Tonight on the Red Hot Broadcast we’re pleased to welcome our favorite smack-talker, Bellyscratcher, to give us a preview of the Cardinals 2007 season.Ms. Scratcher talks about the big, throbbing question mark that is the St. Louis starting rotation (can you believe Ryan Franklin is in the mix??), the future of Colby Rasmus, and how any team with Albert Pujols doesn’t have to worry about offense. Also hear first-hand how the home of Busch ran out of beer one fabled night.

Check out Ms. Scratcher’s site, bellyitcher, on a regular basis. Many thanks, Belly, for being on the show. I can hardly wait for the smack to begin!

Episode 47: Cardinals Preview with Bellyscratcher (13.3 MB, 19:26)

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In Sunday's Reds' Notebook in The Enquirer, the first sentence concerns Jeff Conine.

Jeff Conine is Jerry Narron's kind of ballplayer. He plays hard. He plays the right way.

Now I'm all for baseball players that play hard, smart, and to the fullest of their abilities. But why does this statement scare me so much?

Are we doomed to another year of Encarnación being blocked because of an older player who knew how to play the game right?

Lest you think there won't be anything new and exciting to watch at PNC Park this season, the Pirates have announced that they are improving their big-screen scoreboard and adding an LED to span the upper deck:

The new main scoreboard display will have the capability of more than doubling the size of the current video display, as well as splitting into multiple windows to show lineups, statistics, out-of-town game information, animation, video clips and much more.

Finally you'll be able to watch the Pirates' fail to score runs at twice the size!

In much more site-appropriate news, there's another plan on the table for the Reds' spring training facility:

A consultant's plan quietly being shopped around by Sarasota Agricultural Fair Association leaders shows a new spring training baseball stadium, clubhouse, offices and practice facilities for the Cincinnati Reds at the fairgrounds on Fruitville Road -- along with a hotel, modern arena and conference center.

So long as the on-site hotel is for tourists and not pre-practice Craig's List interludes, it could be a good plan.