ding seven-game road trip in Atlanta on Monday. from zgr123's blog
ORLANDO - Julio Cesar would have preferred a different start to his Toronto FC career. Golden Tate Lions Jersey . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. There wasnt much Cesar could do about Federico Higuains excellent free-kick, or the thunderbolt from Josh Williams that followed shortly after. Despite conceding the goals, it was a relatively quiet afternoon for the World Cup winner. Cesar was rarely called into action, but that didnt mean he wasnt involved. When Toronto FC announced Cesars signing on loan from Queens Park Rangers last week, Reds head coach Ryan Nelsen talked about the leadership and organizational skills the veteran will bring. That was clearly evident in Orlando against Columbus as Cesar talked his way through the game, managing his teammates in front of him. "It is part of the job of the goalkeeper because he can watch all of the games," Cesar told me following the game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney. "Many times I like to talk with my defenders and the midfield. We need to work hard tactically especially. The most important thing is to understand the coach and what he wants. "I am a little sad because it was my first game and we lost, but I am happy because I am back to playing after eight months and that was tough for me. I am really happy because the coach gave me the opportunity to start with the team." A key figure amongst the defenders in front of Cesar will be club captain Steven Caldwell, and the former Scottish international is well aware of what the Brazilian can bring to the team. "Its fantastic to have him behind us with his experience," said Caldwell. "Hes very comfortable on the ball and strong playing out of the back. Its going to be a great experience for everybody who has the privilege to play with Julio and so far he just seems like a fantastic guy. Were all going to learn off him and it is an honour for this football club to have him play for us." One of the things that has been lacking in past seasons at Toronto FC has been leadership on the pitch, but that certainly cant be said about this squad of players. With Cesar in goal and Caldwell in the centre of defence they have two excellent communicators. When you add in US international Michael Bradley as the general in the centre of midfield, TFC has a very strong leadership core. "You want every guy taking a big role in the team with personality and leadership and commitment," said Bradley. "When you walk in that locker room there is a team full of guys who are ready to do that, so thats nothing but positive." Toronto FCs next test in preseason is on Saturday when they will return to action in Florida in their second match of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic against hometown team Orlando City. Management and players alike will be hoping to see further improvement and progression as the team builds towards its March 15 season opener in Seattle. "For us its about building the understanding and working on the things we have been working on in training," said Dwayne De Rosario. "We will continue to build and there is still a long way to go. The game (against Columbus) brought us back to reality and showed us things that we need to work on. Now we need to improve on those things that they exposed us on. Were where we want to be but there is still a lot to do." "Against Columbus we had a few guys that were having their first minutes of preseason," said head coach Ryan Nelsen. "We needed to see a few of the weaknesses that we have so that we can work on it. Theyve just got to play together. They have to get used to each other and get minutes under their belt. We will progress on from here." Calvin Johnson Womens Jersey .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. Matthew Stafford Youth Jersey . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.PITTSBURGH -- Vance Worley is used to his body breaking down at this point in the season. An unexpected break allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander to regroup. He responded with his sharpest outing in two months to push the fading Milwaukee Brewers closer to an extended vacation of their own. Bumped from the starting rotation in favour of a seemingly healed Charlie Morton last week, Worley returned with eight sparkling innings in Sundays 1-0 win over the Brewers as the surging Pirates closed in on a second consecutive playoff berth. Russell Martin singled home Andrew McCutchen in the seventh inning and the Pirates trapped speedy Carlos Gomez in a rundown in the ninth for the win. Pittsburgh moved 4 1-2 games in front of Milwaukee for an NL wild-card spot with a week to go. Worley (8-4) scattered four hits and the Pirates used some smart fielding in the ninth to help All-Star setup man Tony Watson pick up his first save of the year. "I got the start off, got some time to get my feet back under me," Worley said. "This is the deepest Ive gone into the season the last couple years with injury, so this was good for me." Certainly looked like it. The Pirates sent Worley to the bullpen last week when Morton returned from a sports hernia. Morton pitched five shutout innings in a victory over the Red Sox only to have the hernia flare up late in his outing. Hes gone indefinitely and Worley is back in and probably not going anywhere after striking out five and not issuing a walk while throwing 63 of his 82 pitches for strikes. "Vance wasnt nitpicking," said Martin, his catcher. The Brewers -- who led the Pirates by 9 1-2 games in May -- dropped two of three in the series, scoring just three runs in 27 innings. They had a chance to send it to extra innings in the ninth only to run themselves into trouble. Gomez led off with a single against Watson, pressed into the closers role with Mark Melancon unavailable after working three straight games. Pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks beat out a chopper for an infield hit that squired out of first baseman Gaby Sanchezs glove. Gomez saw the ball pop out and started heading to third before suddenly pulling up. That led to a rundown that squelched the rally. "If I continued to run, it would have been really easy to make it to third because everybody broke for that ball and nobody was on third," Gomez said. "So I dont know why I stopped. Its just a mistake that you learn from." The Brewers are running out of time. Pittsburghs magic number dropped to three with seveen games remaining, scoring the games only run on Martins RBI single off Wily Peralta (16-11). Anquan Boldin Womens Jersey. It was Martins second go-ahead hit in three days. He had a three-run homer in the eighth on Friday night to propel the Pirates to a 4-2 victory. This time he skipped the dramatics and opted for simple contact. McCutchen led off the seventh with an infield single, moved to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch and trotted home when Martin singled up the middle to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. "Whenever another team gives you an opportunity, you have to take advantage of it," Martin said. The Pirates improved to 51-30 at home, their best season at PNC Park since it opened in 2001 and their highest win total since going 53-28 at Three Rivers Stadium in 1992. They did it on a day they set a franchise record for single season attendance, topping 2.4 million on the year. "Its a blue-collar team," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Its a Pittsburgh team." One that sprinting toward the playoffs yet again after ending a record streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons in 2013. Peralta was every bit Worleys equal. Martins single was the first Pittsburgh hit to reach the outfield grass. Still, it wasnt quite enough as the Brewers fell to 2-13 in their last 15 road games. "It sure doesnt look good," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Theyre a good team, theyre playing well. You dont expect them to not play well here the last (seven) games. And weve got to basically win it out. Its not easy to do." UP NEXT Brewers: Milwaukee is off Monday and opens a three-game series at Cincinnati on Tuesday. Mike Fiers (6-3, 1.78 ERA) will make his ninth start of the season. Fiers allowed one run in seven innings against St. Louis last week. Pirates: Pittsburgh begins its season-ending seven-game road trip in Atlanta on Monday. Francisco Liriano (6-10, 3.45 ERA) has allowed three earned runs in his last five starts (33 innings). Liriano is 5-4 with a 2.39 ERA since returning from the disabled list in July. HOME SWEET HOME The Pirates recorded their 23rd sellout in Sundays finale to break club record for attendance in a single season, drawing 2,442,564. The team is 101-61 over the last two years at home. "Youve got 100 wins, it really is home sweet home," Hurdle said. "It has now become an event, not just something, Hey, we can do this. Youre marking your calendars, youre picking dates, youre swapping tickets, youre buying tickets. 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The Wall