Baseball may be America's pastime, but it is seeing a strong decrease in youth participation and Team USA has now gone 0-for-3 at the World Baseball Classic.

Declining youth participation is troublesome -- soccer, football and lacrosse are stealing talent -- but the problem isn't old enough to have robbed current incarnations of Team USA of talent. That could happen in the future, unless football disappears as many believe it might, but star power is still an American advantage.

The lineup Joe Torre sent out on March 8 against Mexico was a pseudo-All-Star team, led on the mound by reigning National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey. Arcane pitching limits cap the advantage for teams with dominant pitchers, but Torre still employed an army largely in their primes while the competition filled holes with aging stars and others that would never sniff a Major League field.

The U.S. used the following starting lineup against Mexico:

Jimmy Rollins, SS

Brandon Phillips, 2B

Ryan Braun, LF

Joe Mauer, DH

David Wright, 3B

Eric Hosmer, 1B

Giancarlo Stanton, RF

Adam Jones, CF

J.P. Arencibia, C

That's a nice mix of veterans, superstars and up-and-coming talent. Still, they managed just two runs against the Mexicans. The next night largely the same lineup (Jonathan Lucroy replaced Arencibia) tagged Italy, the surprise of the 2013 WBC, for six runs on 11 hits. On March 10, Team USA defeated Canada 9-4 to advance to the second round.

After crushing Puerto Rico 7-1, the United States lost consecutive games (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) as they were eliminated. They scored a total of four runs and at one point went scoreless in 14 innings across the two losses.

You could argue that a lack of timely hitting and pitching hurt Team USA, but the reality was starring them in the face on Thursday night.

The Dominican Republic celebrated freely after beating the United States by a score of 3-1 at Marlins Park. They grabbed the flag of their beloved nation and stormed around the field after besting a team that was, contrary to the scene, playing at home in Miami. Brandon Phillips didn’t object to the jubilation himself, but told reporters that some of his teammates were upset by the outpouring of emotion by the Dominicans.

"Some players had something to say about it, but I can only speak for myself," Phillips said before his team was eliminated on Friday night. "It was cool. I'm a flashy person myself, so I kind of like this stuff.

"To tell you the truth, I would fit right in with their team. Y'all have seen me during the season -- I'm always doing some kind of antics. I don't think I could have been like that, though. If I think something is over the top, then it's a problem."

Phillips, as he admits, is free with his emotions as a member of the Reds. However, such behavior is almost always against unwritten Major League and American code. You are supposed to go about your business and perform, all while keeping your head down in humility. That is baseball culture and to an extent, how many Americans prefer things.

There is truth to both what Phillips says and the reality of American baseball.

When you are slogging through a 162-game season, there is little reason or energy to celebrate a 3-1 victory wildly. How odd would it be to see Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier run around the diamond following a routine two-run victory over the Giants, in say, July? They would undoubtedly be called out, while providing bulletin board material for San Francisco -- and rightfully so.

However, the World Baseball Classic is different and it isn't a stretch to say that it should be played more like the Little League World Series and less like the actual World Series.

This is a tournament more about pride and fun than the pressure and monotony of the Major League's regular season. Baseball is the most individual of the four major sports, but the WBC has shown there is something to be said for letting it all hang out in honor of your country.

"It's just how you're raised," Willie Bloomquist said. "I don't think my dad would let me play the next day if I did that growing up. Not to say it's right or wrong. It's just a matter of your view on how you respect the game and respect the people you're playing against.

"Obviously, [the Dominican Republic was] excited. This is a world stage, and everything is a little more magnified. We don't lose sleep over it. If they want to act that way, it's their team and they can do what they want."

Bloomquist makes great points, but he's missing one thing.

If Team USA doesn't start using the WBC as an opportunity to represent the country with child-like enthusiasm, they'll continue losing and their opponents won't view them with any respect.