Canada shocked the world at the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 with a 2-1 victory over the United States in first round pool play. But a loss against Mexico kept the Canadians from getting out of the first round. This time manager Ernie Whitt hopes his team can get at least to the second round of round-robin play.
Facing The United States Again
Canada will have home field advantage when they face the United States, Venezuela and Italy in the first round of the World Baseball Classic from March 7-11 at Toronto's Rogers Centre. The top two in the group will advance to a second round of eliminators against two teams from the Puerto Rico group consisting of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Netherlands and Panama.
Morneau Leads Team Canada
The clear leader of Team Canada will be Minnesota Twins slugging first baseman Justin Morneau. But Morneau is not the only star on Whitt's 45- man roster, which he must trim to 28 players - including a mandatory 13 pitchers - by February 24. Boston outfielder Jason Bay should be back in the mix as well as outfielder Matt Stairs, who went 3-for-9 with four RBIs for Canada in three tournament games in 2006. The Los Angeles Dodgers' All-Star catcher Russell Martin will be making his Team Canada debut. And Kansas City infielder-outfielder Mark Teahan is also joining the team for the first time.
Concerns For Whitt
Manager Whitt has a couple of concerns. The first is a welcome problem should it come as Joey Votto would be a welcome addition with his big bat. But it remains to be seen where the first baseman would play with Morneau stationed at first. The larger concern however is that Whitt's top three starters are all missing - Ryan Dempster, Erik Bedard and Rich Harden. In addition, Eric Gagne, Jeff Francis and Scott Richmond are all on the preliminary roster but it's unclear if they will come to the Classic. That could mean pitching prospects Phillippe Aumont and David Davidson could get a big shot to show off their stuff.
Canada's 24-Man Roster
Name, Bats/Throws, Height, Weight, Birth Date
PITCHERS
Phillippe Aumont, L/R, 6'7" (201cm), 220lbs (100kg), 01/07/1989
Chris Begg, R/R, 6'4" (193cm), 195lbs (88kg), 09/12/1979
T.J. Burton, L/R, 6'3" (191cm), 185lbs (84kg), 07/30/1983
Jesse Crain, R/R, 6'1" (185cm), 215lbs (98kg), 07/05/1981
David Davidson, L/L, 6'1" (185cm), 200lbs (91kg), 04/23/1984
Scott Diamond, L/L, 6'3" (191cm), 190lbs (86kg), 07/30/1986
Bryan Dumesnil, R/L, 6'3" (191cm), 210lbs (95kg), 09/19/1983
Steve Green, R/R, 6'2" (188cm), 200lbs (91kg), 01/26/1978
Blake Hawksworth, R/R, 6'3" (191cm), 195lbs (88kg), 03/01/1983
Mike Johnson, R/R, 6'2" (188cm), 180lbs (82kg), 10/03/1975
Christopher Leroux, L/R, 6'6" (198cm), 210lbs (95kg), 04/14/1984
Vince Perkins, L/R, 6'5" (196cm), 240lbs (109kg), 09/27/1981
Scott Richmond, R/R, 6'5" (196cm), 225lbs (102kg), 08/30/1979
CATCHERS
Luke Carlin, S/R, 5'11" (180cm), 180lbs (82kg), 12/20/1980
Brett Lawrie, R/R, 5'11" (180cm), 200lbs (91kg), 01/18/1990
Russell Martin, R/R, 5'10" (178cm), 210lbs (95kg), 02/15/1983
INFIELDERS
Chris Barnwell, R/R, 5'10" (178cm), 180lbs (82kg), 03/01/1979
Shawn Bowman, R/R, 6'2" (188cm), 205lbs (93kg), 12/09/1984
Stubby Clapp, L/R, 5'8" (173cm), 175lbs (79kg), 02/24/1973
Corey Koskie, L/R, 6'3" (191cm), 220lbs (100kg), 06/28/1973
Justin Morneau, L/R, 6'4" (193cm), 230lbs (104kg), 05/15/1981
Pete Orr, L/R, 5'11" (180cm), 195lbs (88kg), 06/08/1979
Joey Votto, L/R, 6'3" (191cm), 220lbs (100kg), 09/10/1983
OUTFIELDERS
Jason Bay, R/R, 6'2" (188cm), 205lbs (93kg), 09/20/1978
Matt Stairs, L/R, 5'9" (175cm), 210lbs (95kg), 02/27/1968
Adam Stern, L/R, 5'11" (180cm), 185lbs (84kg), 02/12/1980
Mark Teahen, L/R, 6'3" (191cm), 210lbs (95kg), 09/06/1981
Nicholas Weglarz, L/L, 6'3" (191cm), 245lbs (111kg), 12/16/1987
