"I'm going to be ready. I'm not even worried about it because I'd rather not have a week to think about 'Oh gosh, what team am I facing?' Just go out there and throw."

Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt continues to play his cards close to the vest when discussing how he's going to slot his pitchers for the Classic, but a source says the team is leaning toward starting former Montreal Expo Mike Johnson in Saturday's opener versus Team USA.

How everything else shakes out depends on the result of that contest, since the tournament is being played under a double knockout system.

Should the Canadians win that game, they'd come back with Richmond Sunday against Venezuela, presuming it beats Italy in their opener Saturday. If they lose to the Americans, they'd likely go with either Vince Perkins, or perhaps Scott Diamond, for a must-win game against Italy, provided it loses to Venezuela, with Richmond saved for Tuesday to decide who advances to the second round, and who goes home.

"If you win that first game, then you kind of have to go for that second game," said pitching coach Denis Boucher.

"If you lose the first game, then you get the extra day off (before the second game), so you kind of have to switch things around.

"And you don't want to give a load to one or two guys early in the tournament, so they can come back on short notice."

Little wonder then that mapping out the pitching plans around the various usage limits and throwing programs is the top order of business for Canada in its three exhibition games in Florida. Such intense deliberations would not have been necessary if Canada had Ryan Dempster and the injured trio of Rich Harden, Jeff Francis and Erik Bedard. But in their absence, Richmond is their best bullet and must be used wisely.

He gave up two runs yesterday against the Jaybirds, a team he's trying to make, in an outing where command of his fastball came and went, his changeup was ineffective but he was pleased with his slider.

"I came into camp with my arm able to handle it," he remarked. "Russ (Martin) and I worked together good back there, he's a treat to throw to, so I'll be excited for whatever game I get to throw."

Martin, the two-time former Dodgers all-star, is a bit of an X-factor for the Canucks both with his bat and his glove. While his offence is self explanatory, his skill at handling pitchers could be crucial, particularly when youngsters take the mound with the pressure on.