Counting Cards | The Phillies and Cardinals begin a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park tonight, prompting a yawn-inducing preview of Scott Rolen's "return" to Philadelphia by the Inquirer's Todd Zolecki. This is Rolen's third trip back since his trade -- in 2002, mind you -- so the only new angle is that ... he'll be playing at CBP, not the Vet! Wow, stop the presses. In the Daily News, Marcus Hayes spotlights the troubles currently being endured by Brett Myers, tonight's starter. Myers, perhaps not surprisingly, given his youth and inexperience, is struggling, and has everyone but the Phils' clubhouse guy whispering advice into his ear. Maybe wearing women's underwear would help.

Meanwhile, the DN's Bill Conlin checks in, for the first time in a month, with a piece on Mike Schmidt's efforts to turn the pathetic Clearwater Threshers into winners. While the upper tiers of the Phillies' farm system offer reasons for optimism, the pickings are slim down at the single-A level, if Conlin is to be believed.

Across the blogosphere, things are pretty quiet so far with respect to the Cards series. Among the Phillies posters, only the Citizens Report has filed thus far, cogently observing of hard-hitting St. Louis, "The Cardinals aren't exactly the team you want to play when you're trying to find your groove, but right now Myers doesn't have that choice." I'll be keeping my eye on Cardinal blogs Redbird Nation or Go Cardinals, though there's nothing to report yet.