Larkin tries to play mentor

Everyone knows Washington general manager Jim Bowden is not afraid to take chances on players with questionable behavioral backgrounds.

Sometimes they pay off -- see Dmitri Young -- and sometimes they don't.

That is what the Nationals front-office man did when he traded for troubled outfielder Elijah Dukes.

Now Bowden is doing everything within his power to keep the young man's house in order, calling on ex-NL MVP shortstop and generally regarded good guy Barry Larkin to play mentor to Dukes in Washington.

It should be interesting to watch how this plays out given Dukes' history and Larkin's close connections with Bowden. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a full-time job for Dukes -- as long as he heeds Larkin's advice.