LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The U.S. baseball team will open against Colombia on Oct. 30 in the Americas tournament, a qualifying event in Panama for the Athens Olympics.

The United States will play six games in the preliminary round in a schedule announced Tuesday by the International Baseball Federation and the Pan American Baseball Confederation.

The U.S. team will not play regional powers Cuba and the Dominican Republic in the early round. The top two teams from the Oct. 30-Nov. 11 event earn automatic berths to the 2004 Athens Games.

Montreal Expos manager Frank Robinson will manage the squad of professionals that begins training Saturday in the Arizona Fall League.

The United States is in Group B with the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico. In Group A are Aruba, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Eight countries will play baseball at the Olympics. The Netherlands and Italy earned European berths, with an automatic slot for host Greece. Asia will have two teams and the final spot goes to the Oceania-Africa playoff winner.

The United States won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics with a team managed by Tom Lasorda.

Also Tuesday, the U.S. team said left-handed pitcher John Grabow of the Pittsburgh Pirates will be added to the list of 30 players already on the roster.