CANADA – Team Canada skipper Ernie Whitt will have to do his best impression of David Blaine when the second World Baseball Classic opens March 7. With a depleted pitching staff, Whitt must devise a plan to try and get his squad into the second round. Perhaps the Great Houdini is needed as well?

Team Canada will be without injured MLB pitchers Jeff Francis (Rockies), Rich Harden (Cubs), Erik Bedard (Mariners), Shawn Hill (Nationals) and Scott Mathieson (Phillies). The Chicago Cubs Ryan Dempster will also be missing in action after signing a new contract which is why Whitt must quickly become a master of illusion.

With a limited number of pitchers, all working on strict pitching limits, Whitt has some tough decisions to make. Does the former major league catcher use his two best starters in the opener against the Americans, or does Team Canada put all their eggs in one basket against Venezuela in the double-knockout pool? The lone other team in the pool is European lightweight Italy.

“Do you put all your cards on the table and try to beat the U.S. with your pitching staff and everything on the first night, or do you kind of hold back and say, ‘We’ve got to beat either the U.S. or Venezuela?’ “ Whitt mused recently at Baseball Canada’s annual banquet in Toronto. “There’s four teams and only two of them are going to advance. It’s tough.”

Offensively, the Canadians will have a potent line-up featuring Justin Morneau (Twins), Jason Bay (Red Sox), Russ Martin (Dodgers), Matt Stairs (Phillies), Joey Votto (Reds) and Mark Teahen (Royals). But pitching remains a huge concern for the man calling the shots.

“The sad part about it is, you look at the potential team Canada could put out on the field with a Harden, a Francis, a Dempster, Bedard, Shawn Hill, Scottie Mathieson — that’s a pretty good starting staff right there,” Whitt said. “And then you look at the offensive team that hopefully we will have. We could create a lot of problems for some teams.”

Tags: Canada, World Baseball Classic