For me, that would mean a reasonable semblance of what Crosby "should" be doing given expectations and his contract, and what a team should reasonably expect from its starting SS

For me, three full months of

• Playing more or less every day (no extended back problems)
• .270 BA, with an OBP north of .320. This would be the bare minimum. I'd like to see a conscious effort on Croz' part to go to the opposite field.
• Defense is harder to measure, but I don't want to cringe every time he throws to first

I don't know that I'd accept him as a great player at that point, but I wouldn't feel rage every time I looked at him:)

He's still young, still learning as a hitter (we hope!), and still has great potential.  Sure it's hard to be so patient, after three seasons and more disappointment than fulfillment, but Crosby is an excellent fielder (when he's right), which is always a good starting point for your shortstop.  He's got pop, runs pretty well, and should be still in the upswing portion of his career.  

Besides, though I adore Senor Clutch, I honestly think he is stretched as an everyday shortstop, both in the field and at the plate; I like him better as a supersub, almost in a kind of three-way rotation with Crosby and Ellis, to give those guys a day off when needed.  He gives us great infield depth, and he'll still get plenty of at-bats (especially in 9th innings!); but I think we should let Crosby play and hope for his good health.

After all, a good fielding shortstop who can hit .250 with 20 homers and a few walks is definitely a championship-quality ballplayer ...and I think Crosby is capable of exceeding even those numbers.  

I'm not ready to give up on him for a few reasons:

1.  He has a huge upside as a great SS (maybe not Gold Glove caliber, but maybe so).  If we ended up getting a top flight defensive SS, he could also switch to CF after Kotsay is gone, where he would shine with his glove, speed, size and arm.  

2.  He has legitimate power.  We've all seen it.  When he hits the ball on the screws, it jumps off his bat.  Power to all fields, too, which is something that's not so common, and even less so on our A's.  I do wish he was a more patient or disciplined hitter, but when he gets into a groove he can be a force.

3.  What's our other option?  Scutaro isn't and I don't believe we have any great prospects at SS.

I think it's worth taking some extra time to see how Crosby will play out.  Obviously he needs to step up his game from his recent level of performance ("recent" being, oh, the last year and a half), but ..I think he can, and I hope he will.

At least he's not batting third anymore.

For the eternal critics of Croz who want a replacement, I Googled and found some Top 10 Fantasy Shortstops for you to speculate on:

• Miguel Tejada (Baltimore Orioles)
• Michael Young (Texas Rangers)
• Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
• Rafael Furcal (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Jose Reyes (New York Mets)
• Julio Lugo (Boston Red Sox)
• Jhonny Peralta (Cleveland Indians)
• Felipe Lopez (Washington Nationals)
• Clint Barmes (Colorado Rockies)

and I will add some more:

• Khalil Greene (San Diego Padres)
• Royce Clayton (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Carlos Guillén (Detroit Tigers)
• Jason Bartlett (Minnesota Twins)
• Juan Uribe (Chicago White Sox)
• Orlando Cabrera (Los Angeles Angels)
• Yuniesky Betancourt (Seattle Mariners)
• César Izturis (Chicago Cubs)
• David Eckstein (St. Louis Cardinals)
• Álex González (Cincinnati Reds)
• Adam Everett (Houston Astros)
• Stephen Drew (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• Omar Vizquel (San Francisco Giants)

Feel free to add to the (incomplete) list above but - Which one of these guys would you want, and how the heck do you plan to get him?  Just curious ..