Mlb.com reports:
"Change of heart? Barry Larkin, the special assistant to the general manager, told MLB.com on Wednesday afternoon that he is thinking about making a comeback and playing for the Nationals. ... According to a baseball source, Larkin would be the everyday shortstop, and Guzman would remain on the bench and be a late-inning replacement on defense. ... Larkin admitted that he is not in baseball shape and has not seen live pitching since last September, when he was with the Reds."
It is a sad state of affairs when a 40-year-old retired shortstop who hasn't played baseball in almost a year is an upgrade over your 27-year-old starting shortstop, but, sadly, that's the world in which we live.
In 346 at bats in 2004 Larkin posted numbers of .352 OBP, .419 SLG, and .771 OPS, which on paper looks like a significant upgrade over Guzman's .502 OPS. Assuming that discounting Larkin's 2004 numbers for RFK and lack of play knocks 150 points off his OPS, he'd still beat Guzman by over 100 points, which is perhaps the best evidence that Guzman is not a major league player. Of course, that discount factor is highly speculative given that we have no evidence that Larkin can even put the bat on the ball anymore, at least on a consistent basis.
This whole thing strikes us a bit hare-brained, but we guess we'd accept it if foregoing significant money on a replacement shortstop meant spending significant money on upgrades in left and at third.
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2 comments:
I bought a new bat and am going to talk to Bowden because I can hit better than Guzman and I come much cheaper. But seriously, Barry played 19 years in the majors. I'm sure he could make 2-3 AAA starts and be back in form in no time. Bring Barry back!
We're sure da kine could do a better job than Guzman! Bring da kine back!
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