Expert Struck Out on Larkin, but Wasn’t Decoyed by Smith

It’s fortunate for the Minnesota Twins that they don’t seek baseball expert Bill James’ counsel before making their final roster cuts each spring. If they did, they might not have been able to call on Gene Larkin Sunday night.

In a preseason evaluation for “The Baseball Book 1991,” James said of Larkin: “He does not deserve a job; no; he’s the kind of mediocre slow white guy that the Twins and Brewers have fallen in love with over the last few years.

“He has been extremely consistent, perhaps the most consistent player in baseball for the last four years. His batting averages are .266, .267, .267 and .269. His slugging percentages are .382, .382, .368 and .392.

“This makes it even more puzzling that the Twins keep playing him. If he had bounced up and down you could understand the Twins figuring that he was a good hitter who was just having some problems. But when you know what kind of hitter he is, and his production is clearly below the standards of his position, why do you keep playing him?”

Larkin provided the answer with a pinch-single in the 10th inning, driving in the winning run against the Braves in Game 7.

Add James: Give him credit, however, for having the Braves’ Lonnie Smith pegged.

For the Braves, who were perplexed by Smith’s failure to score from first on Terry Pendleton’s eighth-inning double Sunday night, the explanation is simple.

Smith, according to James’ book, is a bad base-runner.

“‘He’s not a great player, even if he hits .305,” James said. “A bad left fielder, not as fast as he used to be and makes mistakes on the bases.”

Trivia time: Name a pro athlete, besides John Brodie, from another sport who has won a PGA tournament.

Trick or Threatt? How good does Rick Barry think new Laker guard Sedale Threatt is as a scorer?

“Better than Jeff Malone . . . Better than Jeff Hornacek . . . Better than Reggie Miller . . . Better than Reggie Lewis . . . Better than Joe Dumars . . . Better than Hersey Hawkins . . . Better, in fact, than every (off-guard) in the league except a guy named Jordan out of Chicago.”

That’s the assessment in the 1991-92 edition of “Rick Barry’s Pro Basketball Scouting Report,” which gives Threatt excellent marks for scoring, shooting and defense, fair marks for ballhandling and passing and poor marks only for defensive rebounding.

As for intangibles, Barry said Threatt “hurts after a loss . . . always plays hard.”

In sum?

“Underrated.”

Trivia answer: Sam Byrd won two tour events in 1945. Formerly a New York Yankee outfielder, he sometimes served as a defensive replacement in late innings for Babe Ruth.

Quotebook: Kentucky’s basketball coach, Rick Pitino, in renouncing his New York heritage: “I’m a Kentuckian now. I even own a horse.”