Let's get this party started. It's a whole different vibe to an off-season when you come off a division title. Sure, every winter, you look forward to spring, but the feeling for Arizona fans this winter is definitely skewed more towards expectation than hope. That was apparent in the massive turnout for the FanFest at Chase Field this morning: estimates were that anywhere up to 25,000 fans were present, which would be double the number from last season. S'funny what winning does for fan interest!

Needless to say, the SnakePit was there, representing like a....representing thing. Whatever that means. Pics and commentary after the jump.

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It's here! Today is kinda like Groundhog Day for the baseball fan, marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring. We'll shortly be heading off to have breakfast somewhere downtown, then making our way over to Fan Fest at Chase Field for the annual celebration of D-backs baseball. We're a bit more tech savvy this year - I'm not saying my last mobile phone was old, but it had a rotary dial... [Kids, ask your grandparents for clarification if necessary] So I'll be adding comments here over the course of the day, live from Chase, and check out the SnakePit Twitter feed for pics from the event.

If you're there too, feel free to chip in with your take. Get anything cool at the yard sale? Chat to any players? Do the clubhouse tour? It will, I'm sure, be a lot of fun. There'll be a full report later in the day, naturally. See you there!

I got the group outing chart through from Geno last week, and took a look at it over the weekend to begin the process of looking for dates that might be suitable for SnakePitFest v5. However, on checking the price-list, I got a bit of a nasty surprise. It's not all a direct raise - they've changed the way in which games are put in to price bands. There's no price list for single games available at this point, but if those are being priced in the same way, it marks a fundamental shift...

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Time to put the wheels into motion for the one or more SnakePitSpringTrainingFests - hereafter referred to as SPSTF - which will be taking place during the Cactus League. However, the most official event will be Saturday March 24. There are several reasons for this choice:
1) It's a Saturday
2) It's an evening game, so we won't have to endure the worst of the (literally) blistering sun.
3) It's against Kansas City, which means one thing: FRENCHIE!

We will be picnicking on the lawn in right field, showing Messrs. Upton and Francoeur some love, in the way only the SnakePit know how. Tickets are $8 plus the inevitable Ticketbastard fees (which I've just seen, work out at close to 50% if you buy two tickets - really, WTF?), available here - you're all responsible for your own purchases.

Full schedule and more thoughts after the jump.

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Another sign that spring is in the air was more information appearing today regarding the Diamondbacks' FanFest, which will be taking place at Chase Field one month from today, on Saturday, February 11th. It's the eighth time this free event has been held, with an estimated 12,500 showing up for last year's event (shown above). It's always a lot of fun - we tend to end up with a ton of stuff from the Yard Sale, but there' s also autograph sessions, panel discussions, live broadcasts, etc. Definitely not to be missed. After the jump, there's details on some of what you can expect.

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In case you missed the thread, there will be a SnakePit Viewing Party at Chase Field, in Friday's Front Row, tomorrow morning - first pitch is a little after 11am. Seating is limited, so if you want to come along, please let us know by 7pm tonight so we can let the place know how many of us to expect. Here are the names currently attending, as peeled off the original post.  myself, Mrs. SnakePit,, soco, mrssoco, kishi + mrskishi (fashionably late), Backin'the'Backs, BattleMoses, NASCARbernet, Stile4aly + Mrs Stile4aly. Think that's everyone for now. Pipe up in the comments if we should add you to the list.

We have quite a few active Tweeters on the 'Pit, as you already know, and if you aren't already doing so, you should also be following us there [@AZSnakePit], to keep abreast of stories as they're posted and random bits of trivia that fit inside the 140-character limit [though admittedly, very little I say ever fits in 140 characters!]. I can't claim to be particularly cutting-edge, so it was a pleasant surprise to be invited to take part in the first Diamondbacks Tweet-Up at Chase Field last night. Details and more pics after the jump.

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TICKET SALES NOW CLOSED! It's also going to be Star Wars Day at Chase Field: whether that's an incentive or not, may depend on you... Could it be the day we clinch the West? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, should be pretty mammoth. Here's the details:

By popular demand, we're going to try and add another SnakePitFest over the final weekend of the season, when we face the Giants. A few changes from previous fests:
1) It's Sunday not Saturday
2) We'll be in the left-field bleachers, rather than the bullpen area - couldn't get tickets there at this short notice.
3) Total cost will be $16 per ticket: there's not much discount, especially given it's the final weekend!
4) At the moment, there are a total of only 20 tickets available. Might be more, but didn't want to overstock, again, based on the short notice. First come, first served...

Click the button below to buy. Hopefully, we'll have easily clinched the title by that point, and we can enjoy a nice, relaxing game where the result really doesn't matter much!