Casey also underwent what was termed to be relatively minor surgery

Juan Martin del Potros injury-enforced withdrawal as Argentinas spearhead looks set to leave the Czech Republic hosting defending champion Spain in the Davis Cup final in November. cheap coach handbags . Both teams led their semifinals 2-1 after the doubles on Saturday. Czech stalwarts Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek won in straight sets in Buenos Aires for a lead that became all the more pivotal when del Potro was ruled out of the reverse singles on Sunday because he aggravated a left wrist injury in his singles win on Friday. In del Potros place stepped Carlos Berlocq, who made his cup debut in the doubles. By beating Berlocq, Berdych, who has 35 wins in 22 ties, can clinch the Czechs first home final in 32 years and hand Argentina a first loss in a home tie on clay since 1998. Not so crucial for Spain in Gijon was losing the doubles to the United States. Bob and Mike Bryan, one of the greatest pairs in tennis history, duly won their match, but merely delayed by a day a Spain victory regarded as inevitable. The fifth-ranked David Ferrer is 15-0 on clay, and he also has a winning record against U.S. No. 1 John Isner, who lost a five-setter to Nicolas Almagro on Friday. Almagro was drawn to play decided underdog Sam Querrey in the last match. With a Ferrer win, Spain will owe a visit to the Czech Republic, having humbled the Czechs 5-0 in Barcelona in the 2009 final. The final would be Spains fourth in five years. By then, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez should be over left calf injuries. Lopez hurt his in reaching the U.S. Open semifinals a week before with Granollers, who strained his in the second set against the Bryans. Granollers looked so bad that even captain Alex Corretja said, "I definitely would have retired." But Granollers persevered, and was picked apart by the Bryans, who won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 in 3 hours, 38 minutes. "It was a battle," Bob Bryan said after the twins kept the U.S. from losing a tie for the fifth time in their cup careers. "We came here to get a win, we kept the team alive. It wasnt pretty all the time but a wins a win and were happy with that." Berdych and Stepanek were even more remorseless in beating Berlocq and Eduardo Schwank 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. The Czechs have yet to drop a set in three cup doubles this year. Playing a third straight day doesnt faze Berdych -- hes done it six times in his cup career, most recently in the quarterfinal win over Serbia in which he won all three of his matches. "My physical aspect is fine," he said. "I won two tough matches, but Im here to be ready for three days. Winning two matches gives me a lot of confidence." That confidence would have only grown after learning del Potro, against whom he had a losing record, withdrew from the tie. Del Potro hurt his left wrist in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and was warned after then he had to rest it for two weeks. But patriotism drove the Olympic bronze medallist to play and beat Stepanek on Friday. He won without his double-handed backhand but enflamed the wrist and team doctor wouldnt let him continue to risk it any further. He has to rest it for 10 days. Captain Martin Jaite said he learned late Friday that del Potro would not play again, but said he didnt tell the team until after Saturdays doubles. "It was not what the team expected, but were OK and we have two more matches," he said. "Obviously its a blow to the team, but well continue to fight for it." coach outlet online . 1 and defending champion Victoria Azarenka. The 29th-seeded Sloane Stephens reached her first career major semifinal with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over her American compatriot, while Azarenka rolled in the semis with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. coach outlet . Louis. Chris Carpenter had a solid 2012 debut and Pete Kozma swiped home for the go-ahead run, putting the Cardinals in position to extend their timely winning streak.Writing this, I feel like a little kid who got everything he wanted for his birthday and then asks for something else the next day. Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has already had a career-defining off-season that could one day be a major building block to putting him in the Hall of Fame. Still I wonder if the Blue Jays need a closer. This is not a knock on Casey Janssen. He did an incredible job last season, coverting 22 of 25 opportunities after Sergio Santos got hurt and Francisco Cordero showed he just didnt have it anymore. Consider though, the division the Jays play in and the other closers in the East. Baltimores Jim Johnson is coming off an incredible 51-save campaign and was a big factor in all the Orioles one-run and extra-inning victories. Fernando Rodney was just as good, if not better, and chalked up an unbelievable ERA of 0.60. Boston just traded with the Pirates to get righthander Joel Hanrahan, who has racked up 76 saves over the last two seasons at Pittsburgh. Then you have the Yankees with Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all-time, albeit over 40 and coming off knee surgery. Janssen has just 31 career saves. At 31, he may just be coming into his own as a short reliever and he simply may have just been the guy who had to get the saves on a 73-win club. Casey also underwent what was termed to be relatively minor surgery on  his shoulder to alleviate some soreness in the AC joint back in November. Previously, he has had surgery for a torn labrum. The Jays also have Santos coming back, but with the shoulder issues he had, you never know how long it will take for a pitcher to regain his form. There are still options on the free agent market. Giants eccentric closer Brian Wilson, the Tigers Jose Valverde, who went from great to just average to a post-season disappointment in the span of two seasons, and finally Rafael SSoriano, who did such an incredible job filling in for Rivera with the Yankees last season.coach factory outlet.  Soriano would appear to be the best option. Hes had two great seasons in his career, a 45-save effort in 2010 with the Rays and 42 saves last season with the Yankees. His determination to be a closer led him to opt out of the final year of his three-year, $35 million pact with the Yanks. The 33-year-old righthander may have misread the market a bit or maybe teams believe the price tag would be too much for a closer approaching his mid-30s. In any event, trying to sign him would serve two purposes. It would give the Blue Jays a more proven closer and would keep him out of the hands of teams such as the Yankees and Tigers, who figure to be competing with them for post-season berths. Janssen is clearly the more economic choice. He will be making $3.9 million in 2013 and has a club option for 2014. Soriano would have to be looking for at least three years and $36-to-40 million. Remember, the Blue Jays have been down this road before. In 2005, they signed lefty B.J Ryan to a five-year contract worth $47 million, at the time the largest contract ever for a closer. Though not a total bust, the contract didnt quite work out for the Jays. Though he saved 75 games over parts of four seasons, Ryan ultimately needed "Tommy John" surgery on his left elbow and was finally released with over a year left on his contract and about $15 million owing on the deal. He tried to catch on with the Cubs, but never really made it back to the Majors. So yes, it would be a risk for the Jays to go after a Rafael Soriano at that kind of price, but as close as the Jays appear to be to becoming a World Series favourite, it just might be worth it. A long-time member of the baseball beat, Scott Ferguson covers the Blue Jays for TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto. His baseball blog appears on TSN.ca during the season. ' ' '