--SS Orlando Cabrera did the majority of the talking during a players-only meeting on the field before Tuesday's game. Then Cabrera, the A's leadoff hitter, had three hits and drove in four runs in a 12-3 win over the AL Central-leading Royals. It was Oakland's biggest output of the season.
--3B Eric Chavez has been sent to Phoenix to start therapy for a bulging disk in his back. An MRI discovered the problem Monday. Chavez, who had back surgery in 2007, had expected to return from an inflamed nerve in his right forearm on Friday, but manager Bob Geren told reporters Tuesday that Chavez's return will be delayed "a couple of weeks." BY THE NUMBERS: 101 -- Games since Oakland's last complete game, through May 12. It's a franchise record, topping the previous mark of 96 set from June 21, 1997, to April 10, 1998. Justin Duchscherer threw the team's last complete game on July 8.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It looked like a ball of cotton candy hanging from my wrist." -- LHP Dallas Braden, who continued to pitch with a severely swollen left hand on Sunday after being hit by a line drive by Vernon Wells.
