if your going thru all the trouble to remove the middle row, why not just remove the entire backsplash? I think it would be easier to redo the whole thing than to pick off each tile piece individually and carefully.
maybe you should do a glass backsplash?
http://billbarr.files.wordpress.com/...acksplash1.jpg
http://www.konstel.net/Glass%20DK&B.JPG
probbaly easier to install,easier to maintain, looks slick