RedsFest

[HotCorner]

I'm taking my 5 yo son today. I've never been nor has he. I've got an idea of what is available to do but would like to hear from those who actually have been to it. What are the absolute must do things?

Thanks in advance.

[Chip R]

Since they didn't invite Javy, there really is no must do thing.

[RedLegSuperStar]

This is my first RedsFest as well. Just looking foward to meeting Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto, Edison Volquez, George Foster, and Eric Davis. I'm also interested in the Hot Stove report by Walt Jocketty

[HeatherC1212]

There are a few kid type things that your son would probably enjoy like the batting cages, running the bases, sliding into home, a pitching game, and there's a baseball video game area too. There are also booths from some of the sponsors and they give away free stuff (my favorite part, LOL). If you want to meet the players, be prepared to stand in some lines and try to get a look at the schedule before you do that so you know which player is where and at which time. Some of the things from the HOF Nuxhall exhibitin are going to be in a display as well as some other Reds stuff too. There's also a shop, memorablia area, lots of different food (check out the Homemade Ice Cream stand that has little cups of ice cream for a $1), and there's always something going on at the main stage (I think tonight are some question and answer segments). There's really a lot to see and do and I hope you have a great time! I'll be there with a friend (we're leaving in about an hour) so who knows, we could run into each other there! ;)

(((ChipR))) Sorry there's no Javy for you! :(

[RedlegNation]

You're gonna like it. I'd spend some time and attention on the Reds minor leaguers who are there. They're usually very accomodating, and there is a good group of them who are scheduled to attend.

It'll be interesting to hear Jocketty speak, as well, if for no other reason than to see if he's any more forthcoming than Krivsky was.

[Reds Freak]

I'm bummed I can't make it to the Queen City this weekend. I would have had the opportunity to go to Redsfest and the Shootout on Saturday but unfortunately I have to work. :thumbdown

I hope to hear full Redsfest reports from attending 'Zoners and pictures too if possible!

[Mario-Rijo]

You're gonna like it. I'd spend some time and attention on the Reds minor leaguers who are there. They're usually very accomodating, and there is a good group of them who are scheduled to attend.

It'll be interesting to hear Jocketty speak, as well, if for no other reason than to see if he's any more forthcoming than Krivsky was.

Oh he'll be seemingly more forthcoming, but I doubt in the end it tells us anything more than Krivsky would have really. Walts definitely more clever than Wayne.

Please if anyone speaks to Brandon Phillips tell him that if he wants to improve he needs to quit swinging at that low & away stuff. If he stops he's a superstar if he doesn't well..let's just hope he does. Tell him to watch some video of Bonds' approach at the plate from what he once was to what he ended up being. Bonds approach at the plate was damn near flawless in the majority of the last 8 years or so. He dared pitchers to hit that outside corner and when they couldn't he'd kill them and most of the time they couldn't. The same reason why most of the great pitchers of the last so many years were so good, they could hit that outside corner with regularity.

[Blitz Dorsey]

Was anyone listening to Sportstalk on WLW tonight? Wow. Three hours of Reds coverage from Redsfest with interviews from Jocketty, Baker, Votto, Phillips, Rhodes, Bray, Hanigan, Valaika, Janish, DThompson and I'm sure I'm leaving out a couple of players. Great stuff.

I am fired up for the season! (I know, call me crazy, but I think we're going to contend this year.)

"Hey, Crazy... you are crazy."

[dougdirt]

I was pretty impressed with WJ tonight. I enjoyed what he had to say on how they mix both scouting and statistical analysis to analyze players. Also was excited to hear that the Reds have a statistical team that has a player forecasting system to project future performance, although it wasn't gone into (especially at Redsfest where half the people listening would have fallen asleep). Still, it makes me feel better about WJ since one reason I kept hearing about how he was run out of St Louis was because of his resistance to statistical analysis being a part of player evaluations.

[RedlegNation]

Very interesting, Doug. Wish I had heard that; it would have eased some of my concerns about ol' Walt.

[Rounding Third]

I was pretty impressed with WJ tonight. I enjoyed what he had to say on how they mix both scouting and statistical analysis to analyze players. Also was excited to hear that the Reds have a statistical team that has a player forecasting system to project future performance, although it wasn't gone into (especially at Redsfest where half the people listening would have fallen asleep). Still, it makes me feel better about WJ since one reason I kept hearing about how he was run out of St Louis was because of his resistance to statistical analysis being a part of player evaluations.

Yes this is very good to hear. If you have any more information about his cross with scout/stats I think everyone would like to hear more. I was also afraid of the rumors of him running out because of stats.

[dougdirt]

Very interesting, Doug. Wish I had heard that; it would have eased some of my concerns about ol' Walt.

What made it even better is the question was asked by an older woman, probably in her 50s. It was something to the extent of 'How do you guys use statistical analysis in both drafting/developing players as well as evaluating guys?'
It was a very good question and Walt took it and gave a fantastic answer. It really made me feel a whole lot better.

[RedlegNation]

Awesome, all the way around.

[remdog]

I was pretty impressed with WJ tonight. I enjoyed what he had to say on how they mix both scouting and statistical analysis to analyze players.

Cool. Good to hear they still have scouts. ;)

Rem

[redsfan4445]

Doug were there any questions asked about trades to put a RH bat in right field? I am sure he didnt say what players as thats tampering, just curious what they said as well as the talk about Burrell?

thanks

[dougdirt]

Doug were there any questions asked about trades to put a RH bat in right field? I am sure he didnt say what players as thats tampering, just curious what they said as well as the talk about Burrell?

thanks

I was in and out for some of the questioning, but Walt said they were exploring both the market and trades, but that he couldn't really get specific until things were official. Burrell wasn't specifically addressed that I heard (but I did miss about 15 minutes of the questioning) by WJ or DB, but one fan did offer to get on his hands and knees to beg not to sign Burrell for whatever that is worth.

[redsfan4445]

I was in and out for some of the questioning, but Walt said they were exploring both the market and trades, but that he couldn't really get specific until things were official. Burrell wasn't specifically addressed that I heard (but I did miss about 15 minutes of the questioning) by WJ or DB, but one fan did offer to get on his hands and knees to beg not to sign Burrell for whatever that is worth.

Oh ok thanks Doug!! I think Walt is waiting to see who is non tendered as well.. had to be funny seeing Walt's reaction to that fan..lol

[gm]

Was anyone listening to Sportstalk on WLW tonight? Wow. Three hours of Reds coverage from Redsfest with interviews from Jocketty, Baker, Votto, Phillips, Rhodes, Bray, Hanigan, Valaika, Janish, DThompson and I'm sure I'm leaving out a couple of players. Great stuff.


Podcast links?

nm, found Doc, etc

[HeatherC1212]

Hey guys! I got home a little while ago from Day One at Redsfest and figured I would post a few things about tonight. Hopefully it's not too boring as I'm not really a person who runs all over the place getting autographs and everything (although I did a little of that tonight) but I do take a ton of pictures and I know I got some good shots of everything which I'll try to post tomorrow or Sunday. :)

Anyway, my friend and I got there around 5 PM which was perfect because it was busy but not crazy busy yet. I had to get our tickets at Will Call but that didn't take long and soon we were inside the main room trying to find our way around. They rearranged things from the way they did it last year so it took us walking around a bit to figure out the floor layout. We hadn't eaten dinner yet so after walking around we stopped for pizza and found seats in the main stage area. They did a Card Wars game while we were sitting there so we got two packs of baseball cards and I was happy that I got one of my favorite Orioles in my first pack (not Brian Roberts though, LOL). My friend got Ian Kinsler in one of her packs which cracked us both up because her last name is REALLY similar to his and she did a double take! :D They did the introductions of all the past and present players not long after that which was REALLY cool. I liked seeing all the older players together with the younger guys. The only omissions I noticed in the current team announcements were Aaron Harang, Francisco Cordero, and David Weathers. I think the rest of the guys were all there. I LOVED that everyone screamed, "BRUUUUUUCE!!" for Jay when he came out. :) Arthur Rhodes was even there which was my way of finding out that he passed his physical and cemented that deal, LOL :laugh: They did the Kids Press Conference after that with Norris Hopper, Adam Rosales, Jay Bruce (who needs a haircut, LOL), and Bill Bray which was really fun. The kids mostly asked some good questions and I liked that Thom and Jeff Brantley not only joined in answering a few of them but also helped broaden some of the really vague questions so the guys could give a better answer. Jay Bruce's favorite game moment was hitting the walk off home run against the Braves this past year and it took all my effort not to scream out, "I WAS THERE!!" after he said that, LOL :laugh: I also liked how when asked which team they want to beat the most, they all said the Cubs! The crowd cheered of course. ;) The pitchers the three position player guys don't like hitting against are Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy, and CC Sabathia. I don't blame them! :eek: They talked a bit about when they started playing the game and when asked when they hit their first ever HR, Jeff joked with Jay that he hit his while in diapers, LOL :laugh: I always like going to the Kids PC because the kids are really cute and the guys get to answer questions that they don't always get asked during the season. It kind of makes them more relatable when they get to talk about what they do in the offseason and their favorite ice cream or something like that. After the PC we walked around again and at one point, I found myself about three feet away from Joey Votto! I am proud that I did not turn into a pile of mush but I was totally tongue tied and didn't say anything to him. He was on his way to one of the Photograph booths (they do professional photographs with two of the guys for $5, which goes to the Reds Community Fund, and then you get the picture) so he wouldn't have been able to talk anyway but I was SO CLOSE to him and became a total fangirl. We did walk to that photograph area (which had a LONG line :() and my friend got some good pics of him standing over there so that's good. I do hope I get a chance to talk to him tomorrow so I can try not to freak out this time, LOL :laugh: Anyway, we walked around and picked up some free stuff (I signed up to win the Reds Dream Room again but I never win) and we kept seeing people with these little bouncy baseballs. My friend is a teacher and she wanted to get one but we could never find the booth that had them so that became our mission for the rest of the night. She eventually found the booth back behind the ice cream area and got one to take to school. We checked out a few of the autograph and photo lines but they were all crazy long right then, so we skipped those for the time being and kept walking around for a while. We got to all the baseball card booths that were giving out Reds player cards and I hope to hit all of those again tomorrow because they're supposed to have different players each day. I think we got Jeff Keppinger, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Ryan Freel, Aaron Harang, and Bronson. I may have missed someone though; I don't have them with me at the moment. We got some ice cream from the Homemade truck (cookies and cream...YUM) and then sat in the Trivia area for a little while to eat. We walked around again after that and checked out the stuff that was on display and eventually headed back towards the main stage.

While we were heading towards the stage, I noticed on the sign that Micah Owings and Jared Burton were going to be signing together at an autograph booth soon. I'm a big Micah fan so I asked my friend if she minded waiting in the line (I didn't think it was long) and she said that was fine so we got in the line. Well, this line actually went through all the turnstiles and wasn't even the area where Jared or Micah were going to be, so we left that line and headed to the other side of the autograph booth. My friend decided she wanted to go sit down for a while and maybe catch the Cincinnati Choir (Nich Lachey's group sang after the Hot Stove report which we skipped tonight since we'll also be there tomorrow and can catch it then) so I went into the line by myself. I noticed that Jared was sitting up there by himself and Micah was no where to be found. The volunteers had no clue where he was so they just started the line for Jared and told people that Micah wasn't in the line. It was really confusing and I was talking with a few people in the line about why Micah was on the sign if he wasn't there. Eventually, these girls got in line behind us and said he was at another booth because they just came from it. That made it even more confusing but I just figured, all right they made a mistake or a change and now I just need to get in his line after I get Jared's signature. Eventually they had all the folks who just wanted Jared to come to the front of that line (the rest of it wanted to also get Dickerson who was at the other side) so I moved to that part and got Jared's signature on my team photo. Then I went to find Micah's line and I couldn't figure out which area he was at so I went the opposite direction trying to find him and instead found Ryan Hanigan's line which was rather short. So I got in there and eventually got his signature on my photo (I also got a picture with him and I wouldn't have even asked the volunteer lady to take one if she hadn't all ready done one for someone else ahead of me, LOL ;)) and then went back to searching for Micah. I eventually found his line and got in that one all the while missing the choir and hoping my friend wasn't bored or anything. Micah's line took a little longer because he was rather talkative and made sure to make good eye contact to everyone when they met him. I finally got up to the front and the guy who had been waiting in front of me was talking to him about how he hoped Micah got to play more this coming season. They were joking about his very few at bats and I couldn't help chiming in, "But you really made them count!" and he and the other guy both laughed and Micah said, "I did what I could!". :D When my turn came I felt bad that I didn't have anything for him to sign that had his picture on it but he was cool with signing the team photo in one of the corners (with a silver gel pen which I found really cute because he asked my permission first, LOL). I told him about my friend in Louisiana who's been a fan of his since he was at Tulane and how she was bummed he got traded but eventually became happy about it because he came to a good team that she liked thanks to me. He asked if she was from New Orleans (she's actually from north of there in Gretna I think) and if she was coming to Cincy to see a game. I told him I was working on getting her here for this coming season and he said that she really need to come see them this year. And then he was like, "Tell her I said so!" :laugh: I can't wait to tell her that, LOL ;) It was a really cute exchange and he is SUCH a nice guy. I was all ready a fan before but now I'm an even bigger one and I hope he has a great season this coming year. :) After that I rejoined my friend (the choir was long gone by this point) and we stayed for Bronson's concert which was really good this year. He's gotten better and better each year that he performs and I actually liked all his songs. At one point, he joked about how Brandon Phillips can be so hard to catch at Redsfest because he runs around so much and that he hoped everyone who wanted to see him had gotten to by then. During one of his songs later in the concert, Brandon came running in out of NOWHERE and started busting a move in front of the stage! It was hilarious and Bronson told us later that when they were on Best Sports Show Period together last season, they asked Bronson to play something on his guitar (which he had to improvise because they didn't have rights to air him singing a song that wasn't his) and Brandon said he would dance for the song. Well, Bronson sang but Brandon didn't dance at all! I guess this random busting a move tonight was his way of making it up to Bronson, LOL :laugh: We left after the concert was over and tomorrow our main goals are to go in the batting cage (we missed that tonight), try to catch the Joey Votto line, maybe catch some of the hispanic guys (my friend teaches Spanish and wants to talk to them), and buy a couple of Christmas gifts for other people. It was a really fun night and I can't wait to go back tomorrow! :)

Hmmm, I think I just set a record for the most smileys used in one entry. Sorry, LOL :laugh:

[Mario-Rijo]

Thanks for the report Heather. ;)

[*BaseClogger*]

That post intimidated me. :eek:

Nice recap Heather! :thumbup:

[Heath]

That post intimidated me. :eek:

Nice recap Heather! :thumbup:

She Has Learned To Post The Right Way.

[KittyDuran]

Great report, Heather!!! :D

I got there around 4:30 and the line to get in was about half full but moving fast... so the wait wasn't so long. Got in and got my goodie bag and then headed to the HOF. Now, I haven't talked with Chip for awhile, so I really didn't know if he would be there (as part of the vintage baseball) - anyhoo, he wasn't, it was the members of the Red Stockings. I made some small talk, bought a t-shirt (they threw in a poster). In the background was highlights (and lowlights) of the vintage game held at GABP this year - I asked if the action included the cute guy that wears a bandana (he's with the Buckeyes) and one Red Stocking chimed in that HE forgot to wear his bandana tonight! ;) (BTW, received a text from Chip later on asking if I was at RedsFest)

Went around to the baseball card stations (nice idea) got the coupons with them (one had free samples of sunflower seeds). Checked in with the season ticket booth to check on my order. I had not only changed my seat but also the ticket package. The Reds took the money but I haven't received any confirmation if the seat was available. The guy checked and everything was transferred. Got a magnet next door - then saw the booth with employment opportunties with some neat stuff to give away. Unfortunately you need to fill out an application (I guess) to get the goodies.

It's always important to keep an eye out for random crowds - i.e., not lines to get autographs or pics - that usually means that a player is roaming about. There was not only WLW broadcasting but another station doing a show. A big crowd had gathered in front and lo and behold it was Bronson! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera this night but snapped a few pics on my cell phone. "Samson" has shorter hair (and it looks good)...:luvu: (He must had told Jay to keep growing his... BTW Jay looked like he was channelling the Beatles! :eek:)

I'm in-between paydays, so money is tight and I stayed away from the food offerings (even tho' they were cheap). Wasn't going to go to the memorbilla (sp?) booths for that reason - but wandered over just to see if there were any bargins. Found a booth in the back that was selling some baseball cards 5 for $2.00! Well, ended up getting 4 Noochie Varner's and 1 Ron Villone! :jump: Hey! It made my night! :D

Finshed off the night watching the past and present ballplayers together - which is a great idea! I was part of the crowd that yelled "BRUUUUUCE"! ;) OK... I did go back to the ice cream truck but balked getting any - I still had things to do before going home and feared that it would be a gooey mess.

[KittyDuran]

This from Trent's blog:
http://www.thelotd.com/ctrent/blog/2008/12/13/redsfest_saturday


The biggest news of the day I heard was that Great American Ball Park is changing to Coke products instead of Pepsi. That made the Cowboy and I very happy.

:jump:
[if it's true]

Hey, Krono, if you make it back to these parts, I'll have to buy you a Sprite at the ballpark!
:)

[Mario-Rijo]

This from Trent's blog:
http://www.thelotd.com/ctrent/blog/2008/12/13/redsfest_saturday



:jump:
[if it's true]

Hey, Krono, if you make it back to these parts, I'll have to buy you a Sprite at the ballpark!
:)

Weak, I'm a Pepsi man!!!

[Chip R]

The biggest news of the day I heard was that Great American Ball Park is changing to Coke products instead of Pepsi. That made the Cowboy and I very happy.


Let the winning begin!

[KittyDuran]

Weak, I'm a Pepsi man!!!Quit whining...;) You've had your stuff for 8 seasons...:p:

[Mario-Rijo]

Quit whining...;) You've had your stuff for 8 seasons...:p:

I guess I'll have to rig up some sort of Macgyver-esque, cooled, portable Pepsi backpack. :D

[cincrazy]

Was anyone listening to Sportstalk on WLW tonight? Wow. Three hours of Reds coverage from Redsfest with interviews from Jocketty, Baker, Votto, Phillips, Rhodes, Bray, Hanigan, Valaika, Janish, DThompson and I'm sure I'm leaving out a couple of players. Great stuff.

I am fired up for the season! (I know, call me crazy, but I think we're going to contend this year.)

"Hey, Crazy... you are crazy."

Hey! Nobody calls anyone crazy about here without my express written consent! ;)

[KittyDuran]

I guess I'll have to rig up some sort of Macgyver-esque, cooled, portable Pepsi backpack. :DNope... just do what I did for all those years... bring in an unopened 20oz bottle of the rival stuff (Pepsi for you)...:thumbup:

[redsfan30]

I'm guessing the Pepsi to Coke switch is due to the fact that Junior is no longer in town. Prior to the 2000 season the Reds sold Coke products but when Junior was traded over, Pepsi became the choice more than likely because he had an endorsement deal with them.

My dad will be happy, that's for sure.

[dougdirt]

Story I was told from someone:
Bob Castellini came over after a boy had thrown in the speed gun cage and said, "I should bring Dusty Baker over, we could use this kid". A man in line interjected, "I'm not sure thats a good idea - looking at Dusty's track record -unless you can afford the co-payments for Tommy John surgery!" Every adult in the line laughed, and Castellini gave him a dirty look and walked away.

[*BaseClogger*]

Story I was told from someone:
Bob Castellini came over after a boy had thrown in the speed gun cage and said, "I should bring Dusty Baker over, we could use this kid". A man in line interjected, "I'm not sure thats a good idea - looking at Dusty's track record -unless you can afford the co-payments for Tommy John surgery!" Every adult in the line laughed, and Castellini gave him a dirty look and walked away.

(!) :eek:

:bowrofl:

[KittyDuran]

I'm guessing the Pepsi to Coke switch is due to the fact that Junior is no longer in town. Prior to the 2000 season the Reds sold Coke products but when Junior was traded over, Pepsi became the choice more than likely because he had an endorsement deal with them.

My dad will be happy, that's for sure.IIRC most of the MLB ballparks switched over after the 1999 season - but Junior might've something to do with it in Cincy.

[Chip R]

Story I was told from someone:
Bob Castellini came over after a boy had thrown in the speed gun cage and said, "I should bring Dusty Baker over, we could use this kid". A man in line interjected, "I'm not sure thats a good idea - looking at Dusty's track record -unless you can afford the co-payments for Tommy John surgery!" Every adult in the line laughed, and Castellini gave him a dirty look and walked away.


:lol:

[Raisor]

Story I was told from someone:
Bob Castellini came over after a boy had thrown in the speed gun cage and said, "I should bring Dusty Baker over, we could use this kid". A man in line interjected, "I'm not sure thats a good idea - looking at Dusty's track record -unless you can afford the co-payments for Tommy John surgery!" Every adult in the line laughed, and Castellini gave him a dirty look and walked away.

I hope that actually happend.

Thats Awe. Some.

[dougdirt]

I hope that actually happend.

Thats Awe. Some.

I heard it from a friend, so I don't think he would make it up.

[HeatherC1212]

Story I was told from someone:
Bob Castellini came over after a boy had thrown in the speed gun cage and said, "I should bring Dusty Baker over, we could use this kid". A man in line interjected, "I'm not sure thats a good idea - looking at Dusty's track record -unless you can afford the co-payments for Tommy John surgery!" Every adult in the line laughed, and Castellini gave him a dirty look and walked away.

I don't know if I'm more :laugh: or :eek: over that story, LOL ;) On the one hand, Bob sounds like he was trying to pay the kid a nice compliment about his pitching and instead he got a rather snotty remark back from that man. On the other hand, Dusty's history doesn't look that good and it probably was a funny moment to everyone. I probably would have laughed too but part of me feels kind of bad for Bob because I'm sure that's not the response he was hoping for when he made that comment!

[Raisor]

I don't know if I'm more :laugh: or :eek: over that story, LOL ;) On the one hand, Bob sounds like he was trying to pay the kid a nice compliment about his pitching and instead he got a rather snotty remark back from that man. On the other hand, Dusty's history doesn't look that good and it probably was a funny moment to everyone. I probably would have laughed too but part of me feels kind of bad for Bob because I'm sure that's not the response he was hoping for when he made that comment!

It's a fan convention, not a make Bob feel good convention.

I would have loved to hear that.

[OnBaseMachine]

I had a GREAT time. I will definitely be going again next year. I arrived at the Convention Center at around 2:00 on Friday and waited in line for two hours with my dad and three of his friends. Jay Bruce, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, and Joey Votto were my top priorities for autographs, but I was only able to get Volquez and Votto. I got Votto's at 4:30. When Cueto and Volquez's name popped up on the screen everyone took off running in the direction of section A. By the time I got over there the line was already backed up to the main stage. Same with Bruce. They cut the line off before I could get on. I moved on and picked up autos from Mario Soto, Todd Frazier, Zach Cozart, Chris Valaika, Danny Dorn, Jim Maloney, Jack Billingham, Jim O'Toole, Clay Carroll, and Edwin Encarnacion. Frazier is an awesome guy. All of them were very nice but Frazier really stood out. Danny Dorn is listed as 6'2". No way. He's gotta be closer to 6'4".

I don't think any of these guys have gotten hair cuts since the season ended. Cueto has a huge afro. Dickerson has a fro-hawk. Bruce was shaggy.

Today I arrived at 9:00 AM and again waited about an hour and 35 minutes. They actually opened the doors about 25 minutes early today. Today my main goals were getting Cueto and Bruce's autograph. I was really hoping to get Bruce's but I got his twice back in January when the Reds caravan came to Charleston, so I wasn't too disappointed about it. I was unable to get Cueto's today because he only signed in the season ticket holders section and the kids section. That's disappointing because I was really wanting his auto. He's very popular. He received a loud ovation when the players were being introduced. I did manage to get Volquez's autograph. As soon as his name popped up on the screen I took off running (with about 200 people running behind me) for section B for he was scheduled to sign. Along with Volquez's today, I also got an auto from George Foster, who is an AWESOME guy btw. Very nice. He spoke to me, asked me where I was from, and joked around. Along with Volquez and Foster, I also got autos from Adam Rosales, Danny Ray Herrera, Devin Mesoraco, and Ramon Hernandez.

I had a great time. For those who have never been, I highly recommend it.

[HeatherC1212]

My friend and I went back to Redsfest today and had a great time again although we weren't there the whole time today. We got there around 11:30 AM and walked around to see some of the exhibits that we didn't see last night. They had this one area set up where the players read stories to all the little kids and they each took turns every half hour throughout the day. We managed to catch the kids story time hour at the perfect time....it was Joey Votto as the player guest! :D This area was near the MLB Hall of Fame exhibit (which we were walking through at the same time) so I was really happy that we saw that exhibit at just the right time. I now have about twenty pictures of Joey reading a story to the kids, LOL :laugh: We also caught Bronson's and Jay's story times later in the afternoon. I think the players had fun with it because they all looked like they were getting into the stories when we saw them there. Joey was downright animated with his time and he was even asking the kids questions and stuff. It was SO cute! /end fangirl moment ;) After that we got some lunch and then sat down near the stage for a while to eat. We caught part of the Hot Stove report but I don't remember hearing anything significant during that time. I walked around for a little while by myself when my friend got a phone call and I noticed that Joey Votto's autograph line was about 85 thousand miles long so that killed my hopes of meeting him today. :( I did notice a few other lines that I wanted to check out at some point (that wouldn't be miles long) and I also walked through the Reds store which I hadn't seen yet. They didn't have my size in the Votto t-shirts so that added another Votto bummer to the afternoon, LOL :laugh: Anyway, I met up with my friend again and she wanted to hit in the batting cage, so we went over there and she actually hit the ball every time. :D We hit a couple more lines on our way back to our seats for the Awards and Reds Idol game. I met Nick Masset (who is really nice guy) and Ramon Hernandez. I told Ramon that I knew him from being an Orioles fan and I think he was happy that a fan knew him! He was probably trying to figure out how on earth he had met an Orioles fan while in Ohio, LOL :laugh: We had a nice chat (my friend got a pic of us too) although I left out the part where I'm planning on throwing tomatoes at him if he pulls any of that loafing crap that I saw when he was with the O's. ;) It's great that he (and Rhodes for that matter) came to Redsfest so soon after the trades/new deals and Ramon seemed genuinely excited to meet the fans and see so much support for the team. He's a good guy and I do hope he has a good year. We found some good seats for the Awards thing and that was pretty cool. I hadn't seen that before because they used to do it on Friday before we could get there after work and I'd missed it the last two years. I got some good pictures of all the guys and we did find out offcially that Aaron Harang couldn't come this year. Joey, Brandon, and Edinson were all laughing at something on the awards so I'm curious what was so funny. ;) After the awards they did this Reds Idol thing where there were two really good singers and the other three were just all right. Joey, Tom Browning, and Marty B. were the judges and I was cracking up at Joey ragging on this one guy for wearing ripped jeans for the competition, LOL :laugh: The competition ended in a tie between this one girl who did a really good job (I missed part of her when I went to get ice cream for both of us) and this kid who sang "Don't Stop Believing" and really got the crowd going with it. They both were great so the tie worked for me. :) They did the Kids Press Conference after that with Bronson, Jeff Keppinger, Chris Dickerson, and Brandon and they were a hoot! Marty and Jeff were the two moderators today and the guys answered all kinds of questions. I think it was a lot of fun and Bronson especially was really talkative today. I liked Brandon's 'funniest baseball moment to witness' answer (I think that was the question). He said when Jerry Narron was the manager that there was a game where Jerry wanted to go out and argue with the umpire about something but when he went to leave the dugout, he missed a step and landed face first right on the ground! He said he felt bad about Jerry falling down but it was definitely his funniest moment and I probably would have laughed too, LOL :laugh: I really enjoy the Kids press conferences because it allows a different side of the players to come out and I think they have fun with it too. :)

After the Kids PC we actually left because we had plans to go downtown and skate at Fountain Square, but an hour and a half wait to even pay for your time on the ice kept us from doing that today. :eek: We were bummed out but decided to walk around Tower Place for a while and then we had dinner at Chipotle in Fountain Square. All in all it was a great weekend and I'm glad Redsfest was fun again this year. After not meeting any players last year, I'm happy I got to meet five this year. :) We probably could have met a few more if I had been willing to wait longer in the lines, but I wasn't going to make my friend go through it. She doesn't know the players that well and I think she would have been bored in about six seconds, LOL ;)

BTW-There was a baseball card I missed yesterday and got today but I can't remember whose it is for the life of me. :eek:

[WVRedsFan]

I'm guessing the Pepsi to Coke switch is due to the fact that Junior is no longer in town. Prior to the 2000 season the Reds sold Coke products but when Junior was traded over, Pepsi became the choice more than likely because he had an endorsement deal with them.

My dad will be happy, that's for sure.

Who drinks Coke at games? :)

I want a Hudepohl...

[remdog]

Story I was told from someone:
Bob Castellini came over after a boy had thrown in the speed gun cage and said, "I should bring Dusty Baker over, we could use this kid". A man in line interjected, "I'm not sure thats a good idea - looking at Dusty's track record -unless you can afford the co-payments for Tommy John surgery!" Every adult in the line laughed, and Castellini gave him a dirty look and walked away.

I don't know if that story is true or not but it is a great story. :)

Rem

[Blimpie]

I was there for about five solid hours yesterday and it was a pretty good time. There were FAR more exhibitors there than the last time I went several years ago. Both the photo and the autograph lines were ridiculously long--so my 10 year old son and I tried to be opportunistic vultures and catch various Reds kinda milling around between sessions.

It worked pretty well...My son got to speak with EdE, Cueto and Volquez as they entered the center yesterday (got photo with EdE). We also nabbed for a quick 'hello': Arroyo, Hopper, Keppinger, Owings, Foster, Maloney, Soto to name a few. The only line that my son wanted to actually wait in was for the photo booth with Joey Votto / Adam Rosales (required a $5 'donation'). All told, it took us about 1 hour to make it through the line--but it was definitely worth it for my son. Votto was extremely friendly and made conversations with everyone who made it through the line.

Favorite moment #3: While my son was in line for one of the pitching cages, I was talking with my friend (and fellow RedsZone poster) who came to RF with us. All of the sudden, I notice that Micah Owings is just sitting there taking a rest in the area reserved for the "Storybook Reading" for smaller kids. I knew my son wanted his autograph, so I walked over to Micah and struck up a brief conversation. After welcoming him to the team, I asked him if he would "rather be the fifth starter--or rather bat fifth in the batting order" ;) He laughed and said that he came here to be a pitcher--but that he LOVED to mash and looked forward to hitting in GABP. He also said that nobody from the Reds FO has really ever asked him anything about what his desires actually were. I told him to have a great Spring Training so that he could simply impose his will on them :cool: He really seems like a great kid and feel like he will end up being one of my favorite Reds. Got a nice picture of him with my son.

Favorite Moment #2: The friend I was with spent quite a bit more time around the Main Stage than did I. He said a kid from the crowd asked Walt what he thought about re-signing Adam Dunn for 2009. His response "Next question..." was apparently met with quite a few laughs.

Favorite Moment #3: The look on Brandon Phillips' face when the little girl in the crowd asked him what his favorite hockey team was.

[top6]

I don't know if that story is true or not but it is a great story. :)

Rem

If it isn't true - it should be. Fantastic.



He also said that nobody from the Reds FO has really ever asked him anything about what his desires actually were.


I mean, you only traded your best player for him and are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in him. Why would you take 5 minutes to talk to him about his career goals? That's the Reds' front office in a nut shell, in my opinion.

[OnBaseMachine]

Blimpie: Was Cueto easy to understand when you were talking to him? I've read that he knows some English but he's still not as fluid as Volquez is yet.

btw Edwin seems like a really good guy. He was constantly talking with fans and shaking their hands during his autograph sessions. He drew a pretty big ovation from the crowd during introductions.

[KittyDuran]

Me and Heather (w/friend) must have just missed each other - I got there yesterday at around 11:30 as well. This time I brought my camera to take a few pics - mostly of the exhibits, etc. Tried to upload into RZ but something about secruity is stopping it!? Oh well, I'll try again later. The hot spots of course were the autograph lines and gatherings around the info desk. There was a problem a little after 12pm concerning the schedule - which are announced an hour ahead - so you have dozens of people just staring up waiting for the change - then the chaos (OBM was probably in the group) of getting to the lines quick enough. (*My feelings on that later) Lucked out with Jay Bruce because he was signing autographs in the Redheads area (he's this year's spokesperson), so I snapped a few pics of him there. Picked up a few Grapper ornaments handed out along with the baseball cards (and coupons).

They talked about the Caravan on the main stage but I didn't see any schedule (but they did have the HUGE tour bus they will be using on display).

Once again, I tried to avoid the food - and it smelled great - but did break down to buy 4 cups of ice cream (which were a gooey mess by the time I got home)... :(

* For those of us (me and including the Teamsters) who remember past RedsFests know that the hour scheduling is just a recent (2? years) addition to the event. It used to be that the schedule was already set for the 2 days and you could plan ahead. The problem (both with the photos but mostly with the autographs) were that people would camp out, sometimes more than an hour ahead causing major logjams. Also, there was no limit (IIRC) on how many items you could have autographed. They tried a voucher system for the autographs for one year but that was a MAJOR headache because you had to stand in two lines. So, since I'm a "photo" person I like to blame the autograph seekers for this pain in the butt... ;) That's really the reason for me not getting too many photos of the players - I luv my Reds but I don't have the patience to hang around waiting for the opportunity. BTW, saw many people with suitcases full of stuff to be autographed... :eek: Hello, ebay! ;)

[OnBaseMachine]

Kitty: Yep. That was frustrating. After I got my George Foster autograph (around 12:05), I headed straight to the info desk to see who was signing at 1:00. Like you said, the signing info is supposed to be posted an hour before but it wasn't until 12:30 that the 1:00 info was posted. After that mishap they got back on schedule and started posting an hour ahead of time.

That ice cream was the best ice cream I've ever tasted. I had the cherry cordial - It was delicious.

[dougdirt]

Was it just me, or was anyone else slightly surprised that the Carolina Mudcats didn't have a booth set up at Redsfest? I figured it would be a perfect chance to kind of introduce themselves to the fan base, but I guess not.

[KittyDuran]

Was it just me, or was anyone else slightly surprised that the Carolina Mudcats didn't have a booth set up at Redsfest? I figured it would be a perfect chance to kind of introduce themselves to the fan base, but I guess not.It would've been nice, but do you honestly think that "average joe fan" would care? I know you and I would since we're into the minor leagues... but in the past I don't remember any of the minor league teams having a presence at Redsfest except for the players themselves. Heck, some years Sarasota's CoC wouldn't be there (and they could've promoted ST big time).

Yesterday, tho' the Reds on Radio Affiliate was WONE in Dayton - but who was there on Friday night?

[dougdirt]

It would've been nice, but do you honestly think that "average joe fan" would care? I know you and I would since we're into the minor leagues... but in the past I don't remember any of the minor league teams having a presence at Redsfest except for the players themselves. Heck, some years Sarasota's CoC wouldn't be there (and they could've promoted ST big time).

Yesterday, tho' the Reds on Radio Affiliate was WONE in Dayton - but who was there on Friday night?
I know Louisville was there last year, but they were promoting the AAA All Star game.

I can't remember who the ROR affiliate was on Friday night. I know I stopped by and checked it out for a while, but I just can't remember (shame on me).

[Blimpie]

Blimpie: Was Cueto easy to understand when you were talking to him? I've read that he knows some English but he's still not as fluid as Volquez is yet.

btw Edwin seems like a really good guy. He was constantly talking with fans and shaking their hands during his autograph sessions. He drew a pretty big ovation from the crowd during introductions.It was really my son who did all of the talking to them; and he specifically approached EdE. As a result, Cueto and Volquez did alot of smiling and nodding while EdE was talking to him.

After we got our picture with EdE, my son even said, "now I know why Encarnacion meets the pitching coach on the mound when either of those guys are pitching."

:D

[Blimpie]

They talked about the Caravan on the main stage but I didn't see any schedule (but they did have the HUGE tour bus they will be using on display). When I first saw the coach, it was full of fans who were checking out the interior. It looked as though a line was forming at the door, so we entered the line figuring it was something like "two get off--two more can get on" kinda thing.

All of the sudden, I see people start pouring out of the thing (along with a staffer). I then learned that the interior of the coach was supposed to be off limits COMPLETELY. Apparently, some little kid figured out how to open the doors and began hosting some improptu tours...

:beerme:

[Caseyfan21]

It was really my son who did all of the talking to them; and he specifically approached EdE. As a result, Cueto and Volquez did alot of smiling and nodding while EdE was talking to him.

After we got our picture with EdE, my son even said, "now I know why Encarnacion meets the pitching coach on the mound when either of those guys are pitching."

:D

My girlfriend and I got a picture with Cueto and Volquez as well on Saturday. With 2 of us and two of them during the down time while the photographer got ready we sort of each greeted the player next to us. I had a brief exchange with Encarnacion who spoke pretty good English. After we were done I asked my gf about Cueto and she wondered why he didn't say anything to her. She apparently said hi, how's it going to him and he just sort of nodded to her. Later, while that line was finishing up we were watching the two of them interact with a security guard and the guard was definitely addressing Cueto about where he needed to go and Encarnacion was translating in between. The guard would talk to Encarnacion who would relay. I also noticed on Saturday that Cueto always appeared to be paired with a fellow Dominican, either Encarnacion or Volquez, which I think was for comfort reasons. Volquez seemed to have less interaction with fans when we got his autograph but he still seemed to talk a little.

[Caseyfan21]

btw Edwin seems like a really good guy. He was constantly talking with fans and shaking their hands during his autograph sessions. He drew a pretty big ovation from the crowd during introductions.

I noticed this as well. I always sort of thought he was a little distant and a bit aloof (for lack of better word), but he definitely was a very nice guy who smiled and made an effort to interact with fans. I was very impressed with his demeanor with fans. He totally changed my perception of him since I had never met him previously.

[Caseyfan21]

Here's a couple other funny stories from my Redsfest experience that will bring a few laughs:

First a little bit of background.....my girlfriend went with me. She is by no means a hard core Reds fan...she was never a Reds or baseball fan until she started dating me. But she has come a long way and while she will never care about statistics (I taught her a .300 BA is good and an ERA below 4.00 is good), she still enjoys going to a lot of games and meeting players especially (I can't ask for much more and she brings a unique perspective). One other important piece of info about her is her favorite players. She frequently gets frustrated with the Reds for "trading all the people I know" but she is a huge supporter of under dogs. If there is a player she's met that she thinks is "a nice guy" than she will stick with him to the bitter end even if I curse his name. Example A is Juan Castro, one of her favorite players of all time cause he was really nice to her when she met him after a game a few years back. Her other current favorite is Norris Hopper because her and her friend went to a game when he was first called up a couple years ago and thought he was short and had a cute name. Other favorite players of hers have included Joe Valentine (he was cute), Dan Haren (met him at a hotel bar and he's cute), Sean Casey (nice guy), Pokey Reese (fun name), and Kearns. So you see what I'm dealing with here.

So her biggest goal at Reds fest was not a Jay Bruce autograph or Johnny Cueto graph, it was of course a Norris Hopper autograph. When we first arrived we were lucky enough to catch his photo booth time with Paul Janish and get a picture with us and both of them. Since it was a preprinted one for the donation, I suggested it might be a good idea to get both of them to autograph it. Janish signed the next hour with no line which was easy but we needed to get Hopper. I suggested waiting outside the season ticket holders line after he came out so we camped out there. He went past us quickly so I set off in pursuit with some others. Lucky enough for me he was walking past the Hooter's girl tent and had to get a quick flirt in with one girl who talked to him so I caught up and as he left I got him to sign the picture. This made the girl's day right there.

Later, we were over in the Reds community fund looking at the old game used stuff (actually some reasonable prices compared to what they charge in season) and lo and behold we found a Juan Castro game used bat for the bargain basement price of $25. I got it for her as an early Christmas gift so I now probably have a free pass for the rest of the month. She immediately wanted to stop by a store and get some brackets to hang it up on the way home. So that was entertaining to see just how easy it was to make her day and it taught me the lesson that Redsfest would be much easier if my favorite players were the underdogs no one else cared about.:laugh:

One other story was our quest to find some baseballs for autographs. I was totally unprepared having just gotten home from school late Friday night so I decided I'd just buy some autograph stuff there. I went over to the Reds shop and official balls were $24. :eek: I went over to the memorabilia area and the best price I found was $11 for an official ball so I bought two for Cueto and Volquez to sign. I needed another ball for "lesser" players to all sign so I found a deal better than the $11....I bought a single sweet spot signed Dusty Baker ball for $10. :laugh: Yes, that's correct folks, Dusty's autograph actually reduced the value of the ball by $1 from the next cheapest ball! I told this story to a couple players who all got a good laugh out of it as well (no names listed in case Dusty reads the site ;)).

I was in the Cueto/Encarnacion picture line while Massett, Thompson, and Bray were all taking pictures next to us. They had no line so while we were waiting I talked with them a bit and got their autographs. I walked up and asked if they would mind signing even though it was probably "a little bit illegal in the picture line." Security had gotten on people about it earlier in the day. Massett started cracking up and said "Hey aren't we all here to just have a good time anyways, I don't care if we're breaking the rules as long as we have fun!" He seemed like a really nice guy along with Bray. Thompson was also nice, just a bit more quiet.

I also got the chance to meet Buddy LaRosa when we were eating a late lunch and we saw him set up at a table. He was a hoot. He was eating it up giving out LaRosa's balls and bats autographed by him and taking pictures. I enjoyed meeting him, and it's a great story to tell people.

Other than that, not too much more to report. We had a good time wondering around finding free stuff and the Reds winter hat they gave out was really nice. I was out with my girlfriends family at a tree farm near Dayton this afternoon and saw another kid also wearing the hat. I'd expect to pay $10 in the store for one of those so it was nice to get it free (especially cause I needed another winter hat). I had not been to Redsfest since the convention center was redone so I was blown away with how well this event was run. I loved the idea of giving out autograph locations an hour early but I can see how older folks who don't get around as fast might not like it. It sure beat the craziness of pushing shoving and hoping you would get a ticket voucher or the craziness of guessing which player would be where and having no central location to check. I have to say, the current ownership has really improved the way the Reds run things off the field, hopefully we can start to see some improvement on the field as well.

[KittyDuran]

Later, we were over in the Reds community fund looking at the old game used stuff (actually some reasonable prices compared to what they charge in season) and lo and behold we found a Juan Castro game used bat for the bargain basement price of $25. I got it for her as an early Christmas gift so I now probably have a free pass for the rest of the month. She immediately wanted to stop by a store and get some brackets to hang it up on the way home. So that was entertaining to see just how easy it was to make her day and it taught me the lesson that Redsfest would be much easier if my favorite players were the underdogs no one else cared about.
Well, I saw someone buy a Castro jersey Saturday - that wasn't you??? ;)

[HeatherC1212]

Me and Heather (w/friend) must have just missed each other - I got there yesterday at around 11:30 as well. This time I brought my camera to take a few pics - mostly of the exhibits, etc. Tried to upload into RZ but something about secruity is stopping it!? Oh well, I'll try again later. The hot spots of course were the autograph lines and gatherings around the info desk. There was a problem a little after 12pm concerning the schedule - which are announced an hour ahead - so you have dozens of people just staring up waiting for the change - then the chaos (OBM was probably in the group) of getting to the lines quick enough. (*My feelings on that later) Lucked out with Jay Bruce because he was signing autographs in the Redheads area (he's this year's spokesperson), so I snapped a few pics of him there. Picked up a few Grapper ornaments handed out along with the baseball cards (and coupons).

They talked about the Caravan on the main stage but I didn't see any schedule (but they did have the HUGE tour bus they will be using on display).

Once again, I tried to avoid the food - and it smelled great - but did break down to buy 4 cups of ice cream (which were a gooey mess by the time I got home)... :(

* For those of us (me and including the Teamsters) who remember past RedsFests know that the hour scheduling is just a recent (2? years) addition to the event. It used to be that the schedule was already set for the 2 days and you could plan ahead. The problem (both with the photos but mostly with the autographs) were that people would camp out, sometimes more than an hour ahead causing major logjams. Also, there was no limit (IIRC) on how many items you could have autographed. They tried a voucher system for the autographs for one year but that was a MAJOR headache because you had to stand in two lines. So, since I'm a "photo" person I like to blame the autograph seekers for this pain in the butt... ;) That's really the reason for me not getting too many photos of the players - I luv my Reds but I don't have the patience to hang around waiting for the opportunity. BTW, saw many people with suitcases full of stuff to be autographed... :eek: Hello, ebay! ;)

Aww, I bet we did just miss each other! That's funny that we got there around the same time. I also got some of the ice cream but we ate it there because I never would have lasted until I got home. ;) We only had two cups though this year so I did reign myself in a little better than last year when I had like 3-4 cups at the event (cookies and cream is my flavor...YUM), LOL :laugh: I saw a lot of the autograph people too and I can't imagine dragging a suitcase or big backpack around for all that time. My back was hurting just watching some of these guys carrying all this stuff around all day! :eek: I did meet a guy when I was in the line for Micah Owings who is a photographer and likes to get his pictures printed out and signed by the players. I think he must live near Dayton because he said he's gone to a lot of Dragons games and has a ton of autographs from some of the guys when they were there (like Jay and Johnny Cueto). He also gives a print out to the player which I thought was really cool. He has some really nice shots, he has one of Jay getting his first MLB hit, and he was a really good guy too. We had a nice chat while waiting for Micah. :)

And I have to agree about that Reds winter hat. It's really nice and I actually wore it when we were walking around downtown. It's really warm and I think it will get a lot of use from me this winter! :D

[KittyDuran]

I did meet a guy when I was in the line for Micah Owings who is a photographer and likes to get his pictures printed out and signed by the players. I think he must live near Dayton because he said he's gone to a lot of Dragons games and has a ton of autographs from some of the guys when they were there (like Jay and Johnny Cueto). He also gives a print out to the player which I thought was really cool. He has some really nice shots, he has one of Jay getting his first MLB hit, and he was a really good guy too. We had a nice chat while waiting for Micah.
Was he sort of short, with a dark beard, glasses and wearing a baseball cap? I've seen this guy at various Reds events (including the now defunct Photo Day) who was a professional photographer with a real nice camera.

[KittyDuran]

Heather I might have seen you Saturday at the entrance... if I remember some of your photos from years past.... Do you have short blonde hair and around 5'4"? I was wearing a light blue ski sweater, blue jeans, mirrored shades toting around my Reds bag... :)

[HeatherC1212]

Was he sort of short, with a dark beard, glasses and wearing a baseball cap? I've seen this guy at various Reds events (including the now defunct Photo Day) who was a professional photographer with a real nice camera.

Hmmm, I don't remember if he had a beard or not (he may have had a gotee) but he did have dark hair and was wearing a baseball cap. He was carrying around a large black photo portfolio case too. It could have been the same guy! :)


Heather I might have seen you Saturday at the entrance... if I remember some of your photos from years past.... Do you have short blonde hair and around 5'4"? I was wearing a light blue ski sweater, blue jeans, mirrored shades toting around my Reds bag... :)

I do have blonde hair but its actually pretty long right now and I'm only about 5' tall too, so you probably didn't see me on Saturday! ;) I don't know if I saw you or not because I think there were a LOT more people there on Saturday than Friday. I was wearing a Reds jersey with a long sleeved black top underneath it and initially had on my grey fleece jacket when we first came in. That would have been cool to meet you! :)

[OnBaseMachine]

My girlfriend and I got a picture with Cueto and Volquez as well on Saturday. With 2 of us and two of them during the down time while the photographer got ready we sort of each greeted the player next to us. I had a brief exchange with Encarnacion who spoke pretty good English. After we were done I asked my gf about Cueto and she wondered why he didn't say anything to her. She apparently said hi, how's it going to him and he just sort of nodded to her. Later, while that line was finishing up we were watching the two of them interact with a security guard and the guard was definitely addressing Cueto about where he needed to go and Encarnacion was translating in between. The guard would talk to Encarnacion who would relay. I also noticed on Saturday that Cueto always appeared to be paired with a fellow Dominican, either Encarnacion or Volquez, which I think was for comfort reasons. Volquez seemed to have less interaction with fans when we got his autograph but he still seemed to talk a little.

I was watching Cueto and Volquez during their photo shoot on Friday night. At one point a guy dressed up in a Santa suit with a Reds helmet on walked up to get his picture taken with Cueto/Volquez. I guess something was wrong with the camera so there was about five minutes of downtime. This guy was talking nonstop to Cueto/Volquez and Volquez was laughing/joking with him the whole time. Cueto just nodded his head and smiled the whole time... you could tell he had no idea what the guy was saying.

From what I've read, Johnny speaks a little English but not a whole lot yet. Edwin speaks much better English than I thought.

[HeatherC1212]

I was watching Cueto and Volquez during their photo shoot on Friday night. At one point a guy dressed up in a Santa suit with a Reds helmet on walked up to get his picture taken with Cueto/Volquez. I guess something was wrong with the camera so there was about five minutes of downtime. This guy was talking nonstop to Cueto/Volquez and Volquez was laughing/joking with him the whole time. Cueto just nodded his head and smiled the whole time... you could tell he had no idea what the guy was saying.

From what I've read, Johnny speaks a little English but not a whole lot yet. Edwin speaks much better English than I thought.

That reminds me of something the Dayton guy (the photographer) told me about when we were waiting in Micah's line. He said that back when Cueto was in Dayton, they had to teach him how to write his name in English. Apparently when he first started signing autographs, all he wrote was J-O-H-N-N-Y and it was all printed out, no cursive. I guess he now signs either Johnny or J.Cueto when he does autographs but I thought that was kind of cute that they had to teach him how to write his name out in English for autographs. It will definitely be good to have Ramon catching for Cueto to help with the language barrier! Hopefully he's learning though so he can talk to everyone else, LOL :)

[Chip R]

That would have been cool to meet you! :)


You would think so, wouldn't you? ;)

[Caseyfan21]

I was watching Cueto and Volquez during their photo shoot on Friday night. At one point a guy dressed up in a Santa suit with a Reds helmet on walked up to get his picture taken with Cueto/Volquez. I guess something was wrong with the camera so there was about five minutes of downtime. This guy was talking nonstop to Cueto/Volquez and Volquez was laughing/joking with him the whole time. Cueto just nodded his head and smiled the whole time... you could tell he had no idea what the guy was saying.

From what I've read, Johnny speaks a little English but not a whole lot yet. Edwin speaks much better English than I thought.

Ooprs, just reread that. We got our picture with Cueto and Encarnacion, not Cueto and Volquez as the original sentenance said.

Yeah, I noticed that about Edwin as well. I didn't think he spoke a ton but his accent wasn't really very thick at all. From what I noticed, he's clearly helping as Johnny's big brother in a lot of situations.

[OnBaseMachine]

That reminds me of something the Dayton guy (the photographer) told me about when we were waiting in Micah's line. He said that back when Cueto was in Dayton, they had to teach him how to write his name in English. Apparently when he first started signing autographs, all he wrote was J-O-H-N-N-Y and it was all printed out, no cursive. I guess he now signs either Johnny or J.Cueto when he does autographs but I thought that was kind of cute that they had to teach him how to write his name out in English for autographs. It will definitely be good to have Ramon catching for Cueto to help with the language barrier! Hopefully he's learning though so he can talk to everyone else, LOL :)

I have a couple cards of Cueto that are signed JOHNNY.

Here's a picture of the card I have:

http://i22.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/1e/b6/43c4_1.JPG

And here's a baseball I just found on Ebay of his new signature:

http://i15.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/e9/c5/634c_1.JPG

[OnBaseMachine]

I think I spent somewhere around $80 just on Reds photos and posters at Redsfest. Among the items I bought:

-Big Red Machine Great Eight poster
-Johnny Cueto lithograph
-Barry Larkin lithograph
-Frank Robinson lithograph
-Johnny Bench lithograph
-Joe Morgan lithograph
-Mario Soto 8x10 photo (signed by Soto)
-Paul O'Neill 8x10 photo
-Jose Rijo 8x10 photo
-George Foster 8x10 photo (signed by Foster)
-Jay Bruce 8x10 photo

Plus I bought dad a $25 magazine with Johnny Bench and his signature on the cover for Christmas.

Redsfest is awesome. I can't wait to go again next year. I'm hoping the Reds Caravan comes to Charleston in January... I'm sure they will since they did last year.

[Blimpie]

I am still pretty pumped after RedsFest, as well. Any word on when the Caravan dates/locations will be announced?

[OnBaseMachine]

I am still pretty pumped after RedsFest, as well. Any word on when the Caravan dates/locations will be announced?

I'm pretty sure the Caravan is from Janaury 12-16 but I'm not sure of the locations yet. IIRC it's expanding to three legs this year instead of two.

[Blimpie]

Thanks for the dates, OBM....

[Mario-Rijo]

I'm pretty sure the Caravan is from Janaury 12-16 but I'm not sure of the locations yet. IIRC it's expanding to three legs this year instead of two.

How does the caravan compare to Redsfest? I assume just a smaller, less attended (by that I mean players) version. Do they sell olds Reds cards and memorabilia at these events? And do they sell Jerseys?

[Caseyfan21]

How does the caravan compare to Redsfest? I assume just a smaller, less attended (by that I mean players) version. Do they sell olds Reds cards and memorabilia at these events? And do they sell Jerseys?

I don't recall them selling much of anything the last few years. It's mostly just the players....there's usually a half hour or so Q & A followed by a large autograph line. They usually have a couple small booths for the Hall of Fame and Reds Community Fund. I think a couple other co-sponsors might also have tables but I don't remember them ever selling any memorabilia or jerseys or anything. It's all about meeting and interacting with the players.

[Blimpie]

I'm pretty sure the Caravan is from Janaury 12-16 but I'm not sure of the locations yet. IIRC it's expanding to three legs this year instead of two.Upon further review, these may not be the actual caravan dates...

RedsFan1966 informed me that he saw some banners on display during RedsFest which indicated that the Caravan dates would be January 22-25. I guess we will just have to wait for the press release.

Also, in response to the question from Mario-Rijo, I have never seen any caravan incorporate either exhibits or memorabilia sales into the program. It has typically been comprised of Q&A and autograph signing.

Normally, all of the players are made available during the same time block (about two hours). I have been to about 3-4 caravans--all in Lexington. In those, the location was anywhere from a bank lobby to the largest mall in KY.

In any event, the crowds are MUCH smaller than what you would see at RedsFest and there are far better opportunities for dialogue/photos with the players.

[Chip R]

I have to say that I didn't enjoy it as much as I have in years past. I'm not that big into the autograph and picture thing. In the past they used to have some pretty good bargains on clothes. Not really the case anymore. It's very, very crowded and difficult to move around without bumping in to people. It's not a criticism of the event but it's just my personal tastes.

I worked our vintage base ball booth and got to eat for free at a special buffet for the volunteers and players. Some of us were sitting down to eat right after the players were introduced. After they were introduced they all came back into the food area. Brandon Phillips was talking to everyone - by that I mean all the volunteers helping out back stage. He couldn't have been nicer to those people. One of my friends talked to Rosales and he said Rosales was so nice to him and his kids and he even gave some hitting tips to his kids.