Breaking Down The World Baseball Classic Competition

Post baseball writer John Lott takes a look at all 16 teams trying to claim this month's World Baseball Classic.

CANADA (Manager Ernie Whitt)
2006 finish 2-1 record, eliminated under a complicated tie-breaker rule in first round. Defeated South Africa and the United States, lost to Mexico.
2009 prospects Canada needs a perfect planetary alignment to escape Round 1. Its pitching is thin - reliever Jesse Crain is the lone legitimate major-leaguer on the staff - so the pressure is on the offence to meet expectations. Must beat Italy and Venezuela to advance. Home crowd should provide a boost.
The three stars 1B Justin Morneau, OF Jason Bay, C Russell Martin.
Waiting to shine Two young relievers, Philippe Aumont and David Davidson, need to step up and help get the ball to Crain, the putative closer. Starter Scott Richmond must deliver in a key start vs. Venezuela’s potent offence.
From the lip “It’s going to be tough. We don’t have the depth that a lot of other teams do. We’re going to need some big-time performances, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” — Outfielder Jason Bay

ITALY (Manager Marco Mazzieri)
2006 finish 1-2 record, eliminated in first round. Defeated Australia, lost to Venezuela and Dominican Republic.
2009 prospects Slim. Loose eligibility rules allow U.S.-born Frank Catalanotto, Nick Punto, Chris Denorfia, Jason Grilli and Mark DeFelice to add a smidgeon of legitimacy, but Italy faces a quick exit.
The three stars OF Frank Catalanotto, IF Nick Punto, P Mark DeFelice
Waiting to shine P Dan Serafini has been waiting since 1992, when the Twins made him their top draft pick. At 35, he provides some faint hope for a wobbly pitching staff.
From the lip “It’s a good opportunity for me being of Italian ancestry. I’m excited just to get back on the field a little bit. The fact [the players] are so eager to learn is great. There’s not a lot of ego.” — Hitting coach Mike Piazza, ex-big league catcher, whose father came to the U.S. from Sicily as a child

UNITED STATES (Manager Davey Johnson)
2006 finish 3-3 record, eliminated in second round. Defeated Mexico and South Africa, lost to Canada in Round 1. Beat Japan, lost to South Korea and Mexico in Round 2.
2009 prospects With solid major-leaguers filling every roster spot, the U.S. is the team to beat, insists manager Davey Johnson. The oddsmakers agree, although they also like the Dominican Republic. Team USA will hit, but its success will depend on how far starters Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt and Ted Lilly can go on a tight pitch count. The bullpen could be vulnerable.
The three stars 2B Dustin Pedroia, 3B-DH Chipper Jones, 3B-DH David Wright
Waiting to shine With his speed, defence and gap-to-gap power, OF Curtis Granderson may upstage his celebrity teammates.
From the lip “The target’s on our back anyway, so why not go out there and proclaim it?” — Jimmy Rollins, acknowledging the pressure on Team USA to redeem itself after imploding in the ‘06 tournament

VENEZUELA (Manager Luis Sojo)
2006 finish 3-3 record, eliminated in second round. Defeated Italy and Australia and lost to Dominican Republic in Round 1. Beat Puerto Rico and lost to Cuba and Dominican Republic in Round 2.
2009 prospects While Venezuela lacks the pitching depth of the U.S., its offence packs power and veteran experience. (For starters, the 2-3-4 hitters are Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez.) With Francisco Rodriguez to pitch the ninth, Venezuela could go deep in the tournament if it can find enough pitching to pick up starters Armando Galarraga and Felix Hernandez.
The three stars OF Bobby Abreu, 1B Miguel Cabrera, P Felix Hernandez
Waiting to shine P Carlos Silva is trying to rebound from a wretched season in Seattle. If he steps up, Venezuela could contend.
From the lip “It looked like someone cut him in half.” — Seattle skipper Don Wakamatsu, after Silva reported to camp 35 pounds lighter.

CHINA (Manager Terry Collins)
2006 finish 0-3 record, outscored 40-6, eliminated in first round.
2009 prospects Same as 2006. China’s roster includes only three players in major-league farm systems, led by shortstop Ray Chang (Pirates), a Kansas City native who has reached Triple-A. Collins, a former big-league manager, is probably the team’s most familiar name.
The three stars Chang, P Kai Liu, C Zhenwang Zhang. Liu and Zhang, both Yankee farmhands, are the first Chinese players to sign with a big-league club.

CHINESE TAIPEI (Manager Chih-Hsien Yeh)
2006 finish 1-2 record, eliminated in first round.
2009 prospects Same as 2006. Taipei does boast several legitimate prospects, including two Boston farmhands: OF Che-Hsuan Lin, the MVP of last year’s Futures Game, and IF Chih-Hsien Chiang. In this pool, that will not take them far.
The three stars OF Che-Hsuan Lin, IF Chih-Hsien Chiang, P Chi-Hung Cheng. A former Blue Jays farmhand, Cheng is now in the Pirates system.

JAPAN (Manager Tatsunori Hara)
2006 finish 5-3 record, won WBC championship. After losing twice to South Korea in the early rounds, Japan beat South Korea, then Cuba, in the finals.
2009 prospects A definite contender to repeat. Daisuke Matsuzaka leads the pitching staff, Ichiro Suzuki the offence. Rivalry continues with South Korea, which beat Japan on its way to Olympic gold last summer.
The three stars P Daisuke Matsuzaka, OF Ichiro Suzuki, P Yu Darvish. An Iranian-Japanese right-hander, Darvish, 22, is a blue-chip prospect who insists he will resist the lure of the West.

SOUTH KOREA (Manager In-Sik Kim)
2006 finish 6-1 record, best in tournament, but eliminated by Japan in semi-final. South Korea beat Japan twice, but Japan stayed alive via the controversial tie-breaker rule, since dropped.
2009 prospects Will easily advance to second round and continue its heated battle with Japan. Most familiar name is Shin-Soo Choo, a solid hitter for Cleveland, but he may not play because of an elbow injury.
The three stars Anybody’s guess, especially since Seung-Yeop Lee, the top hitter in the ‘06 Classic, begged off to prepare for his season in the Japanese league.

AUSTRALIA (Manager Jon Deeble)
2006 finish 0-3 record, shut out twice, eliminated in Round 1, but did give the Dominican Republic a challenge in a 6-4 loss.
2009 prospects Will battle South Africa to determine who is eliminated first in this pool. Roster is littered with minor-league players, including several genuine prospects (IF Luke Hughes, Twins, for example). Australia’s best-known big-leaguer, P Grant Balfour, wanted to participate but Tampa Bay said no.
The three stars IF Luke Hughes, P Rich Thompson, P Drew Naylor

CUBA (Manager Higinio Velez)
2006 finish 5-3 record, lost to Japan in final. Advanced with 2-1 record in each of first two rounds, then defeated the Dominican Republic in the semi-final.
2009 prospects After coasting through the first round, Cuba will see how strong it is without several stars, including Yadel Marti and Yasser Gomez, who were kicked off the team for trying to defect to the U.S., then managed to defect anyway. Also missing are two top hitters from the ‘06 tourney, Yoandy Garlobo (.480) and Osmany Urrutia (.345).
The three stars 3B Yulieski Gourriel, OF Frederich Cepeda, P Pedro Lazo

MEXICO (Manager Vinny Castilla)
2006 finish 3-3 record, eliminated in second round with losses to South Korea and Japan. Beat U.S. 2-1 in its final game to keep the Yanks from advancing.
2009 prospects A lock to advance to second round again, but likely no further. Mexico has plenty of players with big-league experience, and some pop from Adrian Gonzalez (36 homers for the Padres) and Jorge Cantu (29 for the Marlins), but precious little pitching.
The three stars OF Adrian Gonzalez, OF Jorge Cantu, C Rod Barajas

SOUTH AFRICA (Manager Rick Magnate)
2006 finish 0-3 record, eliminated in Round 1. Gave Canada a scare in the opener, taking an 8-7 lead into the ninth inning before losing 11-8.
2009 prospects Vegas odds are 300-1. This is why. Five players on the South roster have signed big-league contracts. They have a total of three years’ pro experience so far. One will not turn pro until he finishes high school. In the ‘06 Classic, the team allowed more than 15 runs per nine innings.
The three stars Let us be surprised.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Manager Felipe Alou)
2006 finish 5-2 record, lost 3-1 in semi-final to Cuba.
2009 prospects Even with Alex Rodriguez skipping the WBC, this club could win it all. With Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez at shortstop, Miguel Tejada moves to third, but he can play first if David Ortiz is the DH. The embarrassment of riches extends to the pitching corps, which includes Edinson Volquez, Ubaldo Jiminez, Johnny Cueto and Juan Cruz. Oh yes, and in a pinch, two old jobless guys are available: Pedro Martinez and Moises Alou.
The three stars SS Jose Reyes, P Edinson Volquez, P Jose Arredondo

NETHERLANDS (Manager Rod Delmonico)
2006 finish 1-2 record, eliminated in first round. Lone victory was over Panama.
2009 prospects Another quick exit. The roster includes one player (Rick VandenHurk) with major-league experience (four games), plus a few who have barely dampened their toes in the low minors. Along with South Africa, another example of how difficult it is to find 16 teams to fill out a “classic” international tournament. Maybe the Americans and Dominicans should enter two teams.
The three stars P Rick VandenHurk, OF Greg Halman, P Alex Smit

PANAMA (Manager Hector Lopez)
2006 finish 0-3, eliminated in first round, losing even to the Netherlands.
2009 prospects Dim. Panama has one legitimate star (Houston slugger Carlos Lee), a couple of decent relievers and not much else. Carlos Ruiz had decided not to play, but then Panamanian president Martin Torrijos called the Phillies’ backstop. “We don’t have any catchers,” Torrijos said. “You’re our guy.” Torrijos needs to make a few more calls.
The three stars OF Carlos Lee, P Manny Acosta, P Manny Corpas

PUERTO RICO (Manager Jose Oquendo)
2006 finish 4-2 record, eliminated in second round. Won four straight, then lost to Venezuela and Cuba.
2009 prospects Puerto Rico could be a dark horse and should advance again. The tough sledding starts in Round 2, where the likely opponents will be the U.S., Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Puerto Rico has some firepower (Carlos Delgado, Alex Rios, Carlos Beltran) but lacks the pitching depth needed to beat the big boys. One to watch: Bernie Williams comes out of retirement to lead off.
The three stars OF Alex Rios, OF Carlos Beltran, C Geovany Soto.

original post by Noah Love for National Post