Most Boring and Pointless Speculation Ever

I was a bit perplexed by a small item at the end of Paul Sullivan's story about Sean Marshall keeping his edge in the race for the fifth starter spot. According to the "Extra Innings" section:

"The Cubs are scouting Oakland shortstop Bobby Crosby, who suddenly is expendable after the A's signed Orlando Cabrera to play short. The problem is Crosby makes $5.2 million, well above his market value, especially for the utility role he would fill on the Cubs."

I'm not real sure what the reasoning would be to investigate Bobby Crosby as a part of this team. He has been almost constantly injured since his Rookie of the Year season of 2004. He has a career batting average of .239, and after showing some power with 22 homeruns in 2004, he has not hit double digits in homeruns since.

He's not a sure defensive upgrade to Theriot since his fielding percentage is actually worse than Theriot's, but he does have better range (which is hardly surprise). He is not suited for a super-sub role since he has never played any other position but shortstop in his career.

Its hard to imagine where he would fit on this roster, especially considering his $5.2 million salary and his feelings about not wanting to play a back-up or utility role in Oakland, as quoted to Mychael Urban, who covers the A's for MLB.com:

"I love playing here, but obviously they're going in a different direction, so I think it's best for everyone that I do the same thing," he explained. "I'd like the opportunity to play shortstop somewhere else."

I'm not sure why he'd want to play a utility role in Chicago if he thinks he should still be a starter. Probably a bunch of nothing and an effort by a reporter to fill some space. Not that I would ever do such a thing.