Crankshaft main bearing failure in variable compression ratio engines having eccentric main bearing supports is prevented by supporting the bearings in a crankshaft cradle (16) having a high stiffness and a high natural frequency. The crankshaft cradle (16) is rotatable mounted in the engine on a first axis, and the crankshaft (8) is mounted in the crankshaft cradle (16) on a second axis off-set from the first axis, the first axis and the second axis defining a first plane. The crankshaft cradle comprises a primary eccentric member (24) and a plurality of smaller bearing caps (26) separated by a parting line. The crankshaft cradle comprises accentric members (24) that support the bearing element (64), and structural webbing (72) that rigidly holds the eccentric members (24) in alignment with one another at all times.