With the Fanfest yesterday, there wasn't any time to do a Snakebytes, so let's get caught up as we gallop towards pitchers and catchers reporting for the Diamondbacks, in about a week. It feels like the winter has flown by, but it still can't come quickly enough...

Top headlines

• [AZCentral] FanFest sets record with 25,000 attendance this year - "Anything you can do with the fans is good," Roberts said. "We don't want them to not know who they're cheering for." Probably not much chance of that with the Dread Pirate!
  
• [Fox Sports Arizona] Will Drew be ready for season? Nobody knows - "I'm not going to sit here and lie to your face and say, 'OK I'm going to be ready for opening day.' I can't tell you that right now. Nobody wants me out there hobbling," Drew said Saturday at the D-backs' Fan Fest at Chase Field.
• [dbacks.com] Justin Upton starts off hot in desert - "Bold imprints at a young age are one of the most thrilling aspects of baseball... Upton has certainly shown sustained flashes of this potential; and if we're all very lucky, his 2011 season might one day be viewed as the year that started it all. " Upton's early numbers are compared against some of the greats.

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Trust you are all getting your hot-dogs and burgers ready for tomorrow's televisual treat, which has been eagerly anticipated all year. I refer, of course, t the Super Bowl Commercials. I just think it's a shame they choose to interrupt them with some boring game or other. Still, you've got to go to the bathroom sometime, I guess. More on that tomorrow, with our traditional OT Commercial thread. Meanwhile, here's some stuff about the Diamondbacks.

Team news

• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks taking it slow with Stephen Drew - "I would imagine we'll have to take it rather slowly with him in spring training," Towers said last week. "I'm hopeful he'll play in some games in spring training. Will he play in our opening game? I don't know. I haven't laid eyes on him other than to see him on video doing some agility drills. We'll have a better idea probably at the end of February"
• [dbacks.com] General manager Kevin Towers hosts web chat - Towers reviews Moneyball: "We had seven hours before our flight left Tampa so those of us in baseball ops decide to watch it. Liked Brad Pitt but didn't care much for the movie. I didn't like the way it portrayed scouts."
• [BBTF] 2012 ZiPS Projections - Arizona Diamondbacks - Best line: "Having John McDonald, Geoff Blum, and Willie Bloomquist all signed to major league contracts is the equivalent of designing a jumbo jet to have one engine and no mechanical backups to the landing gear but making sure there are 3 backup fridges in the galley to hold cans of soda." I also note, Jason Kubel projects for the second-best OPS+ on the team...

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Had a fun week in Boston, but it's nice to be back somewhere that you can go outside without looking like you are re-enacting Shackleton's last voyage. We now return to your regularly-scheduled program of laughing at TV footage of people digging through snow. Here in Arizona, we get one more player signed for 2012, but otherwise the slow crawl toward spring training continues...

Team news

• [AZCentral] Arizona Diamondbacks, Brad Ziegler agree to 1-year deal - One down, three to go. A slight win for Ziegler, in that the $1.795m deal is closer to the $1.945m he wanted than the team's $1.46m offer.
• [FoxSportsArizona] D-backs break budget, go all in for 2012 - "It's a gamble, it's a risk. But it's one we were willing to take, because we, like a lot of our fans, were excited about the way we finished last year and want to build on it."
• [rgj.com] Diamondbacks: 'Humility' is byword for '12 - "Gibson is aware the club also pressed its luck, leading the majors with 48 come-from-behind wins. It's rare for a team to repeat that kind of performance, so he's looking for more efficient baserunning and defense, which he believes will help his pitchers by either adding to Arizona's scoring or limiting the opposition's."
• [dbacks.com] D-backs could have next great power duo - "D-backs outfielder Justin Upton and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, both of whom are just 24, should give Arizona one of the elite power duos in the game for years to come."
• [CBSSports.com] 2012 Fantasy outlooks: Arizona Diamondbacks - Interesting picks to "Bust" and as "Sleeper". Might not be too popular round here though.

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Less than a month till pitchers and catchers report, and there are plenty of players already milling round Salt River Fields. Got the news my spring training tickets have been printed, so I look forward to opening the envelope and smelling... Is that freshly-cut grass wafting out from within? Here's this week's round-up of stuff, including a particularly large batch of "former Diamondback" information, of one kind or another...

News (more)

• [AZCentral] Hudson: Diamondbacks 'hungry' for more - "It made us all hungry for more right away," pitcher Daniel Hudson said. "It left us with an empty feeling in our stomachs. A lot of guys took (the loss to the Brewers) to heart."
• [dbacks.com] Salt River facilities awe Fantasy Camp players - If it's January, it must be Fantasy Camp. Steve Gilbert is doing his annual report from there - for the first time, being held at Salt River Fields. "This one time, at Fantasy Camp..."
  
• [KTAR] Saunders agrees Braun should lose MVP award if banned - "I don't know if you can take it back. I'm not sure about the rules on that. But definitely if it comes true and he was proven that he did use it, I don't see why Kemp shouldn't get it. I thought Kemp should have got it in the first place."
• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks' front office gambles on payroll "That's a credit to Ken (Kendrick) and ownership," CEO Derrick Hall said this week. "We now have some pressure to increase revenues, but we think we can."

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Pitchers and catchers report next month. It's cool to be able to say this, and know winter will soon be over. Seems like a lot shorter off-season this year. Wonder if that's perhaps the case when you're going through the winter as the reigning division champion? There's not quite as much urgency to get to next season, for your chance at redemption. Of course, even for the division winners, there's room for improvement, and I'm still looking forward to the Cactus League. Though remembering how badly we performed there last season (finishing dead last, with a 12-25 record), the meaningless of spring training results will be particularly clear this year...

Spring in the Air

• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks announce spring-training reporting dates, non-roster invitees - "Pitchers and catchers will report Feb. 20 with their first workout Feb. 21. Position players will report on Feb. 25 with the first full-squad workout on Feb. 26. Workouts are open to the public."
• [dbacks.com] D-backs' brass gearing up for Spring Training - Each player who will be in Major League camp was also discussed. "We went through them all," Gibson said. "We watched video clips on them and had good discussions on everybody. We're just trying to get everyone's perspective. Different people have different information, different perspectives, so we want them to share it. We're trying to get better."
• [FoxSportsArizona[ Plenty of young arms vying for D-backs rotation - "With a stocked farm system that is heavy on young pitching, the D-backs have a host of in-house candidates for the fifth spot, with Wade Miley maybe a smidge ahead of the pack entering spring training"

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The last day of 2011, and I think we can all agree it was a pretty good one for D-backs fans. We'll get into that side of thing ourselves once the calendar has changed, but there a few other retrospectives to be found, in what has generally been a very quiet week for Diamondbacks news.

Looking back:

• [FoxSportsArizona] 2011 rewind: 'Magical' turnaround for D-backs - "Several times last spring training, Kirk Gibson said it might take five years for the Diamondbacks to absorb all of their new lessons. Five months later, they had control of the NL West."
• [ArizonaSports.com] Radio calls from memorable D-backs season - I think I may have to make these my phone ringtones...
• [dbacks.com] Banner year one to remember for D-backs - "It was a magical ride filled with unexpected twists and turns. From walk-off homers to winning streaks to a rare earthquake while the team was in Washington D.C., it's a year that will not soon be forgotten."
• [SBNation Arizona] 2011 End Of The Year Awards - Not surprisingly, a few D-backs mentioned here, and we haven't even got to Team of the Year, which will be announced on New Year's Day...

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A quiet week in non-Kubel related activities. but here's what I've got for you. Barring major developments, the 'Pit will be sleeping it off tomorrow and Monday, with normal service being resumed on Tuesday. Have a joyous and happy post-Festivus, and I'll see you in the aftermath.

Santa's Sack

• Diamondbacks Fan Fest: February 11. More information coming soon, but saw the board on 7th and Jefferson mention it this morning on my way to work!
• [dbacks.com] Presents under tree big temptation to Daniel Hudson - We're Christmas Day present openers, but the whole week leading up to Christmas, if there are any presents under the tree, we beg each other to open them before Christmas.
• [dbacks.com] D-backs brimming with top prospects - "That was by far the most fun staff I've been a part of," said right-hander Charles Brewer, "It was really cool to get that kind of attention as a staff, not just individually. Every time one of us went out there, we knew we had a very good chance to win. I think that's what propelled us on to get to the point where we were contending for the championship, that our starting pitching was so strong."
• [Forbes] Baseball Teams May Seek New TV Deals Due To Spike In Rights Fees - "The Diamondbacks could opt-out of their contract after soon, perhaps as early as after next season, and secure new deal worth at least $300,000 per game."
• [dbacks.com] Diamondbacks re-load to stay ahead of National League West posse- "We know it's not easy," Gibson recently said. "We know there [are] other teams out there. I totally respect that. But that's not going to alter my thought process and the organization's thought process. We can do everything right and it won't work out, but that's our goal."

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Back after a break - since last week would have been "all trade chatter, all the time" - with what feels like a particularly eclectic grab-bag of bits and pieces this week You can start with the video above, an interview Ryan Roberts did with MLB Network, including footage of him adding to his estimated 300 tattoos.

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