The A's Continue Their Assault on Bobby Crosby's Self Esteem

It must really suck to be Oakland Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby this morning. After having to deal with all the rumors that the Athletics were going to sign -- and thought they had signed -- free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, the deal fell through and Furcal went back to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Crosby probably felt relief knowing that he was going to be keeping his job, and just when he started to feel good about himself again, the A's kick him when he's down.

Since the team missed out on Furcal, they've decided to turn their attention elsewhere and now, according to Jon Heyman, elsewhere would be Orlando Cabrera. It's not hard to blame Oakland for wanting to find a replacement for Crosby, as Bobby does have a tendency to go on the disabled list every time the wind changes direction, and he did put up an unimpressive line of .237/.296/.349 last season in 145 games. He also had the second worst season of his career defensively, committing 17 errors and seeing his range factor drop to a career low of 4.17.

In Cabrera the Athletics would not only be getting a Gold Glove shortstop, but also an improved offensive player, even if he is getting up there in age, at 34 years old. Not to mention, thanks to the many years he spent with the Angels he has a good knowledge of the teams in the AL West.

What confuses me about all of this, though, is the direction the Athletics are taking. Remember the good old days when the Athletics would trade their soon-to-be rich players for a truck full of prospects? Now the team is doing nothing but bringing in high-priced veterans. Sure, the Furcal deal fell through, but the team still managed to get Matt Holliday from the Rockies, brought Jason Giambi back, and now they're going after Cabrera. What's next? Andy Pettitte?

It's as if the bad economy is actually helping the A's compete on the open market.