Panama City, Panama ? Now here’s a stunner: The defending champion U.S. baseball team will be at home next summer while countries like the Netherlands and Italy compete for an Olympic medal in Athens.

Manager Frank Robinson and his team of mostly minor leaguers were beaten at their own game, falling to Mexico, 2-1, Friday — a loss that eliminated them from a qualifying tournament with no second chances.

The Americans were among the favorites to win in Greece. There was even a chance future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens would have pitched for them.

Not to be.

“It was a well-pitched game by their pitchers,” said Robinson, the Montreal Expos’ manager and a Hall of Fame player. “We were not able to do much until the ninth inning and it was not enough.”

In 2000, Tom Lasorda managed a team that included Ben Sheets and Doug Mientkiewicz to the gold at Sydney in the first tournament that included professionals.

“I can’t believe it,” Lasorda said. “It’s a shock and a disgrace that the Americans won’t be represented in the Olympics.”

“Baseball is America’s game,” he said. “It doesn’t belong to the Japanese or the Cubans or the Koreans or the Italians. This is sad, very sad.”

The Mexican team was a heavy underdog in this quarterfinal game, but got a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning from Luis A. Garcia off Brian Bruney.

The U.S. team went 3-0 in pool play while Mexico lost all three games. But Mexico advanced when the Bahamas forfeited by failing to show up.