TORONTO

There's no question who Toronto FC's MVP has been in 2015.

It's also becoming clear who the club's eternal BSP is -- to a hefty percentage of TFC fans, at least.

The end of season awards will be as follows.

Sebastian Giovinco: Most Valuable Player.

Giovinco: Newcomer of the Year.

Joe Bendik: Biggest Scapegoat Player.

The club's embattled goalkeeper -- its BSP -- is undoubtedly the most reviled Red playing consistently under head coachGreg Vanney.

Win or lose, a growing number of supporters are grilling the 26-year-old goalkeeper after every game, regardless of the timely saves he makes.

They expect more. They expect him to stop everything. He bizarrely has been blamed -- by some -- for each of the previous four goals the Reds have conceded. And one was a PK!

"(Some TFC fans) find someone to blame every single thing on," a former TFC starter told theToronto Sun this week.

"Joe makes some huge saves and hardly ever makes a gaffe. He's a good locker room guy, too."

Granted, he doesn't get paid to make jokes. Still, multiple former TFC players have offered their opinions of Bendik, the goalkeeper.

These are former teammates who gain nothing by expressing sentiment to the Sun. They've moved on to other clubs, other places. They've all competed at the highest level.

They're baffled by all the, uh, BS Bendik eats on a weekly basis.

"It pisses me off when people kill him on every goal," another former TFCer told the Sun . "He's very solid and doesn't make mistakes."

A third former TFC player echoed similar feelings to the Sun this week.

"He's not even made too many mistakes so I just don't see where (the blame) is coming from."

One look at social media after almost every goal TFC concedes tells the story.

Some have pointed to Bendik's poor-to-average save percentage as evidence he's not up to snuff.

But an MLS goalkeeper's save percentage doesn't take "quality of chance" into account. So we can pretty much dismiss it.

In terms of shots faced per game, Bendik's (5.45) sits among the highest in the league. Only New York City FC's Josh Saunders (5.32) is in the vicinity.

The league's top 'keepers -- David Ousted,Luis Robles,Dan Kennedy-- are all facing well below 4.00 shots per game. Anyone else see a trend?

That's not to say Bendik is without blame this season.

He conceded a devastating restart goal in Chicago earlier this year. He likely should have done better on the lone goal TFC conceded in a 4-1 win over Orlando last week.

In terms of big saves, though, there have been plenty in recent memory.

The Reds wouldn't have escaped Columbus with a point last month if Bendik hadn't gotten a paw to Kei Kamara's late chance.

Furthermore, everything might have been different had he not somehow managed to recover to smother Cyle Larin's early sitter last Wednesday.

Against Sporting Kansas City, Bendik came up with a massive save against Connor Hallisey in the first half only to be let down when Ahmed Kantariconceded a penalty moments later.

Fans aren't the only ones eager to leave the Bendik bandwagon on blocks. A number of pundits don't see value in a player who others believe gets the job done on a low-budget number.

If you ask me, it's all a bunch of BS. Yes, that kind.

NEW YORK CITY IS RED

Coming off a huge win over their crosstown rivals, the New York Red Bulls are set to host TFC on Saturday in a match full of playoff implications.

The Red Bulls are looking to chip away at DC United's lead atop the Eastern Conference, while Toronto FC is desperate to collect anything from a match it won't be favoured in.

"We understand what they're about," Vanney said of New York on Tuesday, noting the two sides met in preseason. "They haven't changed a ton. They've added some players.

"They're a team that's going to put you under pressure. They're going to try and force you into mistakes."

Like Sporting Kansas City did. And we all know how that went.

"We're going to take a very specific look at how we start matches," Vanney added. "On set piece stuff we are going to make adjustments on how we defend set pieces.

"A lot of times it comes down to concentration."

Toronto FC could get something of a reprieve heading into the match Saturday.

Replays caught Red Bulls centre backDamien Perrinelle issuing New York City FC's Jefferson Mena a glancing punch to the face on a free kick during the Hudson Derby on Sunday night.

No word from the league's disciplinary committee yet.

JOZY RETURNS HOME

Toronto FC hopes Jozy Altidore's return to New Jersey will give him the boost he needs.

Altidore missed a late sitter against Sporting Kansas City last weekend that would have leveled the score. Instead, KC came back the other way and made it 3-1. Game over.

"Jozy needs to be more involved," Vanney said. "Some of that is us, some of that is Jozy. He's a key player for us. We need to get him in good spots around the goal.

"My hope is this weekend, going to his former club and one of his home towns in a big match against a rival in this conference, is that he'll be highly motivated."

HERCULEZ! HERCULEZ!

New Toronto FC striker Herculez Gomez was scheduled to arrive in Toronto Tuesday night.

He will join his new teammates for training on Wednesday.

Gomez told the Toronto Sun shortly after signing last Friday that he hoped to be in the picture for the match at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.