The Rundown: Team USA’s Fate in Opponents’ Hands, PCA Homers Twice, Horton Unbothered by Rough Outing, Showcase Advice

A seed that was planted when catcher Cal Raleigh refused to shake Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena‘s hand when the outfielder came to the plate in the Mexico vs. USA game the other day germinated last night in USA’s loss to Italy. The World Baseball Classic is a worldwide celebration of the sport, with most teams and fans engaging in ebullient displays of joy and passion. For members of this latter-day Dream Team, however, it feels more like a business trip. And it’s that they’re taking the tournament too seriously, it’s that they’re taking themselves too seriously.

That might be fine if they had taken care of all the details, but this is like Michael Scott leading the Dunder Mifflin crew out on the road. Manager Mark DeRosa‘s lack of attention to detail was on display when he appeared shocked when Alex Bregman answered a reporter’s question in Spanish. Of course, that pales in comparison to DeRosa telling MLB Network on Tuesday morning that his team still wanted to beat Italy “even though our ticket’s already punched to the quarterfinals.”

Their ticket was obviously not punched, as anyone who understands numbers could have told you, and MLB.com has apparently scrubbed the video from that interview from its site. DeRosa went on to say that he was going to hold some of his better players out of the lineup to give them a break from the grind of playing their fourth game in five days, especially after admitting that some guys were “dragging” after staying at Daikin Park until 12:30am Tuesday celebrating the win over Mexico.

C’mon, man, even my old ass could be ready to go for a 9pm game the next day. While I can appreciate the difficulties DeRosa faces in trying to balance playing time and egos for a group of intensely confident, driven athletes, there’s zero excuse for not understanding the importance of a pool play game that might have eliminated them. Team USA got so high off its own supply that it stumbled through Tuesday’s game and couldn’t manage to punch back until they were down 8-0 in the 6th inning.

DeRosa admitted after the game that he “Completely misread the calculations,” but it was obviously too late by then. Now he and his team have to sit back and watch as tonight’s Italy/Mexico matchup determines who will advance from Pool B. Though Team USA has the benefit in most tiebreakers, the worst-case scenario would come in a low-scoring win by Mexico.

If Mexico wins with four runs or fewer, the US will be eliminated from the tournament. Below are the different scenarios as I understand them:

Italy wins: Italy and US advance
Mexico wins and scores 5+ runs: Mexico and US advance
Mexico wins and allows 6+ runs: US and Mexico advance
Mexico wins and allows <5 runs: Mexico and Italy advance

I know Francisco Cervelli and Benji Gil aren’t going to conspire to have Mexico win with a score of 4-3 or something less, but it sure would be funny. Maybe that would spur USA Baseball to take a little more care with its leadership decisions. People keep talking about this group like the 1992 Olympic basketball team that was replete with superstars, but do you recall those guys ever taking a night off?

Hell no, they were out for blood every time they stepped on the floor. And while baseball isn’t quite the same thing, I can guarantee you Chuck Daly was happy to keep his foot on the pedal the whole time that group was in Barcelona. Not that he needed to with Michael Jordan and others refusing to let their opponents get close to them.

Some might say I’m the one who’s taking this too seriously, but I’d argue that I’m just holding a mirror up to DeRosa and his team. If these guys need a day off, maybe they don’t need to be there. Oh well, at least we know Pete Crow-Armstrong came to play last night. He supplied four of his team’s runs with a pair of late homers that electrified the crowd and sparked hope for a comeback.

PCA HOMERS AGAIN! #WORLDBASEBALLCLASSIC pic.twitter.com/yIgefIiqIi

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 11, 2026

What are the chances that the players go all Varsity Blues and kick DeRosa out of the clubhouse if they end up making it to bracket play?

Horton Maintaining Perspective

The biggest difference between the WBC and spring training is that the games actually matter, but there’s also the whole thing about actually being able to watch them. Marquee has been mostly absent from Cactus League coverage, and even some away games just carry the other team’s broadcast. So you’ll be forgiven if you didn’t know much about Cade Horton‘s start on Tuesday afternoon, which had zero coverage of any kind.

Before getting to that, I want to note that tonight’s Mexico/Italy game has been flexed from Tubi to FS1 now that it carries more significance. Huh, imagine having the ability to get your product to more people. Must be nice.

Anyway, Horton got touched up for six earned runs over 3.2 innings as he allowed three homers on six total hits. He did at least stretch out to 60 pitches, which was nice to see, and he has the right perspective on everything.

“I think the results can lie to you sometimes,” Horton told reporters. “That first inning is a great example of that. Probably the first two balls hit weren’t over 80 (mph). But you look at the scoresheet and you’re like, ‘Oh, he gave up two hits and a three-run shot.’ It’s not really like that. I made two really good pitches, and they dunked in. One swing later and we’re behind. That’s where it’s about focus on the process. I made good pitches, so that builds confidence to move on.”

The key is that Horton feels comfortable with his mechanics and is continuing to ramp for what should an Opening Day start later this month.

More News and Notes

• Righty reliever Ethan Roberts pitched his fourth scoreless inning of the spring and has allowed just one hit with three strikeouts and a walk. His fastball was up to 95 mph and averaged just over 94 after being slightly under 93 last year.
• Matt Shaw homered against Kumar Rocker, his first of the spring.
• Astros closer Josh Hader will open the season on the 15-day IL as he deals with a biceps issue.
• Teel’s expected replacement on Team Italy’s roster — catchers are the only players who can be replaced — is 20-year-old Andres Annunziata.
• Last night was a wild one in the sports world, as the Ravens backed out of their trade for Maxx Crosby and Bam Adebayo scored 83 points for the Heat.
• There’s not much else going on in MLB worth noting, so I’ll jump back on my youth/prep baseball soapbox to talk about the showcase circuit and its value, or lack thereof, to players and parents.
• First, I’m not anti-showcase. Given that most camps and tryouts utilize the same structure — 60-yard times, defensive evals, BP, bullpens — it’s valuable for young players to learn how to put themselves in a good position to succeed. However, showcase marketers capitalize on FOMO to get “donations” from adults who don’t know any better.
• I see kids all the time who have no business showcasing, generally because their numbers aren’t good enough to reflect well. That’s particularly true of these “invite-only” events to which a kid can be invited simply by asking. The ones who truly were invited receive priority, while others are shunted off to the side with little or no focused evaluation.
• My conspiracy theory is that some of these events also used juiced balls, as the EV numbers being posted by some of these prep hitters are absurd given the environment. And I’m not the only one who believes this either. Those big numbers draw eyeballs, so I can understand why they do it.
• What concerns me far more is the low numbers being entered into the public record. I have seen kids who showcase when they’re not fully ramped on the mound, leading to fastball velocities that have dipped 1-2 mph since the previous summer. That’s a back look for a teenager. Or kids who have mediocre EVs with poor 60 times. You don’t need a showcase to tell you that, and you should understand where you need to be before dropping $350+ to have someone tell the world how much you need to improve.
• Showcases can be great for the top athletes, and I think there’s also merit to younger athletes below that upper echelon establishing a baseline from which they can show growth. That’s off the table once you get to junior year of high school and beyond, as you should already know your numbers. A Pocket Radar and a stopwatch will tell you a lot, and there should be a HitTrax-equipped facility not too far from most folks.
• A good number of parents who are signing their kids up for these events would get just as much value out of throwing cash in a burn pit and setting it on fire. That money would be far better invested in a membership to a training facility, though there are also better options if you’re intent on showcasing.
• If the goal is to be seen by college coaches, there’s no sense in doing a showcase during college baseball season. Save those for the fall. Instead, look into events hosted by actual colleges. They’re far cheaper, you’re in front of the coaches themselves — possibly several from different schools at various levels — and the results are shared privately.
• My intent is not to demonize showcases or their providers, only to educate folks on how they can best navigate the industry if and when they want their kids to participate. Just be smart and realistic about what it is you’re trying to gain from a particular event and/or provider.

Trailer Time

I don’t really think this one will quite land with most of our demographic, but it struck a chord with me as the father of a college freshman who underwent her share of roommate drama this year. In what feels to me like a spiritual sequel to You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Roommates is the story of what happens “when a hopeful, naive college freshman, Devon, asks the cool and confident Celeste to be her roommate, a blossoming friendship spirals into a war of passive aggression.”

This Netflix movie stars Sadie Sandler, daughter of Adam and sister of Bat Mitzvah star Sunny, as Devon. There will surely be some typical Happy Madison cornball humor and various hijinks before it comes in for a landing with the roommates in question learning valuable life lessons.