Ooops for the Kansas City Royals

[franksolich]

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_12356436

Ooops.

So close, yet so far.

Damn.

A's rout Royals 12-3

It may be shortstop Orlando Cabrera's first season in Oakland, but he's already familiar with the pulse of the A's clubhouse.

Tuesday he called a pregame meeting for A's hitters — no pitchers and no coaches — to get a few points across.

His message sank in, and Cabrera backed up his words with a 3-for-5 performance and four RBIs as the A's pounded the Kansas City Royals 12-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

"We're probably going to call another meeting tomorrow," Cabrera joked afterward.

But he had a serious point to deliver to his teammates.

"I think we have been playing hard, but the thing is, we have to do it every single time," he said. "Sometimes when you're losing or hitting .200, you (stop playing hard). That's not acceptable."

Fellow veterans Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra also spoke briefly to the group.

The A's responded with a season high for runs before their smallest home crowd of the season, 10,156. They scored seven runs in the second inning against Royals starter Luke Hochevar, their biggest rally of the season. The result was an 8-0 lead.....