But what's a "poor" ratio? It simply depends on what you're doing. A short rod can speed up the piston. That has advantages in certain situations, just like a long rod to slow piston speed down. I wouldn't necessarily say one is poor. Just different.
People generally go out of their way to run longer rods if they can, what situation would you go shorter as the primary goal ? Not for some secondary reason like to be able to run shorter deck and or stroker crank etc..