Tuesday, January 24, 2006

For those who are interested ...

The Cincinnati Reds will kick off their Winter Caravan with a stop at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Pinheads in northeast Indianapolis.

All seven Winter Caravan stops are free and open to the public. At each site, the Reds will raffle off 2 tickets to the 2006 Opening Day game against the Chicago Cubs.

The very popular Winter Caravan provides fans with the opportunity to interact with Reds manager Jerry Narron, players, broadcasters and other members of the front office staff. At each stop, the group will field questions from fans, sign autographs and pose for photographs. Sales representatives will be on hand to discuss season tickets and group sales, and the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum also will display a traveling exhibit.

Scheduled to appear at all seven Winter Caravan stops are Narron, Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman and Reds Radio partner Steve Stewart, new Reds Hall of Famer Lee May and senior director of business operations Phil Castellini. Senior special assistant Gene Bennett will join the group in Ashland.

Newly-acquired pitcher Dave Williams will be accompanied on the Thursday and Friday stops by the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year, which will be announced at the LaSalle High School Stag tomorrow night. Pitcher Kent Mercker once again will attend the popular stop at Flannagan’s Dublin.

Todd Coffey will join the caravan in Dayton, while Tom Browning, another new Reds Hall of Famer, will entertain in Louisville, Ashland and Lexington. Outfielder Austin Kearns will visit the Lexington event.

Here's the schedule:

Thursday, January 26 Indianapolis, Pinheads 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Friday, January 27 Lima, Lima Mall Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Columbus, Flannagan’s Dublin 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 28 Dayton, Fricker’s in West Carrollton Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Louisville, Louisville Slugger Museum 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 29 Ashland, KY, Ashland Town Center Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Nicholasville, KY, Champion Sports Lexington 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Hiatus nearing its end

I realize this blog has been dormant for several weeks.

For those of you who've dared to venture into this obscure locale in cyberspace, I assure you the daily updates will return soon.

Did I hear Reds CEO Bob Castellini refer to "Sabermetrics" in his press conference yesterday?

Whoa.