First, how often do we hear that pitchers try to get the hitters out by themselves by trying to perfectly place pitches over the plate because the infield defense is somewhat porous? They don’t trust the defense to do what it is supposed to do, so they throw pitches on the edges of the strike zone that inevitably lead to hitters walking. Second, timing on the double plays is crucial, otherwise you just end up with a force out at second, and possibly an errant throw to first after the force at second. Third, the range(throwing/fielding) that Barty has is ridiculous. Did you not see him throw out – I think it was Sheffield – late in the game Saturday night? He tracked down the ball as it made its way to the fringe of the infield and made the throw from the outfield to get the out at first. It was not a play that an average SS makes(and Sheffield was running hard). We all know that baseball can be as much of a mental game as it is physical. The pitcher needs to know that he can allow the hitter to make contact and still get the out because his defense is reliable. The second basemen needs to know how the ball is going to be thrown to him when the SS fields the ball in a DP situation. Bartlett’s range can allow Longoria to play closer to the line because if Longo can’t get to a ball hit to his left, Bartlett is more than capable of going after it. It’s a mental lift when you have a guy out there busting his tail and making great plays. It motivates others around to raise their levels of play. Players get energized and they get nice rush of adrenaline. Just think how you react as a fan to watching a good play and then watching an awful play. How does it affect you mentally? I could go on and on (obviously), but as I said before, “Defensive chemistry is priceless right now, and switching out key components for lesser ones is not beneficial.” Nobody can replace Bartlett at SS at this point in the season, excluding Longoria, and that would only leave a deficiency at third. The infield defense is just not as good without him.

but he can damn well make everyone else around him better”...Rob Dibble just a few minutes ago on XM175

He would already be the backup if he could do the job. As it stands now, Longoria is the only current backup for Bartlett on the 25-man roster.