TORONTO - Toronto FCs season may be in the balance but the teams pulse seemed very steady ahead of what coach Greg Vanney called the most important match of the year. DOnta Foreman Youth Jersey .Toronto visits the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, with maximum points needed. Anything else wont result in playoff elimination but the already slim chance of advancing will dwindle.Toronto (11-13-7) stands sixth, three points behind Columbus which currently holds down the fifth and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Columbus (11-10-10) plays at eighth-place Philadelphia (9-10-12) on Saturday.Vanney said his players are embracing the challenge, rather than seeing their backs against the wall.They firmly believe that they can go to New York and win the game, as do I, Vanney said Friday before getting on the plane.I think the group believes in what we have and what were doing, he added. I think were quite frankly looking forward at this challenge.We know how important it is, added captain Steven Caldwell. We need to roll our sleeves up, be men and come away with the victory.Of course the same could be said for Wednesday, when Toronto ran into a hot goalie in Tyler Deric and squandered a pile of scoring chances in a costly 1-0 loss to the visiting Houston Dynamo. Toronto could not take advantage of a penalty or extra man after Dynamo defender A.J. Cochran was sent off with 35 minutes remaining.We kind of dug ourselves in a hole when we didnt get a result against Houston, said Ghanaian midfielder-forward Dominic Oduro.To me, thats no pressure, he added. We just have to go out there and execute.With three games remaining, Toronto desperately needs to collect as many of the nine available points left as possible.If we can do our job and win (Saturday), we set ourselves up in a pretty good way as we come home again (to host Montreal), said Vanney. And then well see where were at and what we need as we go to New England for the final match.But those two matches dont mean anything until we get something out of (Saturday).A loss Saturday would put Toronto on playoff life support. A tie and the team would be watching other results with fingers crossed.Even with a win Saturday, it needs other teams to falter to keep its playoff dream alive. Five points separate teams No. 4 through No. 8 in the Eastern Conference with Toronto in the middle at No. 6.Vanney sees more than light at the end of the tunnel. He said if TFC makes the post-season, I dont think anyone would want to play our team because we continue, I think, to grow as a group week in and week out, day in and day out. While Toronto looks to stay alive in the playoff hunt, the Red Bulls (11-9-11) hope to book their ticket to the post-season. They can qualify with a win over Toronto and a Houston tie or loss to D.C. United on Saturday.Toronto has lost two straight via shutout with the Houston setback following a 3-0 defeat in Los Angeles against the Galaxy.New York sits fourth in the Eastern Conference and has lost just once in its last six (4-1-1).Sporting Kansas City, the New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas can also book their post-season tickets with the right combination of weekend results. Philadelphia and Houston could be eliminated.New York will be without star midfielder Tim Cahill (Australia) and defenders Roy Miller (Costa Rica) and Ambroise Oyongo (Cameroon), all away on international duty.Congo striker Peguy Luyindula is suspended for the game, the result of a scissors tackle on Houstons Luis Garrido.Toronto has Doneil Henry, Manny Aparacio and Quillan Roberts in camp with Canada, which plays Colombia on Tuesday at Red Bulls Arena. None is a starter, however. Toronto teenage striker Jordan Hamilton, on loan to a Portuguese second-tier team, is also in the Canadian camp.New York has won six straight at Red Bull Arena and is unbeaten there in its last nine matches (7-0-2) including a 2-2 draw with Toronto on June 27. The Red Bulls have not lost at home since May 24.Toronto won 2-0 at BMO Field on May 17 in the teams other meeting this season.The Red Bulls hope to make some noise en route to the playoffs. English striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, who leads the MLS with 24 goals, is after the league single-season scoring record of 27 set by Roy Lassiter (1996)and Chris Wondolowski (2012).Vanney said the best defence is a good offence. But he also knows the squad cannot throw caution to the wind, with Wright-Phillips and Thierry Henry lurking in attack.We have to go out there, we have to be bold, said Caldwell. We have to be attack-minded to win the game, but we cant be too cavalier. Theres a right mix.Vanney has a full squad at his disposal. Brazilian striker Gilberto, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring issue, is part of the travelling squad but Vanney appears to be leaning towards sticking with an all-English strike force of Jermain Defoe and Luke Moore.Fullback Justin Morrow, limping after rolling an ankle Wednesday, is also available to play. Notes: Vanney expects star midfielder Michael Bradley to join the U.S. squad after the Red Bulls game for the Americans friendly Tuesday against Honduras in Boca Raton, Fla. ... Look for Oduro to add some pink to his ever-changing mohawk, to honour breast cancer awareness month.———Follow @NeilMDavidson Max Scharping Womens Jersey .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. Lonnie Johnson Jersey . -- Terry Francona likened the atmosphere at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to a playoff game in October. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Andre-Johnson-Jersey/ . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said.PEORIA, Ariz. -- Asked how miserable he was in a 2013 season in Toronto filled with arm pain and hard-hit balls, Josh Johnson chuckled and shook his head. "Miserable might be an understatement," Johnson said Friday. "It was like two innings and all of a sudden eight runs are on the board. I had no idea what was going on. It was crazy." The right-hander was able to crack a smile in part because he has a surgically repaired elbow and a fresh start with the San Diego Padres, a combination he hopes will help him return to the form that included two All-Star selections and a National League-best 2.30 ERA with the Marlins in 2010. "Before he got hurt, to me, he was the most dominating pitcher in the National League and probably in the major leagues," said Joaquin Benoit, another of the Padres off-season pitching acquisitions. "It will be really good if hes healthy. Hes going to be a really big piece for our rotation." Thats the plan for the normally thrifty Padres, who opened spring training Friday with the first workout for pitchers and catchers sporting a new look and a higher payroll. The Padres signed Benoit away from Detroit with a two-year, $15.5 million deal to be their setup man, and inked Johnson to a one-year, $8 million deal after his terrible season with the Blue Jays in hopes he can be an anchor in their rotation. "Physically, mentally hes in a good spot," manager Bud Black said of Johnson. That was not the case last year, or the past few seasons. After going a combined 26-11 with 377 strikeouts for the Marlins in 2009-10, he had his season cut short a year later with shoulder trouble. He went just 8-14 with a 3.81 ERA in 2012 before he was traded to the Blue Jays after the season. The 6-foot-7 Johnson said he struggled with his "extension" in Toronto because of elbow problems. It led to command issues, and getting balls up in the strike zone in hitter-friendly Rogers Centre proved costly. Johnson went 2-8 with a 6.20 ERA and allowed 15 home runs in 16 starts as the Blue Jays were one of the more disappoiinting teams in baseball. Cullen Gillaspia Youth Jersey. After undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow Oct. 1, the Blue Jays decided not to give him a qualifying offer. Johnson then told his agent he wanted to play for San Diego or San Francisco, so he could be closer to his Las Vegas home. Moving to a pitcher-friendly park wouldnt hurt, either. Knowing hed likely have to accept a one-year deal, he took the Padres offer, taking a pay cut from the four-year, $39 million deal he signed with the Marlins. Now he joins a franchise looking to rebound from consecutive 76-86 seasons, with free agency looming again next off-season. "I want to get to the playoffs. I want to be in that atmosphere, to be throwing in October," said Johnson, who turned 30 last month. "If you go out there and you perform, the moneys going to be there." Johnson, who has thrown off a mound five times since the surgery, threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session with catcher Yasmani Grandal on Friday morning without problems. Black said hell throw again on Sunday and that hes on the same schedule as the rest of the healthy starters. "The short time Ive been around him, I love his mindset, I love his makeup, his mentality, his aggressiveness," catcher Nick Hundley said. "I think his body of work kind of speaks for itself. Hes a multiple-time All-Star. He led the league in ERA. I dont think you luck into those types of things. "Were excited to have him. Now hopefully he stays healthy and he can be out there a lot for us." NOTES: Black said they "probably wont" carry three catchers, signalling its an important camp for Grandal, who is recovering from knee surgery. . Black indicated RHP Casey Kelly is "three weeks, four weeks behind" the rest of the staff as he recovers from elbow reconstruction surgery. . The only player missing was LHP Alex Torres, whos dealing with a visa issue in Venezuela and is expected next week. . A Padres spokesman said theyre close to selling out the opener March 30 against the Dodgers. ' ' '