Team USA manager Mark DeRosa has learned a hard lesson about the finer points of the World Baseball Classic format.
Speaking before the Americans’ unthinkable 8-6 loss to Team Italy in Houston on Tuesday, DeRosa described the game to MLB Network as something of an afterthought.
‘Ton of respect for Italy — it’s weird — we want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals because Mexico plays Italy actually tomorrow,’ DeRosa told MLB Network hours before the sloppy upset defeat.
DeRosa was right about the schedule: Mexico and Italy will wrap up Pool B play on Wednesday in Houston.
He was, however, wrong about Team USA having its ‘ticket punched’ for the quarterfinals. In fact, following Tuesday’s comedy of errors (the Americans had two, leading to three runs for the Italians), DeRosa’s club is now relying on Italy to beat Mexico on Wednesday in order to advance.
‘One hundred percent,’ DeRosa admitted afterwards, ‘I misspoke. Bottom line.’
Team Italy – a group that includes 24 American-born players and just three who hail from the peninsula – will square off with Mexico at 7pm EST to cap off Pool B play after the upset win
Aaron Judge reacts after striking out to end Tuesday’s game, an 8-6 upset win for Team Italy
Speaking before the Americans’ unthinkable 8-6 loss to Team Italy in Houston on Tuesday, Mark DeRosa described the game to MLB Network as something of an afterthought
If Italy does beat Mexico, the Italians, managed by Venezuelan-born former Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, will win Pool B at 4-0 with Team USA advancing as the runner up.
If Mexico wins, things get far more complicated for Team USA because all three clubs would finish Pool B play at 3-1 with 1-1 records against each other.
The next tiebreaker is number of runs allowed in games between the three teams. And since Team Mexico has already surrendered fewer than Italy heading into Wednesday’s showdown, the Mexicans can advance to the quarterfinals with a win.
But for Team USA to advance at 3-1 as the runner up in Pool B, Mexico would have to score at least five runs in a win over Italy on Wednesday.
Those scenarios, while unfamiliar to DeRosa, were understood by Team USA players, captain Aaron Judge told reporters after Tuesday’s loss.
J.J. D’Orazio #28 of Team Italy gestures toward the dugout in the eighth inning of the win
Now the team plans to gather at a hotel to watch Italy face Mexico, with the hope that the former wins or, if not, somehow surrenders five or more runs in defeat.
‘It’s out of our control now,’ Judge said. ‘We just need a little luck and we’ll see what happens.’
DeRosa, a former Major League infielder who now works as an MLB Network co-host, has taken significant criticism online over his mistake. For that matter, his explanation (‘I misspoke’) didn’t do him any favors either.
‘He didn’t misspeak,’ one critic wrote on X. ‘He was wrong.’
‘Look at the lineup,’ another critic wrote after DeRosa initially benched All-Stars Bryce Harper, Cal Raleigh and Alex Bregman. ‘It was 100% made with the idea in mind that USA didn’t need to win this game.’
Others preferred to look on the bright side for DeRosa: ‘Dude will never be a manager again but he’ll make a fantastic politician after this debacle.’
Team Italy – a group that includes 24 American-born players and just three who hail from Lo Stivale – will square off with Mexico at 7pm EST to cap off Pool B play.
