ATLANTA - B.J. Upton would like a do-over on his debut season with the Braves. The subject came up when Upton, as part of the teams winter promotional tour, made a recent visit to Redan High School in the Atlanta area. He was asked by a student if would change anything in his career. Upton didnt hesitate before answering, "Anything in baseball? Last year. The whole last season." Its an understandable wish. After signing the biggest free-agent contract in Braves history — $75.25 million for five years — Upton endured a nightmarish 2013 season. He hit only .184, struck out in more than one-third of his at-bats and was benched. The only highlights were playing beside his younger brother, Justin Upton, in the outfield and seeing the Braves advance to the playoffs. "Definitely it was tough," B.J. Upton told The Associated Press. "You know, baseball is going to throw you some curveballs, so to speak." After missing far too many curveballs — and fastballs and sliders — Upton is writing off the season as an aberration. "Maybe not to that magnitude, but at some point I think every player goes through that type of season," he said. "As long as you can learn from it so that some of the things that happened wont happen again, thats all you can ask." The new start begins with spring training. Braves pitchers and catchers report on Thursday. The full squad reports on Feb. 18, and the first full-squad workout is Feb. 19. Upton impressed his teammates and manager Fredi Gonzalez by continuing to spend extra time on his swing through his disappointing season. "Hes one of the hardest workers on the team," said third baseman Chris Johnson. "Hes always in the cage. Those two brothers are workhorses." Assistant hitting coach Scott Fletcher said Upton never changed his demeanour, even after losing his starting job. "He didnt pout," Fletcher said. "He just kept working. He was ready for anything that Fredi needed from him. That shows a lot of his character. I look for him to come back and do well. Thats just the type of competitor he is. Hes had a lot of great years and hes going to continue to do that. I think hes going to have some great years for us." Upton hit 28 homers and had 31 stolen bases in 2012 with Tampa Bay. He hit only nine homers with 12 steals last season. The Braves need Upton, 29, to at least approach his career .248 batting average. Upton worked on his swing at his off-season home in Tampa, Fla., where he had a visit from Braves hitting coach Greg Walker. "My reports from Greg have been positive," said Braves general manager Frank Wren. "I think hes approached the off-season well. From what Greg has seen of his work, he thinks its steps in the right direction." After last season, Wren said Upton may have tried too hard to show he deserved the big contract. "Its a deep hole that gets deeper and deeper the harder you try," Wren said. "Weve seen dozens and dozens of players go through it." Upton said he didnt expect such a difficult transition to the National League. "Its just the nature of the beast," Upton said. "You come to a new organization and a new league and its just a whole bunch of variables that I dont think you really think of affecting you as a player, and they might have the slightest bit. I dont think a lot of guys see it really hitting them that hard. It was just a totally different situation. "Obviously you dont want it to go that way. I dont regret it. Maybe it was something I needed to happen. Its not something Im going to dwell on. Its a fresh start and I get to move on." Nike Vapormax Flyknit Soldes .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have activated defenceman Joni Pitkanen from injured reserve. Vapormax Plus Noir Pas Cher . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. http://www.vapormaxpaschersoldes.fr/ . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Vapormax Flyknit Homme Pas Cher . According to a release sent by the league, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only team to exceed the cap. Their total salary expenditure of $4,417,975 was $17,975 over the salary cap of $4. Vapormax 97 Blanche .ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan. HOUSTON -- Nolan Reimold found out he was starting right before batting practice Thursday night. He made the most of the chance to play. Reimold hit two home runs, including a tiebreaking solo shot in the ninth, and the streaking Toronto Blue Jays rallied for a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros. Reimold was claimed off waivers on July 6 after he was designated for assignment by Baltimore. It was just his fifth start with Toronto. Manager John Gibbons said the Blue Jays got Reimold and Danny Valencia for a reason. Valencia, who was acquired in a trade with Kansas City on Monday, had two hits. "Theyve both played in the big leagues and had some success and theyre both going to help us out," Gibbons said. Reimolds first homer came in the fifth and cut Houstons lead to 4-3. His second homer of the season was off Chad Qualls (1-3) and sent Toronto to its ninth win in 10 games. It was Reimolds second career multihomer game and first since May 26, 2011. "I was trying to be aggressive," Qualls said. "I just wanted to be really aggressive with the fastball to get ahead. He ambushed it and hit it over the fence." Reimold has been hampered by an assortment of injuries the last two years. He said Thursday night helped show he might be back. "Its been two years since I could say that I feel like I am good enough to play again," Reimold said. "Its been a long process, so hopefully, all the work I did to come back pays off." Jose Bautista and Dioner Navarro also had solo homers for Toronto. Bautista connected for his 21st homer in the first, and Navarro tied it at four with his eighth in the sixth. Aaron Sanchez (2-0) threw two scoreless innings for the win, and Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his 18th save. Jon Singleton homered for Houston, and Robbie Grossman had two hits. "Their four solo home runs proved to be the difference in the game," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "Theyre definitely a power-hitting team." TThe Astros scored three times in the third to open a 4-2 lead.dddddddddddd Grossman and Marc Krauss each hit an RBI single off Drew Hutchison, and Jason Castro had an RBI double. Hutchison was charged with four runs and six hits in three innings. He is 2-5 with a 6.64 ERA in his last eight starts. Gregorio Petits run-scoring groundout gave Houston a 5-4 lead in the sixth, but Bautista tied it again with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Jake Buchanan started for Houston after scheduled starter Jarred Cosart was dealt to Miami earlier in the day. Buchanan allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. TRAINERS ROOM Blue Jays: First baseman Dan Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. The Blue Jays recalled right-hander Chad Jenkins from Triple-A Buffalo. Astros: Either outfielder George Springer, who has been on the disabled list since July 20, or Dexter Fowler, who has been on the DL since June 27, could go on a rehab assignment during the next road trip, which starts Monday, Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said. ON DECK Left-hander J.A. Happ (8-5, 4.58 ERA) starts for Toronto on Friday against his former team. The Astros are sending right-hander Collin McHugh (4-9, 3.45 ERA) to the mound. RASMUS SCRATCHED Toronto outfielder Colby Rasmus was scratched for being late to the stadium. "I wasnt here when I was supposed to be here, and they punished me as they should have," Rasmus said. Anthony Gose started in centre field, and Rasmus entered in seventh as a defensive substitution. HOUSTON TRADE Houston acquired outfielder Jake Marisnick, infielder Colin Moran and right-hander Frances Martes as well as a 2015 compensatory draft pick from Miami for right-hander Jarred Cosart, infielder Kike Hernandez and outfielder Austin Wates. Right-hander Brad Peacock, who was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, will likely take Cosarts place in the Houston rotation, Luhnow said. ' ' '