Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The United States hopes to make up for a disappointing effort in the inaugural World Baseball Classic when it kicks off Pool C play on March 7 against Canada at the Rogers Centre.

Davey Johnson will be at the helm this time around for an American squad that finished eighth in '06 and did not qualify for the semifinals, posting a 3-3 mark.

Some people felt that part of the problem three years ago for the U.S. was that manager Buck Martinez continuously shuffled his lineup with mid-game substitutions, like you normally would see in an All-Star Game. Johnson has already said he does not intend on doing that.

This time around Johnson will have the luxury of having his team play three exhibition games before the tournament begins. The United States only played one game together before the Classic started in 2006.

While the United States is expected to have one of the better lineups in the tournament, their pitching is what could carry them to Dodger Stadium for the semifinals and championship game on March 23.

Right-handers Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt will head the rotation, while a deep bullpen will be spearheaded by Joe Nathan, B.J. Ryan and J.J. Putz among others.

Offensively, the U.S. could have the best lineup from top-to-bottom in the tournament. Some of the big bats for the U.S. include AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, Grady Sizemore, Ryan Braun, Derek Jeter, David Wright, Jimmy Rollins and Chipper Jones.

Rollins and Jones will both likely be relegated to bench duty, roles neither have a problem with, signaling yet another indication that the perceived "ego" problems from three years ago are a thing of the past.

The tournament's format is a bit different than it was three years ago. Rather than the Round-Robin format employed in 2006, Round 1 will be double elimination - the first two teams to lose twice will be eliminated. The pool winners and runner ups will advance to the second round of the tournament. Round 2 will also be double elimination. The first two teams to lose twice will be eliminated and the remaining teams advance to the semifinal round in Los Angeles.

Let's take a look at the rest of Pool C:

VENEZUELA: Team Venezuela's chances took a big hit when New York Mets lefty Johan Santana and Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano announced they would be skipping the tournament. Venezuela made it out of the first round at the inaugural Classic, but scored a total of only one run in their two second- round losses, including a shutout at the hands of Cuba and a 2-1 defeat to the Dominican Republic, denying them a berth in the finals. Armed again with huge expectations, manager and former big leaguer Luis Sojo has plenty of major leaguers at his disposal in the Detroit Tigers' Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, and Miguel Cabrera, Baltimore's Melvin Mora and the Angels' Bobby Abreu, among others. Pitching carried the club in '06, but without Santana and Zambrano, Mariners ace Felix Hernandez will carry the load along with Detroit right-hander Armando Galarraga, with New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez expected to anchor the bullpen. Venezuela starts play on March 7 against Italy. There is no reason they should not join the United States out of this pool in the second round.

CANADA: Team Canada begins play against the United States on March 7. Like in '06, Canada could be a sleeper pick. Unfortunately, though, they are lumped in a pool with a pair of powerhouses in the United States and Venezuela. However, should they steal a game from one of them, things could get interesting. Their chances, though, could have been much better had pitchers such as Seattle's Erik Bedard and the Chicago Cubs' Rich Harden and Ryan Dempster elected to participate. Still, the Canadians will have plenty of major league talent at their disposal and will be led by Boston's Jason Bay, the Dodgers' Russell Martin and Minnesota's Justin Morneau. Canada, which should have a huge home- field advantage, finished 2-1 in pool play in '06, but one of those wins came against the U.S.

ITALY: You know your team might be in trouble when your hitting coach is the most recognizable person in your dugout and chances are, probably, still the best player. Mike Piazza, who played for Italy in 2006, will serve as Marco Mazzieri's, batting coach this time around. Italy finished 10th the first time around, going 1-2 and did not qualify for the second round. Some of the big league talent on its roster this year include Frank Catalanotto, Chris Iannetta, Nick Punto, Jason Grilli and Chris Denorfia. Italy has won the biennial European Baseball Championship eight times since 1954, but has struggled against baseball powerhouses such as the U.S., Japan, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela in international play.