The baseball season is over and we’re well into November which can mean only one Cincinnati Reds-related piece of news: RedsFest. Oh, and tickets go on sale today.

Take it away, press release!

Tickets for FOX Sports Ohio Redsfest presented by PNC will go on sale Wed., Nov. 9, available at reds.com, by phone at (513) 381-REDS, at the Great American Ball Park box office and at Ticketmaster Outlets including select Kroger stores.

The annual fan festival will be held at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, Dec. 2 from 4 to 10:30 pm and Saturday, Dec. 3 from 11 am to 6:30 pm. One-day tickets are $17 for adults and $7 for kids 12 and younger. Two-day tickets are $25 for adults and $12 for kids.

With paid admission, all fans will receive one free View Level ticket to any Monday-Wednesday game in April 2012 at Great American Ball Park. Also, the first 10,000 fans each day will receive a free drawstring backpack and Reds knit gloves.

Redsfest features more than 200,000 square feet of activities, including autograph and photo booths with current and former Reds players, interactive games for fans of all ages, hard-to-find memorabilia and much more. New this year, the aisles on the floor of Redsfest will be significantly wider and additional seating has been added in the concession areas.

“Redsfest continues to be best fan fest across all of Major League Baseball,” said Bob Castellini, Reds President and Chief Executive Officer. “There is no better way for fans of all ages to get up close and personal with all their favorite current and former Reds players and broadcasters.”

More than 50 current and former Reds players and coaches are expected to attend including Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Yonder Alonso, Dusty Baker and many more.

Redsfest Autograph Opportunities for 2011
Over 100 player autograph sessions and player photograph sessions are free of charge with a Redsfest general admission ticket. Specific times for player appearances will be announced 30 minutes prior to the autograph and photo sessions on the info screens on the Redsfest floor and on the Reds official Twitter page at: twitter.com/reds.

New for 2011: Autograph Opportunity Sweepstakes and Elite Pass Auctions
Passes to six of the autograph sessions featuring some of the Reds biggest names will be available to fans on reds.com. Players scheduled to appear in these autograph sessions are:
— Friday: Jay Bruce, Aroldis Chapman and Scott Rolen
— Saturday: Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips

Fans interested in attending one of the these autograph sessions have two options only on reds.com:
• Autograph Opportunity Sweepstakes
— Fans can register on reds.com through Nov. 16 to be selected for one of the free autograph sessions.
— Two hundred names will be selected at random for each of these six autograph sessions, for a total of 1,200 lucky winners. Winners will receive their special pass in the mail prior to Redsfest.
• Elite Pass Auctions
— Fans can guarantee spots in these autograph sessions by bidding on Elite Passes that are being auctioned on reds.com.
— Twenty-five (25) passes are being auctioned off for each day of the event and winning bidders will receive passes to all three exclusive sessions on either Friday or Saturday. Fans can place bids on Elite Pass auctions on reds.com from now through Nov. 21. The 25 winners for each day will receive their special pass in the mail prior to Redsfest.

Redsfest Main Stage: The main stage will feature popular activities such as kids-only press conferences involving players, Cincinnati’s Got Talent contest and the Reds Hot Stove Report with President of Baseball Operations and GM Walt Jocketty and Manager Dusty Baker. All current and former players in attendance will be introduced live on the Main Stage on Friday at 5:30 pm. A special tribute to former Reds owner Carl Lindner is also planned for the Main Stage on Friday night.

Mr. Red is Back! Ceremonies unveiling the new “Mr. Red” mascot will be Friday with teammates Gapper, Mr. Redlegs and Rosie Red.

Cincinnati’s Got Talent: Singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and performers of all ages are invited to showcase their talents in the inaugural Cincinnati’s Got Talent competition. Open auditions are Nov. 19 and 20 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The semifinals and finals will be held at Dec. 2 and 3 at Redsfest. The grand prize winner will take home $1,000 and the runner-up will win $500. For more information, please visit reds.com/talent.

Live Auctions: New in the Game Used Merchandise area will be live auctions for game used jerseys, bats, balls, bases and autographed memorabilia from Reds player and coaches. Examples of auction items are a Joey Votto game used jersey and a “Jay Bruce Feel The Game” package that includes a Bruce game used jersey, bat and pants. The live auctions will begin at 4pm on Saturday.

The Reds Hall of Fame & Museum will have an expanded presence at Redsfest, including a display featuring the ’75, ’76 and ’90 World Series trophies, Reds artifacts, Reds trivia and more. Redsfest is a great opportunity to purchase a 2012 Reds Museum membership.

The annual Reds Community Fund Celebrity Poker Tournament takes place on Saturday, Dec. 3. Registration and side games begin at 3:30 pm with the tournament starting at 5 pm. Sign-up today at reds.com/poker or call (513) 765-7240.

The 2012 Reds Heads Kids Club membership will be for sale at Redsfest. The $25 Reds Heads merchandise kit makes a great holiday gift for children ages 14 and younger, which includes vouchers for free Reds tickets and exclusive club gear. A special Reds Heads gift will be included in memberships purchased at Redsfest, while supplies last.

Proceeds from Redsfest benefit the baseball-themed outreach programs of the Reds Community Fund.

You can find all the information about RedsFest here.

I saw mention of this story come through on Facebook today in between meetings:

Another big season has earned first baseman Joey Votto the Reds’ Performer of the Year Award, as selected by MLB.com.

Of course, I thought it was a league-level award at the time I read it. Once I realized that MLB.com chose one of these award recipients for every team, I thought they ought to make a special exception in Votto’s case and change the name to the “Well, Duh” award. Consider:

Votto, the reigning National League MVP, batted .309 with 29 home runs and 103 RBIs in his second straight All-Star season. He led the NL with 110 walks, 40 doubles and a .416 on-base percentage, and set career highs for games played (161) and plate appearances (719).

A couple more years like that, and it’ll get even more incredible that this team can’t win. At least Votto will have a nice resume and presence on Baseball-Reference.com. Congratulations to Votto.

I missed this last week, but the day after Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips won his third Gold Glove, Phillips received his first Silver Slugger.

Phillips definitely deserved the award, as he was by far the most valuable offensive second basemen in the National League in 2011. He wracked up a Wins Above Replacement value of 6. The next closest was Philadelphia Phillies’ second basemen Chase Utley at 3.9. That’s 6 games the Reds won because of Phillips’ presence. (When you add in first baseman Joey Votto’s WAR of almost 7, you can tell the right side of the infield was certainly pulling its weight.)

It was the best offensive season from Phillips in his career. Most of the major stats were above his career averages.

• Batting Average: .300 (.272 career)
• On-Base Percentage: .353 (.322 career)
• Slugging: .457 (.434 career)

His home runs did not reach their peak of 30, which he got in 2007 when I think he hit cleanup for much of the year. He was never very suited for that position, and I hope that his new-found on-base percentage is more than just an aberration in a contract year. I’d love to see Phillips keep that up for the Reds. Getting on base 35% of the time is a better number than any Reds lead-off hitter I can remember for the last ever.

That it did happen for a year in which Phillips was seeking either a new contract or an extension does give me pause; however, that’s something to worry about next year. For now, we should enjoy Phillips getting his well-deserved recognition.

Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs fired manager Mike Quade.

The move wasn’t exactly a surprise, considering the Cubs had just brought in Theo Epstein to be the new general manager. New GMs often want to clear house and start fresh, but since Epstein hadn’t done that when he started his job with the Boston Red Sox, I wondered if he’d hang on to the existing manager for one season. I guess not.

Quade managed the Cubs for just one full season–2011–and part of 2010. His overall record was 95-104. The Cubs finished 5th both years he was manager.

With him removed, the Cubs, just like the St. Louis Cardinals, will be conducting a managerial search. All Cubs fans’ thoughts immediately turned to Ryne Sandberg. But Epstein squashed that idea quickly.

The managerial search process begins immediately. We are looking for someone with whom and around whom we can build a foundation for sustained success. The next manager must have leadership and communication skills; he must place an emphasis on preparation and accountability; he must establish high standards and a winning culture; he must have integrity and an open mind; and he must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level.

Yeah, that “major league level” experience bit? That rules out Sandberg. But one person it doesn’t leave out is former interim Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Mackanin. Mackanin will be interviewing with Chicago on Friday.

And if he gets the job, given how the Reds lied to him before sneakily hiring Dusty Baker, there might be some karmic payback coming. I wish Mackanin the best. I think he’s an interesting guy and wouldn’t have minded seeing more of him with the Reds.

Now that the World Series is over, Major League Baseball will start announcing its regular season awards. Last night, the Gold Gloves were announced.

And the Cincinnati Reds had two recipients: Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips.

Phillips has won the award for his defense at second base three of the last four years.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Phillips said. “The manager and the coaches respect my work.”

Phillips realizes the importance of defense.

“Defense wins games,” Phillips said. “I go out and catch the ball the best way I know how. . . The baseball field is my coliseum. I go out and entertain the fans.”

The award was Votto’s first, and was the first ever for a Reds first baseman.

“I’d like to thank the managers and coaches who selected me,” Votto said. “It always means a tremendous amount to be selected by your superiors for any award, especially for one of this magnitude. I’d also like to thank the Reds’ coaching staff for their help, with a special mention to bench coach Chris Speier.”

Both Votto and Phillips had clauses in their contracts that award them bonuses for the awards. Phillips will be $250,000 richer, while Votto gets $50,000.

Last year, the Reds had three Gold Glove winners: Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, and Bronson Arroyo. It could’ve been three again this year, but Jay Bruce was robbed by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andre Ethier. I guess there’s always next year.