Worth noting

• Manager Hensley Meulens is fluent in five languages: Dutch, English, Japanese, Spanish and Papiamento. He was given the nickname "Bam-Bam" after hitting left-handed in a softball game and launching shot after shot over the fence, prompting his friends to compare him to the "Flintstones" character.

• The fact that the Kingdom of the Netherlands players have been working together for so long may be a key factor in how well they've performed in the tournament. The players first started working out together as early as Feb. 9, even though their official first day on the job didn't arrive until Feb. 25.

• The players appear to be handling the jet-lag aspect of international travel well, taking extra precautions to get plenty of rest and eat well. The team spent nine days in Taiwan, one week in Japan and then was off to Phoenix for exhibition games with the Padres and Mariners before heading to San Francisco for the championship round.

• Infielder Jurickson Profar said he has been to Holland twice: once when he was six and again last year. "No baseball," he said. "It was too cold."