Its not a crap argument.I will let Smoky explain it. Read and learn.Smokey yunick was perhaps the greatest exponent of long rods and he was the one who made the categorical statement " run the longest rod you can stick in the motor"
Smokey explained that w/ a 5.7 rod the piston would be within .001 inch from tdc for 5-6 degrees (on a 3.48 stroke) going up too 6 inches on the rod the piston would "dwell" within .001 thou for 10-12 degrees . This slow turnaround makes life easier on the rod on the deadstroke when tensile strains can break rods.
So i,m thinking a long rod motor will last longer.