Sabo yes, LeCure no

RedsFest tickets are on sale, and reds.com has the list of players scheduled to make appearances.

Obviously none of the current major- and minor-league players and coaches on the list are surprises ... would have liked to see Sam LeCure on there, of course, but doesn't look like that'll happen. We will get Cozart, Frazier, Heisey, Maloney, Ondrusek, Valaika and Wood.

Former players scheduled to attend (who no longer have an official role with the team): Sabo (Friday only), Jack Billingham, Pedro Borbon (whose status somehow went from unable-to-locate to attending RedsFest in a matter of weeks), Tom Browning, Leo Cardenas, Clay Carroll, Eric Davis, Chuck Harmon, Tommy Helms, Jerry Lynch, Lee May, Hal Morris, Jim O'Toole, Ron Oester, Joe Oliver, Jeff Reed, Scott Scudder and Herm Winningham.

Get your cards ready! (and balls too, I guess, just didn't want to say get your balls ready)

Bring him up!

From Reds assistant director of media relations Jamie Ramsey's minor-league report:

RHP Sam LeCure struck out a season-high 11 batters as he collected his 9th victory and 10th quality start (6ip, 8h, 2bb, 1hr) in Louisville's 8-4 win against Charlotte.

Vote or Die. BY NOON!

Believe us, Ditty would want you to vote Sam LeCure as the Reds 2009 Fans Choice Bobblehead. Todays' you last day to throw your vote down for Sam. Let's rally and get this man a bobble!

Voting ends at noon, folks!!! NOON! So... GO VOTE

UPDATE: Voting has ended. Thanks so much for the support, folks. We can only wait and see now.

UPDATE #2: Your 2009 Fans Choice Bobblehead is Edinson Volquez. Hey, that's kick ass. Thanks for playing along and voting for Sam. He'll have a bobblehead soon enough. Here's hoping for 2010! But, for right now, we're looking forward to July 18th.

Vote

Do it.

Visualize. Vote.

Vote for Sam. Vote often. Vote Now.

Why Sam LeCure?

Just to clarify, here are a few of our reasons for endorsing Sam LeCure for Fan's Choice Bobblehead.

1. Why not?

2. We LOVE that he and other Reds' minor-league pitchers with whom many Reds fans aren't familiar were included on the reds.com ballot. Seriously. Not making fun. It's a LOT less boring than just throwing Harang, Arroyo, Volquez, Cueto and Cordero on the ballot and saying, "Pick from one of those."

3. It's really not JUST the "middle-aged-dude-to-randomly-say-what-the-hell-is-this??-when-they-are-handed-their-bobblehead-at-the-gate" factor as Dan explained in the original post. Look, our main man Sam is F'reel! He's 24, he's got a live arm and you'd better GET to know him if you don't already because this guy is going to be in the Reds' starting rotation before you know it. So it'll be cool that you'll have a bobblehead of him from the 2009 season when he's our ace in like 2011 or 2012. It'll be like getting a dude's rookie card two years before his first cup of coffee in the bigs. Now we have no idea when Sam is going to make his mark as a Red ... it could very well be sooner than that. The point is ... embrace him, get to know him and vote daily now through April 30 at reds.com so that a Sam LeCure bobblehead can be yours July 18.

ALL ABOUT SAM

Full Name: Samuel R. LeCure
Born: May 4, 1984 in Jefferson City, Missouri
Height: 6-1 Weight: 190
Bats: Right Throws: Right
High School: Helias (Jefferson City, Missouri)
College: University of Texas

Drafted: Selected by Cincinnati Reds in 4th Round (122nd overall) of June 2005 amateur entry draft

LeCure went 5-1 with a 3.27 ERA at Billings in 2005. He had a 3.43 ERA in 27 starts in Sarasota in 2006, and he was promoted to Double-A Chattanooga after one dominant effort (in which he struck out 8 in 5 innings and allowed just two hits) in Sarasota to begin the 2007 season.

In Chattanooga, he was 7-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 21 starts in 2007, with 8.5 K/9. Last year, he was the best pitcher the Reds had in Chattanooga, with a 9-7 record and impressive 3.42 ERA in 27 starts. He also was a Southern League All-Star, and he was the Reds' Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June 2008. Which is why he started the '09 season in Louisville, taking a loss in his first start despite throwing six strong innings and allowing three runs.

This guy's star is on the rise. We've climbed aboard the Sam LeCure bandwagon and there's still room for you! Please join us in voting daily for Sam through April 30.

An Endorsement: Sam LeCure

We here at OMGreds resoundly endorse Reds Pitcher Sam LeCure as the 2009 Reds' Fan's Choice Bobblehead. We will be voting for Sam daily at reds.com in hopes that he will get the bobblehead that he so rightfully deserves. As a young minor leaguer, there is no better representative for the Fan's Choice Bobblehead other than Sam LeCure. He has proved hard-working and diligent in his quest to make "The Show" and should aptly be rewarded by having his head proudly bobbling all around Great American Ball Park on the evening of Saturday, July 18, bringing joy to children of the Greater Cincinnati area, and mass hysteria to eBay resellers everywhere.

While Sam is "Our Man," we do realize that there are many pitchers from which fans will be choosing for this very special honor. We implore you to do your duty as a fan, and vote... for YOUR candidate, for the pitcher you feel is most deserving of living on in ceramic glory, to be perched above computer desks in basement home-offices all around the suburban Cincinnati area next to B-Lark, Wily Mo, The Doggie, Felipe, Spuds, Dunner, Vice Dunner, ED and the others. For the candidate that you feel is most worthy of being coveted by a three-year-old child for 15 to 25 seconds, then slammed to the ground, shattering into tens of pieces, with its only hope of being restored left to his grandmother and a tube of Crazy Glue. For the candidate that you want some middle-aged dude to randomly say "What the hell is this??" when they are handed their bobblehead at the gate, not realizing that it was a bobblehead night, and then giving it to the first person they see as they navigate the confusingly dense crowd on their way to find the client and his family he gave tickets to for that night to shake and howdy for 15 minutes about TPS reports and shit and then bolt GABP to get home in his white Taurcedes company car.

We just want you to make a choice. We have made ours, and we would love it if you proudly stood with us and cast your online entry daily for Sam LeCure for 2009 Reds Fan's Choice Bobblehead.

Do the right thing. Vote for change. Vote for the fighter. Vote with your heart. Vote. Vote for Sam.

AND VOTE FOR HIM BEFORE APRIL 30TH!!!1!!1!!!