Jon Deeble's goals for the World Baseball Classic are relatively simple
"For us, this whole tournament is about credibility and respect" said the manager of Team Australia, as his players gathered for their first stateside workout here, at the Boston Red Sox's minor-league training facility

Deeble knows just being invited to participate in the Classic is a good step for his country's program
"To be invited was the best thing for us
We won the Silver Medal at the Olympics in Athens and this is another stick for us" he said
"We've got a fantastic group of young, able guys who in four to eight years time, they're going to be able to compete at this level
We're still hoping that we're going to be able to compete in this
We're planning on going to the next round"

Respect and credibility should be a fairly easy order for the country that won the 2004 Silver Medal at the Athens Olympics
But, Deeble believes, that's not the case
"People don't take Australia as being serious because (baseball is) probably our No.10 sport" said Deeble, citing some of the more popular sports in his country - Australian rules football, rugby, cricket, soccer, and net ball
"But we've got 100 kids in professional baseball (in the United States) and another 100 in college (in the US)
And for a country with twenty million people, we've got more guys that have made it to the big leagues per person than any other country in the world"

As the manager of Australia's entry in the 2000 and '04 Olympics, as well as a coach on the 1999 team that captured the Intercontinental Cup, Deeble is accustomed to being shorted in respect during international competition
"Before we won the Silver Medal in the Olympics, people didn't really give us much credibility or much respect" Deeble said
"Then we started winning games and they're like, 'Oh, hang on a minute'"

While every player on Deeble's roster except one, infielder Gavin Fingleson, has been affiliated with a Major League organization, just five have Major League experience, most notably David Nilsson, who last played in 1999, when he was an All-Star for the Milwaukee Brewers, and will serve as Australia's designated hitter in the Classic

"We've got a lot of young, able prospects" Deeble said, suggesting fans keep an eye on Brad Harman, a shortstop in Philadelphia's system; first baseman Justin Huber of Kansas City's organization, the MVP of the MLB 2005 All-Star Futures Game; pitcher Paul Mildren, who recently signed with Boston; and Glenn Williams of Minnesota's system, as well as veterans Nilsson, and pitchers Damian Moss and Peter Moylan

Playing in 'Pool D' - arguably the toughest grouping, with the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Italy - Deeble knows his team has a difficult road ahead of it

"(The grouping) was a thing, too" Deeble said
"The odds are against us
We're in the toughest pool
We have to travel the furthest
We've lost a lot of our players
But, we're not going to take a back step
We'll be competitive and we've got some tricks up our sleeve
Hopefully, we can compete against these teams
Obviously, the biggest challenge will be competing against these Latin American countries that have got a whole lot of Major League guys
But we work on the theory that it's all about execution
It doesn't matter who we're playing"

Deeble believes his team has several factors working to its advantage, including familiarity
"We all know each other" he said
"We've known each other for years
And all the coaching staff have coached these kids since they were 12, 13 years old"

Another factor working to the advantage of Team Australia, Deeble said, is it's experience in international competitions
"You have to win" he said
"If you don't, you go home
It's irrelevant who the pitcher is
It's irrelevant who you're playing
So, our guys are going to be going out there against that Dominican lineup
It's going to be irrelevant who they're playing because it's about executing
If everyone executes perfectly and we get beat, well then there's no regrets"