Brandon Phillips at it again? By Roger Hensley/Post-Dispatch Yappy Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips -- who helped incite the brawl between the Cardinals and Reds last season by calling the Cardinals “whiny bitches” before a three-game series in Cincinnati -– appears to be at it again. No sooner had the Reds' plane touched down in St. Louis for this weekend’s series before Phillips took to his Twitter account to take a few jabs at St. Louis . though these were much tamer than last year’s comments. Here’s what Phillips had to say in his Twitter posts: FIRST POST: Just landed in St. Louis! (Sad face) ... But these wins will make me happy! On our way 2 the hotel & I hope its not Hilton at the BallPark! Lol SECOND POST: My teammates ask me if I knew where some good places 2 eat at in St. Louis! I said, “Yea, come with me 2 the store 2 get some Lunchables!” Phillips' posts on Twitter can be followed at DatDudeBP. Bad blood on Good Friday? By Roger Hensley QUESTION: The Cardinals and Reds have developed quite the rivalry in recent seasons, with verbal and physical sparring involved. Do you anticipate any extracurricular activities this weekend as these two teams go head to head? BRYAN BURWELL: Absolutely. Unlike Cards vs. Cubs, which is nothing but an excuse to drink and hang out for the fans, Cards vs. Reds is a legitimate rivalry full of division title implications and true bad blood. As long as Tony and Dusty are in the opposing dugouts, the feisty energy will always be there. BERNIE MIKLASZ: No, I think both teams got most of the simmering bad blood out of their system last year. Remember, after the extracurricular actvities in Cincinnati early last August the Reds came to St. Louis for a three-game series. And the Cardinals and Reds played baseball. There wasn't any ugliness. Don't get me wrong, it won't take much to reopen the old wounds. It could be in the form of a questionable brushback, a knockdown, a hit batter, an extra-hard slide. Both teams compete with pride. Both managers are relentless. An eruption of temper is always possible. But I think they'll go into the weekend looking to play three games of hardball, with no intention of initiating conflict RICK HUMMEL: Veteran umpire John Hirschbeck will head an experienced crew here and I'm sure he's been apprised of the past shenanigans between the two teams. It wouldn't be surprising if Hirschbeck put both managers on notice, politely, before tonight's game. I predict little or nothing will happen this weekend but wouldn't rule against something happening later in the season. JEFF GORDON: High jinks are to be expected. All it will take is a brushback pitch or two and the two sides will start chattering. I can't imagine Dusty Baker and Tony La Russa letting the weekend pass without some spirited exchanges. The baseball season is a 162-game grind, but players are energized by rivalries like this one. Everybody will be on their toes, which is a good thing. TOM TIMMERMANN: I've always found that when you're looking for extracurricular activities, they almost never show up. Somehow, the spontaneity is lost. Maybe there will be some yelling, but it's April. And it will be raining. I think everything will proceed without incident. KEVIN WHEELER (Host of "Sports Open Line" on KMOX): No. You've got two teams who are tied for first place early in the season and winning games is going to be the primary focus. It has to be hard for the Cardinals players who were around last season to let go of the way things went during The Brawl last year, especially with Jason LaRue's career ending because of Johnny Cueto's kick to the head, but winning games has to be the priority. Plus, Major League Baseball will be watching. Two of these three games will be nationally televised and the last thing the league wants is ugliness breaking out in that kind of setting. On top of all that Cueto is on the disabled list and won't be out there anyway. LARRY BOROWSKY (Founder of Viva El Birdos and editor of "Maple Street Press Cardinals Annual"): If it happens this weekend, I don't think the Cards will start it. With 6 guys on the DL, they can't really afford to risk another injury. But at some point this year, at a carefully chosen time, they likely will send a clear message. One of their teammates had his career ended last year, and I don't think La Russa will let that go unanswered. They didn't retaliate immediately because they were focused on winning the division and didn't want the distraction, but I doubt they have just decided to let bygones be bygones. There's a section in "3 Nights in August" that illustrates how thoroughly La Russa thinks these things through. He had decided to order an HBP of Arizona outfielder Luis Gonzalez in retaliation for some offense the DBacks committed months earlier, but the exact timing of this plunking depended on a whole universe of variables. With respect to the Reds, when Tony thinks the Cards can gain some competitive advantage by making a not-so-subtle statement, then we'll see the extracurriculars. It could happen this weekend, but I don't expect it. Goold: "Vendetta" Series, Round 1 By Derrick Goold BALLWIN • Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty would later say the word was "too harsh" and not reflective at all of his or manager Dusty Baker's feelings about the St. Louis Cardinals. Still, maybe Jocketty knew something others didn't more than a year before it happened. It wouldn't be the first time. In the 2008 press conference announcing that Jocketty would move from his adviser role to replace Wayne Krivsky as Reds' general manager, the former architect of the Cardinals spoke about the division and the opportunity to compete against a team that had fired him less than seven months earlier. He and Baker were "on a vendetta," Jocketty said. "We've sort of got chips on our shoulders. It gives you a little motivation when your last employers were in the same division." The word hung there. Vendetta. There is a violent aspect to the word that Jocketty certainly didn't mean to imply, and there is a revenge aspect to the word that isn't often said so publicly. But as the years have unfolded and the Cincinnati Reds have arrived as a fierce and feisty rival to the Cardinals there are shades of the definition that apply. Google it. Right there: "A bitter, destructive feud." Or there: "Any prolonged feud, quarrel, etc." Maybe Jocketty saw it coming. The Cardinals want to downplay the animosity they feel toward the Reds. This is just another series. Grudges are gone from last year's fracas. The Jonny Gomes stuff was silly and perhaps a misunderstanding. Let the fans boo Brandon Phillips . But it should be noted that the Cardinals have enlisted some familiar reinforcements for this weekend's series and the season-long feud. After all, the enemy of their enemy is ... Well, you know, the phrase. That's where the 10 starts. 1. The Cardinals three biggest acquisitions of the offseason all have history against the Reds. Shortstop Ryan Theriot won division titles with Baker in Chicago and knows the Reds as a division rival. Outfield Lance Berkman is another NL Central stalwart who watched Roy Oswalt routinely fillet the Reds. And even Jake Westbrook , an American Leaguer for so long, got to see the Reds regularly when interleague pitted the Ohio clubs against each other. Not only do they know the Reds well as opponents, they have done well against the Reds. Check out their career splits against Cincinnati, including their OPS+, where 100 is average. Ryan Theriot ... 66 games, .310/.358/.408 .... 41 runs, 22 RBIs, 5 HR ...118+ Lance Berkman ... 152 games, .318/.438/.678 ... 121 runs, 137 RBIs, 49 HR ... 131+ Jake Westbrook ... 5 games, 4 starts, 1-1, 3.86 ERA, 18 Ks & 8 BB in 25 2/3 innings ... 114+ 2. The Cardinals' recent visit to Arizona spurred conversation about the All-Star Game. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is an advocate of the designated hitter being used in all All-Star Games, and for a first time this summer in a National League ballpark. He also likes the rule that forbids pitchers who start on the Sunday before the All-Star Game from pitching in the Tuesday classic. Asked if he would alter his rotation to make sure a deserving pitcher didn't throw on Sunday and got to appear in the All-Star Game, La Russa said he likely wouldn't. He did offer one exception: Kyle Lohse , who is off to a 3-1 start following Thursday's shutout . If Lohse had a chance to pitch in this summer's All-Star Game, La Russa might shift the rotation around to make that possible because Lohse lives in the Phoenix area. Lohse chuckled when told he'd get that treatment, if selected, this summer. And it's no wonder. He was 11-2 at the break in 2008. He wasn't picked for the All-Star Game. 3. Easy poll question today, prompted by the acrimony between the Cardinals and Reds, and the rivalry that has developed with so many NL Central teams.