"It's weird. We want to win this game even though our ticket's punched to the quarterfinals. -Team USA manager Mark DeRosa earlier today. Team USA's ticket was not, in fact, punched to the quarterfinals, and now they're in danger of missing out."
"I misspoke... Completely misread the calculations. -Manager Mark DeRosa confirms he did not know Team USA could still be eliminated during pool play, acknowledging his error in understanding the tournament's advancement scenarios and tiebreaker rules."
Team USA suffered an 8-6 loss to Italy in World Baseball Classic pool play, despite Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting two home runs. The defeat proved costly because Team USA's advancement to the quarterfinals is no longer guaranteed. Italy, USA, and Mexico remain alive for two qualifying spots, with the outcome depending on tonight's Italy-Mexico game and potential tiebreaker scenarios involving run differential. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa initially stated the game didn't matter because he believed qualification was already clinched, but later admitted he misread the tournament calculations and completely misunderstood the elimination scenarios. The loss means Team USA's fate now depends on other results rather than their own performance.
Read at Bleacher Nation
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