Hot Corner... Hotter Controversy
(Chris Workman after being told he needs more work at 3B.)
Don't do it they said. It's never been done before and is useless they said. One thing is certain in life. If you tell the Brooklyn Robins not to do something... they are going to do it. The team has become the voice of the voiceless, defending teams who have different views on how to play the game.
With Chris Workman (6/7/5/8/6 Ratings) aging and his range declining by the minute, the Robins had no choice but to move him off 2B. With Cisco Guerrero (8/7/8/5/8 Ratings) and Fernando Cruz (8/7/10/7/9 Ratings) entrenched at 1B/DH, the obvious landing spots were not possible. So third base it was. Workman played a light scheduled 83 games at the hot corner in 2036. He was platooned and lifted for a defensive sub often. Despite limited Reps, his experience at 3B was said to be progressing well.
As the winter rolled around, reports started to pop up that Brooklyn wanted Workman to attend a "Position Specialization Program" To help him progress. They were hoping he'd go from a 5 out of 10, to a 7 out of 10 in the eyes of scouts. Rival GM's across the league discouraged the move, calling it a waste. But how are we to know what the results would be if it had never been done before? The Robins chose to be the guinea pigs.
The results were not what most had expected. I guess the nay sayers technically win the argument because Workman's experience actually got a lot worse at a position he was meant to be training to get better at. One caveat of the program was a surprising increase in arm strength.
So in the grand scheme of things, does this make Workman a better or worse 3B. I think short term worse. He needs to start from the ground up at the position again and must play every inning of every spring game to do so. The Robins have stated that this is the last season they will contend for quite some time. So it's not really favorable to have a 3B learning on the fly. But long term, the additional arm strength will certainly be an asset and once adapted to the position, should help his cause.
I mean really though. Did I just mention long term development in regards to a near 36 year old player with one foot already in the bucket? You'd probably need a no doubt positive result to make this "Position Specialization" work for a player such as Workman. End Result=FAIL!
