Team USA is placed in precarious position

The Americans play a must-win game against Mexico on Thursday.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The poor play of the United States was all too clear to Mark Teixeira.
"We could have hit better, we could have fielded better, we could have pitched better," the first baseman said. "But they just beat us."
The 7-3 loss to South Korea Monday night left the Americans in precarious shape again at the World Baseball Classic. They routed South Africa 17-0 to advance to Round 2, and now almost surely need to defeat Mexico -- a much stronger opponent than South Africa -- for a trip to the semifinals.
"Another one of those sit around and figure out the scenarios. That's about all you can say," Derek Jeter said. "We had our chances right from the first inning. We just didn't get any hits with guys on base. I'm well aware of what it takes to win. We just didn't do it."
Hee-Seop Choi's three-run homer off Dan Wheeler in the fourth inning was the key blow for South Korea, the tournament's only unbeaten team.
The impact
"Something happened today which nobody could believe," South Korean manager In Sik Kim said. "But not just because it's the USA team, but it's the best of all the best major league players. It's very difficult to believe what happened. But this is baseball. You never know what might happen."
Before an announced crowd of 21,288 at Angel Stadium, the U.S. received another poor performance from starter Dontrelle Willis and failed to deliver timely hitting. Shoddy fielding made things only worse.
Team USA will play Mexico Thursday. The top two teams will meet Saturday in the semifinals in San Diego.
The Americans put the first two runners on base in the first, fourth and fifth innings, but came up empty each time.
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