Interesting loss

Just quickly on last night's game:

• Eric Hosmer looked good in walking twice, and even in striking out...he wasn't overeager, and instantly displayed the good batting eye and selectivity so many have bragged about...and that his minor league stats confirmed. His steal of 2nd was very eye-opening...good instincts in getting as nice of a jump as he did.
• The Royals are now 5-2 on this homestand, both losses by a single run. In last night's game, the Royals were really the victims of bad luck. The Oakland A's only left a single runner stranded, because they had the good fortune of bunching together most of their hits in the same inning, and twice avoiding double plays that would have limited the runs they did score in the 5th inning to two instead of three. The Royals, on the other hand, stranded six. I think in most scenarios the Royals would win a game like this.
• Melky Cabrera has held his own to this point, although he's maddeningly somewhat feast-or-famine from game-to-game. But rather than him having a decent chance to kill rallies before they start with his well-developed out-making abilities, he should be moved to the bottom of the order, where he would then turn into a dangerous bottom-of-the-order hitter. Should he feel he can handle it, Ned Yost could put Hosmer there -- if not, then Alex Gordon should be able to thrive in that spot and Hosmer can get things established around 5th or 6th in the order. Remember, Yost, you hit your better hitters higher in the lineup so they can get more plate appearances...
• Mike Aviles is approaching a .300 isoP -- wow. He just seems like an extra-base hit waiting to happen right now.
• Royals ace, Sean O'Sullivan! What...where are you guys going? Come back!
• I badly want to attend a Royals game for the specific purpose of sabotaging the bullpen phone, so Yost's incessant calls for Tim Collins might go unanswered for a game or two. Yost, give the kid a break, please, he's walking almost a batter per inning.

For the game today, the Royals approach may have to change a bit. Whereas Gio Gonzalez is bound to issue a walk or three (or more) during a start as he tries to control his stuff, Brandon McCarthy is walking very few hitters so far this year.