During today’s post game press conference, Torey Lovullo announced that Shaun Larkin would no longer be manning the third base coach position for the Diamondbacks.
“Shaun has taken on a lot of responsibilities… but at this point in time, the best thing for this ballclub, for him, and for us moving forward, is to make this decision,” Lovullo said in his remarks. He also made it clear further that a decision had not been made on who would replace Larkin in his role this coming Friday when the Diamondbacks
take on the Reds but said that they were looking at internal and external candidates.
Later, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com added on Twitter that Larkin would remain with the team but would be working with the infielders.
I don’t think anyone on this site is going to be sorry to see Larkin no longer indecisively guessing as to whether or not to send runners in key positions. Nearly all of us at some point, it feels like, have aired frustrations regarding him sending runners when he clearly shouldn’t, or holding them up when they would have been clear by feet. However, I am left to wonder why he is remaining with the team at all. I do not personally have the statistical knowledge to look into this further, but the eye test shows that the Diamondbacks infield defense has declined dramatically year over year. Some of that is personnel, but even Marte and Perdomo have not looked the same. If this decline is what Larkin brings to the table there as well, personally, I would have made the decision that the team did not need any of his services. It would be interesting to hear the rationale behind that, but it seems unlikely to happen.
What was your favorite game-costing moment from Larkin? Drop it in the comments below while we await the news of who will now bear the brunt of our baserunning frustration.
