SquintFest 2013

[PercySquint]

It has begun. My friend LongHairDontCare and I roll into town Tuesday evening. My other friend HaloMVP loves the Cactus League so much that he moved there. So he'll put us up for the week, right? Uh, no. He's housing Angels minor leaguers at his place all month, so no room at the inn. As he explained, Angels minor leaguers are more important than his friends, so there we are. Nonetheless, we are in for 5 days of exciting action-packed Halos baseball, up close and personal. It is good.

 

Earlier today, I saw my beloved Halos play the stinking Pods in Peoria, my first Halos game in 6 months. The drought is OVER. Trout, with a triple, double, and a walk, looks like he's pickin' up where he left off last year. Not bad for a fat guy. Bourjos went bomb sauce. Wtf was that? Albert and Hamilton with a 2-out RBI's didn't suck either.

 

Off to bed now. Tomorrow we rise early to catch morning drills, PFP, infield roulette, etc. out on the back fields of Tempe Diablo, the crown jewel of the Cactus League. It is a beautiful thing. I eagerly look forward to the rest of the week, culminating of course with AW FanFest Saturday. Please join Arte, Jerry, Victor, Tim, and myself as we come together to celebrate my beloved Halos. SquintFest is on, bitches.

 

 

 

My favorite freeway sign on the way out. This is passing by Ironwood State Prison, where LongHairDontCare spent a little time at one point. This time he got to drive past it and wave to the fellas. That's much better.

 

 

Your humble narrator.

 

 

Trumbo and Howie ignoring the Peoria zoo.

 

 

A broadcaster with LongHairDontCare.

 

 

Old HOF'ers need cash too. Rollie Fingers, Mudcat Grant, and Gaylord Perry sellin' their balls. I shook hands with Mr. Perry, then grabbed a napkin to wipe off the foreign substance he left on my hand.

 

 

View of Trumbo from our crappy seats.

 

 

[CaliAngel]

I always wondered what it would be like to completely ignore a crowd of 100+ people shouting my name and begging for autographs like they weren't even there. 

 

If there was a fire at the player entrance to the stadium and someone was repeatedly yelling "Don't go in there you're gonna die!" would these guys just drown it out into the crowd, not hear it, and just keep walking right into the flames?

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Awesome PS.   Great post!

[Chuck]

Getting ready to board here in a bit. Plane lands in PHX at 8 am. I'll look for that hat.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Chuck I expect a cocktail on the plane to get your ST experience starting in the right direction!

[Wallerrrr]

good stuff as always percy...

 

btw...does your fest have headbands? the AW one doesnt =(

[BaseballMom]

Excellent! Thanks Percy 

[LBHalos17]

Great update Squints!

Sounds like we'll miss you guys tho; rollin-into town Sunday...

[pattimelt]

Yes, Percy. Matt and Carlos are more important.  LOL!!  Actually, I think it's more a case of they are there longer.  By next year, Jim says he's moving closer to Tempe and he'll have room for ALL of us to stay with him, INCLUDING the kids.  I'm sad that I can't get out there this weekend. But I can't complain now that I actually WORK for the Angels!!!  Speaking of which, Matt is scheduled to pitch an inning today for the big club, so I can't wait to have the entire Angels ticket office watch him pitch while I am at work today!!!

It has begun. My friend LongHairDontCare and I roll into town Tuesday evening. My other friend HaloMVP loves the Cactus League so much that he moved there. So he'll put us up for the week, right? Uh, no. He's housing Angels minor leaguers at his place all month, so no room at the inn. As he explained, Angels minor leaguers are more important than his friends, so there we are. Nonetheless, we are in for 5 days of exciting action-packed Halos baseball, up close and personal. It is good.

[LetsGoHalos]

Getting ready to board here in a bit. Plane lands in PHX at 8 am. I'll look for that hat.

 

Our first Spring Training last year, first thing I spot is "the hat". 

[katie]

I saw Rollie Fingers selling his balls last year at a Giants ST game

[DowningRules]

Good work, Squint and thanks for the pics.  What's a good time to get to the Angels practice field to see the drills, etc?  I wanna go on Friday.

[katie]

Sweet. We're going to make sure your Friday night shenanigans thread is epic.

[gotbeer]

Percy, did you ask Rollie if he had any pistacio's to sell?  

 

Hopefully you get together with Downing on Friday and step up the Shenanigans post.  

 

Have fun out there.  And don't get into too much trouble.  That hat might confuse the police, and you may get deported for lack of documentation.

[Jim]

Must be awesome, being able to spend a whole week at ST, culminating with fanfest on Sat night. 100% envious I am.

[Eric]

Good work, Squint and thanks for the pics. What's a good time to get to the Angels practice field to see the drills, etc? I wanna go on Friday.

10 AM is when they make their way to the fields.

[DowningRules]

Thanks, Jabroni. Anyone headed over for drills tomorrow? Btw, for those of you who haven't arrived in Arizona yet, it's hot in har. Sunscreen, hats and two shirts a day weather.

It's dry, hot and dusty. Everywhere I look it feels like a location for Breaking Bad. Just avoided a meth head at the conveniently located Del Taco.

[Wallerrrr]

i'll be there at 10

[Eric]

I'm in the hot and dry climate myself, but I'm still nearly 400 miles away.

 

Have fun out there, and don't forget the Filiberto's on Broadway for me.

[PercySquint]

Day 2-

 

We arrive at Tempe Diablo bright and oily. I head straight to the back practice fields, Filiberto's breakfast burrito in hand, for morning workouts. In the very back, there are 4 fields in a cloverleaf formation, allowing me to see the action on all 4 fields at once. I spot Nathan Haynes and we chat for a bit. Why is this significant? Because of the thousands of Halos games I've attended in my life, the only foul ball I ever snagged came off the bat of Mr. Haynes. In his first big league at-bat. Off George Sherrill of the Seachickens. He ended up getting a base hit, a line drive up the middle. Mr. Haynes was very surprised I knew all this. "You're a hardcore" he said. "Nah" I replied. "I'm Aztec."

 

After breakfast at the cloverleaf, I walk over to the 8-mound bullpen. 3 pitchers are throwing. Bill Lacheman is schooling youngsters festooned in the tools of ignorance. I stand by the catchers so I can listen to "that sound". I love that sound. That special THWAK!!! noise as the ball hits the catcher's mitt. I love the sound of THWAK!!! in the morning. It sounds like.....victory.

 

It's almost game time, so I head over to the stadium. I run into Chuck and Brian. Fancy seeing them here. And this game was exactly what I needed, a delicious 12-4 beatdown of the stinking Whiteys. What, no tie score??? Not today. Trout is officially berserk- a bomb, a wallbanger double, stolen base, 2 RBI's, 3 runs scored, and now hitting .407 for the spring. Can you imagine how good he'd be if he wasn't such a fat slob? And Howie- only a double, a triple, 2 more RBI's and 2 runs scored. This does not suck. Also, I was rather impressed after my first look at Jason Vargas. In 4 and 2/3's, I only saw 3 balls hit solidly. This guy know how to locate, change speeds, and miss bats.

 

Despite the Hat and ample sunscreen, I'm burnt and drained tonight. But it's well worth it. I bask in the afterglow of "just another Halo victory." And clearly, I am a blessed man, because I get to do this again tomorrow too.

 

This means you. But not me, I go wherever the hell I want. Orlando Mercado said so.

 

Army of farmhands.

 

They practice, I eat. Not so bad.

 

Let's go hit!

 

That cart's got balls. Good wheels too.

 

Let's go pitch.

 

THWAK!!! I think this is Carlos Ramirez, but they all look alike when the mask goes on.

 

Your humble narrator with your humble website creator.

 

Trout goes bombsauce, then handshake line.

 

Keepin' their heads in the game.

 

Trout. The Troutster. Troutsy. Troutmeister. Troutalopagus.

 

And thank you for YOUR contribution, Albert.

 

All of you should be here.

 

I hope Gotbeer isn't offended...

 

Saw this on the side of a vehicle in the parking lot. Never eaten there, but they have a catchy mission statement, yes?

[Richard]

good stuff percy!

[pattimelt]

Even WITH the mask on, I KNOW it's Carlos Ramirez...  I've spent too much time with him to not recognize him even in gear..

Day 2-

 

THWAK!!! I think this is Carlos Ramirez, but they all look alike when the mask goes on.

[ScottT]

How can one score tickets to this fest? I'll take your answer off the air.

[Eric]

There are no tickets.  This is strictly invitational only. 

 

Squint is a busy and important man, but he's not above bribery.

 

If I were you, I'd start with a choice of large breasted Asian Mail Order Brides for his harem and a couple cartons of Marlboro Reds....no....make that several cartons of Marlboro Reds.  You have a lot of ground to catch up.

[Tyler]

Awesome thread.