Team USA's WBC fate is out of its hands. Gaffe from Mark DeRosa only twists knife.

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa mistakenly said the Americans had already punched their ticket to the WBC quarterfinals before losing to Italy.

In theory, Mark DeRosa will be the most nervous observer when Mexico and Italy play the final game in Pool B of the World Baseball Classic Wednesday, March 11 in Houston, with the fate of Team USA in the balance.

In reality, his gaffe on national television can't totally be undone with the result of a ballgame.

In what will go down as one of the more significant managerial oversights in the middle of a championship, DeRosa went on his own network with friendly hosts and claimed that the Americans ‒ sitting at 3-0 and apparently indomitable ‒ were already through to the quarterfinals.

Alas, the buzz of their postgame celebration after vanquishing Mexico had hardly worn off when DeRosa joined MLB Network for the sort of interview he'd conducted hundreds of times. But an Italian team with legit big league power loomed in their final game.

And the Americans got crushed. And, in fact, suddenly have their own fate out of their hands.