USA Manager DeRosa Says He 'Misspoke' on WBC Bracket Scenarios in Trending Video Before Italy Loss

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa had an unfortunate verbal gaffe prior to Tuesday's game against Italy when he mistakenly thought his club had already clinched a spot in the knockout round of the World Baseball Classic.

DeRosa said after the United States' 8-6 loss that he "misspoke" earlier in the day about where things stood in the bracket.

The original comment came when DeRosa appeared on MLB Network (h/t CBS Sports' Matt Snyder) and said the U.S. "already punched" a "ticket to the quarterfinals."

That actually wasn't the case, and now Team USA is facing elimination depending on the outcome of Wednesday's game between Mexico and Italy.

Given how byzantine some of the WBC tiebreaking scenarios can be, it's not hard to see why DeRosa might have assumed the U.S. was already on its way into the quarterfinals.

Team USA has a head-to-head win over Mexico, which traditionally means they would hold the tiebreaker if the two teams finished with the same record.

However, because the WBC has a mercy rule, its tiebreakers are broken down in very specific ways like runs scored or runs allowed per defensive out.

For example, Mexico will end up playing fewer innings than the United States in Pool B because its 16-0 win over Brazil ended after six frames due to the mercy rule.

The U.S. has a 15-5 win over Brazil on its resume, but the game went all nine innings because America didn't establish a 10-run lead until the ninth.

Italy is the only undefeated team in Pool B with a 3-0 record. The U.S. (3-1) wrapped up pool play on Tuesday night. Mexico (2-1) has the best run differential in the group (plus-20), two runs better than Team USA.

If things break so that Italy and Mexico advance, it will mark the first time since the 2013 WBC that the U.S. does not reach the championship game.

Needless to say, DeRosa and Team USA will be watching closely when the Mexico vs. Italy game from Daikin Park begins at 7 p.m. ET.