New York Yankees star Aaron Judge and the rest of his Team USA teammates don’t control their destiny and could be out of the World Baseball Classic in the group stage.
After the U.S. fell to Team Italy 8-6 on March 10, the Americans lost control of their destiny and now need to scoreboard watch to determine whether they advance to the knockout stage or crash out in the group stage.
Nonetheless, for WFAN’s Tommy Lugauer, his focus was on Judge, who had the opportunity to tie the game with one swing of the bat as the potential tying run at the plate. However, he would strike out.
“Aaron Judge coming to the plate, ninth inning, two outs as the tying run, and he strikes out,” Lugauer said on March 11. “In the big spot, in the big moment, with everybody watching, the country’s watching, Aaron Judge let the country down. Just like he lets Yankee fans down in October, he is now letting the entire country down.”
Moreover, Lugauer didn’t stop at the game when it came to criticizing Judge; he went all the way back before the tournament began, as the Yankees star didn’t set the right tone for the team.
“He had that awful, boring speech before the WBC even got going,” Lugauer added. “Then, in the biggest WBC for Team USA so far, two outs, you represent the tying run, and you strike out. Look familiar? You let everybody down, just like you let Yankee fans down in October.”
It’s Not All on Yankees’ Aaron Judge
While Lugauer put his focus on Judge, most are putting their attention on manager Mark DeRosa, who spoke as if the U.S. had already secured a spot in the quarterfinals.
“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,” DeRosa stated during an interview on MLB Network on March 10 (h/t NBC News). “So, the way the schedule lines up, this is an important game for us.”
After the game, DeRosa expressed he “misspoke” when he declared the U.S. had already advanced.
“I was on ‘Hot Stove’ with a couple of buddies today and completely misread the calculations,” DeRosa told reporters after the loss. “We knew Mexico was going to play Italy and running all the numbers with if we lost tonight with the runs allowed and runs scored and outs. So, I just misspoke.”
Team USA Will Be Scoreboard Watching
The United States’ hopes now depend on the result of the March 11 matchup between Mexico and Italy. If Italy wins, the United States moves on.
However, if Mexico wins in nine innings and scores five or more runs, the United States still advances. However, if Mexico wins in nine innings and scores fewer than five runs, the United States will be eliminated.
It will be interesting to see how the Italy-Mexico game turns out, but if Team USA crashes out in the group stage, there will be plenty of criticism to go around over the handling of group play and, yet again, failing to win the WBC.
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