While Cardinals fans waited to get their first look at Jim Edmonds in a Cincy uniform, second-baseman Brandon Phillips of the Reds couldn’t contain his disgust for Edmonds’ old team.

Phillips, who fouled a ball off his shin Saturday in Chicago, missed Sunday’s game but was apparently feeling well enough to spout off to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News that there was no way he’d miss Monday night’s game.

“I’d play against these guys with one leg,’’ Phillips told McCoy. “We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear -- I hate the Cardinals.”

McCoy led his column with the Phillips remarks. You can read them here.

Phillips, by the way, was 0-for-5 in Monday night’s game, as the Cardinals “bitched and moaned” their way to a 7-3 victory, thanks in large part to Chris Carpenter’s stellar pitching performance and Skip Schumaker’s career-first grand slam.

Perhaps Phillips was still in tremendous pain from his boo-boo. Or, maybe he was simply looking to rev up the Cardinals-Reds rivalry with his comments. But such “hate” talk is unseemly for a professional baseball player -- an All-Star, for heaven’s sake. A role model for the nation’s youth.

When you visit Busch Stadium in September, Mr. Phillips, please try to act your age (29), and not your number (4).

The best fans in baseball will be watching.