Puerto Rico lost the World Baseball Classic to the Dominican Republic on Tuesday in the worst fashion possible for St. Louis Cardinals fans who are also conscientious WBC objectors: At the last possible moment. Their 3-0 loss to the DR both kept Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran from coming home with gold medals, if that's what you get in the World Baseball Classic, and didn't buy them any extra time in spring training.

As a World Baseball Classic fan, that second part doesn't bother me so much. But it's hard not to be impressed by the Dominican Republic—they finish the tournament 8-0, having scored 36 runs (third in the tournament) and allowed 14 (fewest of any team except South Korea, who played three.)

Puerto Rico got into the finals differently, as teams are wont to do in tournaments. They scored 23 (fewest of any team to play more than five games) and allowed 26. But Pythagorean records are of limited value in a nine-game tournament that's played once every four years, so almost-flags fly forever. Congratulations to Molina and Beltran on an excellent tournament run—now please have good years so that people don't use you as anti-WBC cases in 2017.