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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Alfredo Simon has spent most of his major league career as a reliever. Hes going to get a chance to be a starter for the Cincinnati Reds at the start of spring training. Mat Latos has been slowed by knee surgery, so manager Bryan Price has decided to use Simon as a starter during spring training. The idea is to get him ready to pitch more innings in case hes needed when the season begins. Latos had minor surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee when camp opened. Hes making good progress, but the injury left him behind in his throwing program. Simon made 16 starts for Baltimore in 2011 and welcomes the chance to move into a starters role, even if its only temporary. "Im ready to go," Simon said. "I know it has been two years (since) I have started a game, but if I get the opportunity, Im going to show Bryan Price that I can be a starter." The 32-year-old had started a total of three games in the majors when the Orioles moved him into the rotation in 2011. He went 4-9 with a 4.90 ERA in 16 starts and seven relief appearances that season. The Reds claimed him off waivers from the Orioles on April 3, 2012. He has been a valuable right-handed reliever for Cincinnati, going 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 36 relief appearances in 2012 and 6-4 with a 2.87 ERA in a career-high 63 appearances last season. Price planned to use him out of the bullpen again until Latos got hurt. Left-hander Tony Cingrani was the main option as an extra starter last season, but has the fifth spot in the rotation this year. "We do know we are short one starter right now without Mat," Price said. "If we were to have any setbacks where Mat was not ready to start the season, we have to look at the group we have and that would include Simon. "He has the starters background. He has a very, very durable arm. We have to look at him in longer stretches." If Latos is ready to pitch at the start of the season, Simon can move back into the bullpen. "I like starting," Simon said. "I am here to do whatever they want. All of my career (in the minors) I was a starter. Sometimes I would throw one or two innings. I can do more than that. I wanted to keep pitching. I miss it." Shoes NZ Nike . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in Nashville, is out indefinitely. Shoes NZ From China .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. Cheap Shoes NZ .Y. -- Mike Zigomaniss goal at 5:53 of the third period stood up as the winner as the Rochester Americans hung on to defeat the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Shoes NZ 2020 . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season.SALT LAKE CITY -- Jonas Valanciunas was "juiced" from the moment he batted the opening tip into the backcourt. The improving big man from Lithuania set the tone and then DeMar DeRozan sealed the deal. "I was really excited to play Enes (Kanter). Hes a good buddy of mine and weve played since I was 15 years old. We talked all the game," said Valanciunas, who had 18 points and nine rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors turn back the Utah Jazz 94-79 on Monday night for their fourth win in the last five games. "We juiced him up a little bit this morning, teasing him about how Kanter got after him in the Euroleague. So he came out and played, really muscled," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said after the second-year centre scored the Raptors first six points. DeRozan scored 23 points as Toronto continued to surprise away from home. "Honestly, I think there is no pressure on the road," DeRozan said. DeRozan looked to get his teammates involved in the first half but once Kyle Lowry left with a knee injury, the new All-Star took matters into his own hands with nine points in the fourth quarter to quell a Jazz comeback. The Raptors scored 13 of the games final 16 points. "I just pick and choose. I try and be aggressive. Try and rebound, try to pass to my teammates. I dont just try and go out there to score every time down," DeRozan said. Valanciunas and Amir Johnson, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds, exposed the Jazz interior defence without Derrick Favours (hip). "Everyone gets along together. We all just kind of click. You usually dont find that," Johnson said. Marvin Williams scored 23 points and Alec Burks had 20 off the bench but it wasnt enough to keep the Jazz from their third straight loss, their worst span since a four-game skid from Dec. 4-9. Greivis Vasquez, who had 12 points, opened the fourth quarter with a floater to give the Raptors a 73-62 lead. Burks made back-to-back driving layups to power an 8-0 run to get the Jazz within four points for the first time since early in the second quarter. But the Raptors used their own 11-2 surge to clinch the victory. DeRozan had seven straight for the Raptors in the stretch. But the Raptors used their own 11-2 surge to clinch the victory. DeRozan had seven straight for the Raptors in the stretch.dddddddddddd "Were playing for each other. Each of us want the best for the others on the team. We care about each other and have great chemistry," Vasquez said. The Raptors had dropped seven of eight at Utah by an average of 14.9 points, but controlled this one almost all the way. Torontos last win here since 2006 was a 111-106 double-overtime victory on Jan. 25, 2012. DeRozan has been effective no matter where he plays, especially in games in the States, averaging 27 points over his last seven on the road. Valanciunas also continued his upward trend with another strong game on the interior, with four offensive rebounds and many more plays where he kept the ball alive for Johnson. "Thats the challenge that hes got to take to be a big-time player in this league," Casey said. The Jazz hoped to awaken Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke from their slumps but the pair, which has been shooting less than 30 per cent, combined to make just 7 of 25 shots and commit seven turnovers. "I thought we had great shots. We missed some really good looks we have been making," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said after his team had a season-low 10 assists. Lowry had two points on 1-of-8 shooting before leaving to the locker room for good in the third quarter with right knee pain. He will be evaluated on Tuesday to see if he can play either of the final two games of this five-game Western Conference road trip. The Raptors (14-12) have as many road wins as any team in the Eastern Conference, tied with Miami and Indiana. They have never finished a season above .500 away from home. Favours injured hip prevented him from playing and without their starting centre, the Jazz have lost all six contests this year. Kanter had 10 points for Utah but was pulled after missing a defensive assignment and played just 20 minutes. The Jazz are 1-21 with the big man from Turkey in the starting lineup. Notes: The Raptors are 18-10 after the seven-player trade with Sacramento on Dec. 7. ... Toronto used a 31-17 second quarter to take control of the game. ... DeRozan and Valanciunas were both poked in the eye during the course of the game. ... The Jazz were 3 of 17 from behind the 3-point line. . Jeremy Evans missed the game for Utah with a bruised tailbone and elbow. ' ' '