Havana or bust: Team Canada sets roster
The 2005 CONCEBE Baseball Regional Olympic Qualifier, which takes place Nov. 15-19 in Phoenix, Ariz., is the first step of the qualification process for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
"I'm honored to be playing for Canada in the upcoming Olympic qualifier," said Mathieson, a native of Aldergrove, British Columbia. "I look forward to playing for my home country and working towards a gold medal."
Canada has never won an Olympic gold in baseball. Since the sport gained Olympic status, Cuba has won three golds (1992, 1996 and 2004) while the United States has won one (2000).
Along with Mathieson and Loewen, who played against each other as high-schoolers and are both pitching in the Arizona Fall League now, the squad includes Martin as one of its catchers and 10 other players who played for Canada (finishing fourth) at the 2004 Olympics in Greece.
The right-handed Mathieson, rated as the Phillies' No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, was 3-8 with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League with 118 whiffs in 121 2/3 innings. He currently leads the AFL in strikeouts with 27 in 18 1/3 inning pitched for the Surprise Scorpions.
Loewen, the No. 3 Orioles prospect, is a left-hander who went 10-8 with a 4.15 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 142 innings for the Frederick Keys, champions of the Class A Advanced Carolina League. He's currently 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA for the Peoria Javelinas of the AFL.
Martin, like Loewen, won a championship this season. He was a Southern League All-Star with the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate in Jacksonville, batting .311 with nine homers and 61 RBIs while delivering some big hits in the postseason as well. Martin's catching counterpart on the roster is Max St. Pierre (who played for Double-A Erie in 2005). The pitching staff is rounded out by Chris Begg (Norwich), T.J. Burton (Lake County), Eric Cyr (Salt Lake), Steve Green (Toledo), Mike Kusiewicz (Edmonton), Chris Mears (Springfield), Mike Meyers (Huntsville) and Aaron Myette (Tohuku).
As for the infield, Team Canada named Kevin Nicholson, a Vancouver native who won a championship with the Somerset Patriots of the Independent Atlantic League this season, as the team's shortstop.
Nicholson will be joined in the Team Canada infield by Todd Betts (Somerset), Scott Thorman (Richmond), Joey Votto (Sarasota), Stubby Clapp (Edmonton), Lee Delfino (Quebec) and Matt Rogelstad (Inland Empire). Rogelstad's teammate at Inland Empire, Sebastien Boucher, leads the talented group of Canadian outfielders. Boucher, who hit .352 in 52 games for the 66ers, is joined in the outfield by Ryan Radmanovich (Somerset), Ben Van Iderstine (Huntsville) and Jeremy Ware (Edmonton).
Ernie Whitt returns from the 2004 Olympics to manage the Canadian team again. He'll sit on the bench alongside pitching coach Denis Boucher and bench coach Tim Leiper. The only newcomer to the Canadian bench staff is Rob Ducey, a who joins the team as a coach after playing the outfield for Canada in Athens last year. Ducey currently serves as coach for the Yankees' Class A Short-Season affiliate in Staten Island.
The top four teams from the tournament will move on to the Americas Olympic Qualifier next August in Havana, Cuba, where they will compete against the top four teams from the Caribbean and South American regions for two berths at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The third and fourth place teams in Cuba will be relegated to an Olympic Wild Card tournament to be held sometime in 2007.
Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the U.S. will compete for the right to advance to Cuba. The tournament will feature the best players from each country, barring Major League Baseball-affiliated players who were on the 25-man rosters as of Aug. 31.
Canada opens its tournament schedule Tuesday, Nov. 15 against Nicaragua. They face Guatemala on Nov. 16, Panama on Nov. 17, Mexico on Nov. 18 and close out their tournament against the host U.S. on Nov. 19. The four teams with the best records after round-robin play move on to Havana.
"Hopefully we can win a couple of games and get a chance to go to Cuba," said Mathieson, who pitches for Surprise on Wednesday in the AFL. "It would be a great experience."