Cardinals interview Francona  —  The Cardinals interviewed former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona today in their process to replace Tony La Russa.  —  The interview took place in Cincinnati, where Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. resides and operates his private equity firm, Reynolds DeWitt & Co.

Marlins ready to make major noise  —  The meetings with Buehrle and Reyes will take place in South Florida, one source said.  The meeting with Cespedes, which will include Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, will take place in the Dominican Republic.  —  The Marlins' No. 1 priority is upgrading their rotation.

Notebook: Oswalt looking good; Pap, too  —  The Nationals plan a major push for free-agent right-hander Roy Oswalt, viewing him as the perfect veteran complement to Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, John Lannan and Chien-Ming Wang, major-league sources said.

Money Wins: Is There Enough Parity In Baseball?  —  Yesterday afternoon, Jayson Stark considered the question, “Is the MLB's competitive balance a joke?”  His answer was a rather blunt no: … Stark's method of proving it — plucking facts from the recent playoff series and comparing …

Bailey could be the answer for Toronto  —  Buster Olney writes that the Toronto Blue Jays are looking at myriad ways to improve the back of their bullpen after a season with many blown saves.  Oakland closer Andrew Bailey could make a lot of sense for Toronto.  Plus, hot stove notes.

Ballplayers fear induction into ‘Get Smart Club’  —  Significant statistics ending in ‘nine’ can haunt players, careers  —  A highly-anticipated movie entitled “Nine” — with the subtitle, “Be Italian” — opened during the holiday season in 2009.  —  Had that flick been about baseball, the subtitle would have been, “Be Frustrated.”

Twins address future with their past  —  When Pat Gillick stepped down as general manager of the Seattle Mariners in 2003, there were those who wondered if he was through as a GM.  He was 66.  He had two World Series rings.  He began working as an advisor to the Mariners, which allowed him to scout rather than sit behind a desk.

Paulsen, Arenado lead Rafters to win  —  Rockies prospects combine to plate five runs in Salt River rout  —  Ben Paulsen has struggled to find his groove this fall.  He found some new moves Monday.  —  The Rockies prospect was 2-for-4 with three RBIs as Salt River defeated Scottsdale, 9-4.

Royals interested in Zambrano  —  While Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and company continue the interview process for a new field manager this week on a parallel track of importance is what they can do to dramatically improve a Cubs team that finished the 2011 season 71-91 and 25 games …

Rockies eye starting pitching through trade, free agency  —  Adding a starting pitcher remains a top priority for the Rockies, leading them to discuss trades internally and express interest in free agents Kevin Millwood, Rich Harden and Bruce Chen.  —  The rival Giants set the bar …

Orioles VP Dan Duquette embraces imposing challenge  —  BALTIMORE- Back in the big leagues after a nine-year absence, Dan Duquette has undertaken an incredibly daunting task: rebuilding the dreadful Baltimore Orioles.  —  Many have tried.  None have succeeded.  Not recently, anyway.