions by beat writers David O'Brien and Mark Bowman about the off-season direction the Braves will take.
• Talking Chop first reported that Jason Heyward was sidelined with a leg injury, which was later reported by the Braves.com site.
• The Braves "got the ball rolling" on contract extension talks with Tim Hudson.
• The Braves hired another former member of the Orioles front office. 
• The AJC reported that Martin Prado is likely going to be the Braves 2010 opening day second baseman.

At Talking Chop...

• The Atlanta Braves Fan Confidence Poll showed that Braves fans are already feeling better about the off-season.
• We reviewed the 2009 season of third baseman Chipper Jones.
• The 2009 seasons of Omar Infante, Kelly Johnson, and Garret Anderson were also reviewed.
• Matt reviewed the top-5 Braves third base prospects and the top-5 left field prospects.
  
• Matt Diaz chatted with fans on ESPN, we wrapped up the most interesting Qs & As.
• The bloggers of Talking Chop conducted a round table on the third basemen in the Braves organization.
• We continue to recap the Braves prospects' performances in the games of the baseball fall and winter leagues, here and here.
  

Notable FanPosts and FanShots...

• GoBravesNY told us about prospect Jeff Lyman's Arizona Fall League blog, and cbwilk told us about L.V. Ware's blog.
  
• justincredubil02 informed everyone how to get free Braves merchandise.
• Dale Murphy for HOF gave us his top-5 best and top-5 worst Braves trades.
• GoBravesNY asked everyone what their screen names meant, mine (gondeee) is a play on my last name, Gandy.
• PWHjort expanded upon a link from the USS Mariner about roster construction theory.

Upcoming Events...

• The first ever Brian McCann Celebrity Softball Game is set for November 13th... details here. We're making this a bit of a Talking Chop outing, so everyone get your tickets!
  
• The Gwinnett Braves have a whole slate of off-season events planned at their ballpark, the list is here.