Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The Dominican Republic headlines a very deep Pool D, as it tries to make up for a disappointing effort at the 2006 World Baseball Classic when it begins play against the Netherlands on March 7 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico.

Considered a heavy favorite heading into the inaugural Classic, the Dominican Republic finished fourth despite posting the second best record of the tournament, while advancing to the semifinals where it lost to Cuba.

The Dominican team is still loaded for manager Felipe Alou even though the likes of Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano and Vladimir Guerrero have all opted to skip the event. A big reason for that is the fact that three-time AL MVP Alex Rodriguez has switched his allegiance from Team USA to join the Dominican Republic squad.

Rodriguez, of course, is the latest superstar player to become embroiled in a steroid controversy. The New York Yankees slugger has admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs from 2001-03 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

Joining A-Rod in the well-stocked Dominican lineup will be Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, David Ortiz and Robinson Cano. Edinson Volquez headlines a rotation that will also include future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, who will be using the WBC as an audition of sorts to land himself a major league deal.

Also pitching for the Dominicans will be Johnny Cueto, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tony Pena, Juan Cruz and Jose Arrendondo.

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 D:

PUERTO RICO: The one team that could spoil the Dominican Republic's party here is host Puerto Rico, which will be managed by Jose Oquendo and features a roster chock full of big league stars such as Alex Rios, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and the National League's reigning Rookie of the Year, Geovany Soto. Puerto Rico had a strong showing in the inaugural Classic, finishing 4-2 and advancing to Round 2 where it lost to Cuba in the deciding game. Oquendo's club is not as deep this time around and could be in trouble from a pitching standpoint. It will be interesting to see how veterans Bernie Williams and Ivan Rodriguez do, as both try to rejuvenate big league careers. Either way, Puerto Rico should be a lock to advance out of this pool with the DR.

PANAMA: Panama lost all three of its WBC contests in 2006, but played a couple of nailbiters to start the tournament before getting routed 10-0 by the Netherlands in its final contest. Former New York Yankees outfielder Hector Lopez will manage a Panama squad that is short on big league talent. Reliever Mariano Rivera again opted to skip the tournament, leaving the bullpen in the capable hands of Manny Corpas. Catcher Carlos Ruiz is probably the most well- known player on the roster. Obviously with the Dominican Republic and host Puerto Rico in one group, the chances for Panama to advance into the second round are slim.

NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands won just one of its three WBC games three years ago, but that victory was a no-hitter from Washington Nationals prospect Shairon Martis, who blanked Panama, 10-0. Martis will be back along with the likes of Sidney Ponson, Rick Vanden Hurk and Randall Simon. The Netherlands' chances of advancing were slim to begin with, but when Jair Jurrjens chose not to participate, it left them with virtually no chance.