For the original posters tricross bike, I would suggest trying a stem with less rise if you feel like you have too much drop.

My thoughts are that a bike ridden in actual CX races should have fairly minimal drop from the saddle to the bars. If you set it up like a road bike (with a lot of saddle to bar drop), it will be difficult to ride CX in the bar drops over rough terrain. Due to the slower speeds of CX you dont need to be hunched low for aerodynamics, the comfort and handeling is much more important.

"short top tube offers a opportunity for more setback , weight the rear a bit more ,
adding traction.. longer stem also gains back length lost."

For actual CX racing, it is desireable to have your weight more evenly ballanced between front and rear wheels for better handeling and more floatation over soft surfaces. If traction is an issue on a climb, it is easy to shift your weight back. A more forward position is also more conducive to the the short burst of power that are needed for repeatidly accelerating out of corners. CX races are short in comparison to road races and you need a position optimized for exposive power rather than long haul comfort. Also note that if you start with a too-small frame, raising the handlebars has the effect of moving the handlebars even further back, making a short top tube effectivly even shorter than the top tube measurement would indicate.
Case in point - I started CX with a frame that was about 2cm small, I couldnt get the handlebars position high enough so had to spend too much time on the hoods rather than the drops. Switching to a larger CX frame (allowing higher bar position) that was same size as my road racing frame was much better CX position for me. Top Tube standover height is a severly overrated consideration for choosing frame size.