diff --git a/pandas/core/internals.py b/pandas/core/internals.py
index 5a4778ae4e629..0eda1cf0c5f75 100644
--- a/pandas/core/internals.py
+++ b/pandas/core/internals.py
@@ -191,6 +191,13 @@ def fill_value(self):
     def mgr_locs(self):
         return self._mgr_locs
 
+    @mgr_locs.setter
+    def mgr_locs(self, new_mgr_locs):
+        if not isinstance(new_mgr_locs, BlockPlacement):
+            new_mgr_locs = BlockPlacement(new_mgr_locs)
+
+        self._mgr_locs = new_mgr_locs
+
     @property
     def array_dtype(self):
         """ the dtype to return if I want to construct this block as an
@@ -224,13 +231,6 @@ def make_block_same_class(self, values, placement=None, fastpath=True,
         return make_block(values, placement=placement, klass=self.__class__,
                           fastpath=fastpath, **kwargs)
 
-    @mgr_locs.setter
-    def mgr_locs(self, new_mgr_locs):
-        if not isinstance(new_mgr_locs, BlockPlacement):
-            new_mgr_locs = BlockPlacement(new_mgr_locs)
-
-        self._mgr_locs = new_mgr_locs
-
     def __unicode__(self):
 
         # don't want to print out all of the items here
@@ -633,7 +633,7 @@ def _astype(self, dtype, copy=False, errors='raise', values=None,
 
             newb = make_block(values, placement=self.mgr_locs, dtype=dtype,
                               klass=klass)
-        except:
+        except Exception:
             if errors == 'raise':
                 raise
             newb = self.copy() if copy else self
@@ -840,7 +840,6 @@ def setitem(self, indexer, value, mgr=None):
 
         transf = (lambda x: x.T) if self.ndim == 2 else (lambda x: x)
         values = transf(values)
-        l = len(values)
 
         # length checking
         # boolean with truth values == len of the value is ok too
@@ -855,7 +854,7 @@ def setitem(self, indexer, value, mgr=None):
         # slice
         elif isinstance(indexer, slice):
 
-            if is_list_like(value) and l:
+            if is_list_like(value) and len(values):
                 if len(value) != length_of_indexer(indexer, values):
                     raise ValueError("cannot set using a slice indexer with a "
                                      "different length than the value")
@@ -1108,7 +1107,7 @@ def check_int_bool(self, inplace):
         # a fill na type method
         try:
             m = missing.clean_fill_method(method)
-        except:
+        except ValueError:
             m = None
 
         if m is not None:
@@ -1123,7 +1122,7 @@ def check_int_bool(self, inplace):
         # try an interp method
         try:
             m = missing.clean_interp_method(method, **kwargs)
-        except:
+        except ValueError:
             m = None
 
         if m is not None:
@@ -2166,7 +2165,7 @@ def set(self, locs, values, check=False):
             try:
                 if (self.values[locs] == values).all():
                     return
-            except:
+            except Exception:
                 pass
         try:
             self.values[locs] = values
@@ -2807,7 +2806,8 @@ def _astype(self, dtype, copy=False, errors='raise', values=None,
     def __len__(self):
         try:
             return self.sp_index.length
-        except:
+        except Exception:
+            # TODO: Catch something more specific?
             return 0
 
     def copy(self, deep=True, mgr=None):