var dataHash = { blurb: 'The U.S. is alive and well and ready to play Mexico. Win on Thursday at Angel Stadium, and the U.S. is in this weekend at San Diego along with Korea, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Lose, and under a few wacky scenarios, the Americans can still move on.', source: 'MLB.com', date: '2006-03-16T02:38:00-0500', byline: 'Barry M. Bloom', top_story_links: [{ media_type: 'articles', url: '/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060315&content_id=1350651&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb', alt_headline: 'Cubs\' Lee out of Thursday\'s Classic game' },{ media_type: 'links', url: 'http://shop.mlb.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2194497&cp=2194484', alt_headline: 'Get your Team USA gear' },{ media_type: 'links', url: 'http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/schedule/index.jsp?sid=wbc', alt_headline: 'World Baseball Classic schedule' },{ media_type: 'links', url: 'http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/subscription/index.jsp?sid=wbc', alt_headline: 'Watch Classic games live on your computer' },{ media_type: 'links', url: 'http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/', alt_headline: 'Complete World Baseball Classic coverage' }], body: 'ANAHEIM -- The U.S. is alive and well and ready to play Mexico.

Win on Thursday at Angel Stadium and the U.S. is in this weekend at San Diego along with Korea, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Lose, and under a few wacky scenarios the Americans can still move on. But the point is, they are still breathing after Korea\'s heart-stopping 2-1 win over Japan on Wednesday night.

"This has been an anxious day on our team for everyone," said Team USA manager Buck Martinez after Korean reliever Seung Hwan Oh whiffed Hitoshi Tamura to win a berth in the semifinals at PETCO Park.

If the Americans defeat Mexico, they\'ll play the Koreans in a 10 p.m. ET game Saturday. Cuba is already set to face the Dominicans at 3 p.m. ET. The survivors of those games will play for the first World Baseball Classic championship at 9 p.m. ET on Monday.

But it was all made possible when the 6-0 Koreans finished their sweep through the second round by making the most of three hits against four Japanese hurlers, including Shunsuke Watanabe, who pitched the first six innings and allowed only one hit.

"I\'ve never been so nervous watching a baseball game that I wasn\'t playing in," Martinez said about a game that was won on Jong Beom Lee\'s two-run, eighth-inning double. "It was a well-played game. Both teams showed tremendous heart. There were great defensive plays and key pitching. Once again it shows how competitive these teams are through this pool."

The U.S. will be without Derrek Lee and have Johnny Damon for only limited duty because both players are nursing sore left shoulders.

Martinez said he didn\'t have a set lineup yet, but he revealed that Jeff Francoeur would get his first start of the tournament in left field, with Ken Griffey Jr. in center, Vernon Wells in right, Mark Teixeira at first base, Michael Young at second, Derek Jeter at short, Chipper Jones at third, Michael Barrett behind the plate, Alex Rodriguez at DH and Roger Clemens on the mound.

Classic scenarios
U.S. advances to semifinals with:
• A win over Mexico
• A tie with Mexico
• A 1-0 loss to Mexico
• A 2-0 or 2-1 loss to Mexico, with the United States having played 8 2/3 innings or more on defense
• A 3-1 or 3-2 loss to Mexico, with the United States having played 12 1/3 innings or more on defense
Japan advances to semifinals with:
• A Mexico win over the United States by a score of 2-0 or 2-1, at any point before a second out is recorded in the bottom of the ninth inning
• A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores three or more runs in a game ending at any point before a third out is recorded in the bottom of the 12th inning
• A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores three or more runs and the United States scores one or more runs in a game ending at any point before an out is recorded in the bottom of the 13th inning
• A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores 4 or more runs and the United States scores 1 or more runs in a game ending at any point
Mexico advances to semifinals with:
• A 3-0 or 4-0 win over the United States, with Mexico having played 13 innings or more on defense

Asked how long he would go with the 43-year-old Rocket, Martinez said simply, "80 pitches," referring to the limit for a starting pitcher.

A victory over Mexico will give the U.S. the second seed in Pool 1 and a 4-2 record after the first two rounds. But that hardly matters now. The only advantage Korea has in the semifinals is that it will be the home team.

For the second consecutive round, the U.S. needed big-time help from the top seed to stave off elimination. In the first round, after losing the middle of three games to Canada, the Mexicans came back and pummeled the Canadians paving the way for the U.S. to move on if it defeated South Africa. The Americans won, 17-0, and were the last of the eight teams to qualify for the next round.

Again in the second round, the U.S. lost the middle game to Korea and then needed that team to defeat Japan for the Americans to be able to again control their own fate. They have that control again on Thursday as the tournament begins to build toward its crescendo and the U.S. could be the last of the four teams traveling to San Diego.

"I\'m amazed at the intensity of this thing," Martinez said. "This has been very emotional for all of us. Nobody expected it. It\'s been beautiful. If you couldn\'t get excited about Japan going toe-to-toe with Korea like that tonight or the emotions of Cuba\'s win over Puerto Rico, then you just don\'t like baseball." ', tagline: 'Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com.', summary: null, article_photo: { caption: 'Buck Martinez was on the edge ofhis seat throughout the Korea-Japan game Wednesday.', credit: 'Getty Images', path: '/images/2006/03/16/DD8vTih4.jpg' }, sub_headline: null, alt_headline: 'Team USA alive and well in Classic', related_links: null, headline: 'Team USA alive and well in Classic' }