Time to Stand

The Star Stangled Banner plays just before a game last March at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. The players at attention outside their dugout with the grandstand and a couple of palm trees in the distance combine for a moment of calm. The final mental preparation before the umpire calls, "Play ball!"
There's one more reason I chose this picture for today. Last night, I read that Chone Figgins (far left, above), who sat out 2013 after failing to make the Marlins in spring training, had signed a minor league deal with the Angels. Once a feared and versatile speedster with the Angels, things haven't right for Figgins since leaving Anaheim. Maybe returning to Southern California helps him turn things around,

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