How much blame does Mark DeRosa deserve for USA's WBC failure?

Mark DeRosa deserves some criticism

During pool play, the United States was only able to go 2-1, suffering a loss to Italy. That put them in a position where they needed to get to the knockout stage on the back of a tiebreaker. At that time, DeRosa seemed to publicly misunderstand the tiebreaker rules. 

“Ton of respect for Italy," DeRosa said. "It’s weird. We want to win this game even though our ticket is punched to the quarterfinals because Mexico plays Italy actually tomorrow. So the way the schedule lines up, this is an important game.”

The implication of the quote, of course, is that he and Team USA weren't trying to win as much as they otherwise could have. It's also worth pointing out that DeRosa would push back on that narrative as him misspeaking. 

There are other places where DeRosa has been criticized for in-game management. That includes some lineup choices, like not playing Gunnar Henderson as a starter in the final, or bringing in Whitlock despite high usage in the ninth inning. Of course, those criticisms are with the benefit of hindsight.

Much of the criticism of Mark DeRosa is overblown

The reality is that any confusion about tiebreakers didn't hurt the United States in the end. It's an embarrassing gaffe, but no more than that.

There's more room for blame on any given decision made within games, but less than a manager would normally receive at the same time. In particular, DeRosa was limited in his choice of pitchers. Some pitchers, like Tarik Skubal, were only able to throw once. Pitch counts were imposed on starting pitchers, and MLB teams imposed limits on their players too.

Mason Miller, one of the game's best closers, didn't pitch in the final. That's because of the situation that was presented, and DeRosa respecting what the San Diego Padres wanted.

“Honoring the Padres," DeRosa explained. "Had we taken the lead, he was coming in, but I wasn’t going to bring him in to a tie game.”

It's possible to criticize some choices with the lineup, like benching Pete Crow-Armstrong for the final or not starting Henderson. At the same time, it's the players who are on the field, and the United States had a lineup lined with All-Stars and elite offensive talent. That group scored two runs in the final, but it had the talent on the field to produce much better.

It's unclear if DeRosa will get another chance to manage Team USA. For now, though, he'll have to weather a storm of criticism, warranted or not.