<table> </table> SURPRISE, Ariz. | One of the beautiful things about spring training is the baseball talk. It’s everywhere. You have scouts talking, coaches talking, executives talking, players talking, baseball writers talking — words are the lifeblood of spring training. Without the words, we would only have sunshine, meaningless games and mind-numbing baseball drills.Some of the words are outrageous. You might recall the scout who last year predicted that pitcher Brett Tomko, if everything went right, could win 15 games for the Royals. He fell 13 victories short of that, though his 6.97 ERA did not suggest that he was unlucky. Some of the words turn out like prophecy. One baseball man, watching an unknown kid named Joakim Soria pitch in 2007, said: “Nobody knows it yet, but that guy might the best pitcher on the whole team.”And the wonderful part of this is that all the talk just mixes together the wise observations, the ridiculous statements, the good guesses and the nonsense, and there’s no telling what’s right and what’s just plain stupid. And it doesn’t matter now. It’s March. The baseball season is still six weeks away. The weather is perfect. It’s just good to talk a little Kansas City Royals baseball.•First base: The Royals seem happy with new first baseman Mike Jacobs. The brain trust knows that Jacobs has his shortcomings — he strikes out a lot, he doesn’t walk much, he’s a below-average defensive first baseman — but the guy slugged 32 home runs last year in Florida, a tough home-run park. He came in with the reputation as a hard worker, and so far he has lived up to that. “I’m really impressed, Jacobs looks in great shape,” one observer says. “Looks to me like he’s moving pretty well around the bag defensively.” …Not that anyone cares, but the player who has impressed me most so far is Royals prospect Kila Ka’aihue. It’s hard to see how he makes the team out of camp, but he had a monstrous offensive year in the minors last year (combined .315 batting average with 37 homers and 104 walks in Class AA and Class AAA) and when you watch him you can see how. He works the count, he has great balance, and he has hit the ball hard every game I’ve seen him play. One sign of a good team is that good players sometimes aren’t quite good enough to make the roster. I don’t think some time in Omaha will hurt Ka’aihue, but I certainly hope the Royals give him every chance. He looks awfully good.•Second base: Royals manager Trey Hillman is getting a bit testy about second-base questions, probably because he simply does not know who will start there. The options:1. Mark Teahen is probably his best offensive option, but it’s unclear if Teahen can really adapt to second base. Baseball people I’ve talked to say there’s no way Teahen can stick defensively. “He’s too big and too bulky and he can’t get low enough,” one observer says. And more than a couple of people have wondered if Teahen made a wise decision leaving camp to go play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic when he’s trying to learn a new position.2. Alberto Callaspo has some offensive skills, he rarely strikes out, and he hit .305 in 213 at-bats last year. But he has no power, no speed, he’s no better than an average second baseman defensively, and he’s had some off-the-field troubles.3. Willie Bloomquist seems to be the best defensive player of the bunch, he’s a positive influence in the clubhouse, and he has legitimate stolen-base speed. But he’s very limited offensively (he only had one extra base hit — a double — all of last year) and he has never been an everyday player.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 03, 2009 10:15 PM

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JOE POSNANSKI COMMENTARY

Baseball talk blooms in the spring

By JOE POSNANSKI

The Kansas City Star

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SURPRISE, Ariz. | One of the beautiful things about spring training is the baseball talk. It’s everywhere. You have scouts talking, coaches talking, executives talking, players talking, baseball writers talking — words are the lifeblood of spring training. Without the words, we would only have sunshine, meaningless games and mind-numbing baseball drills.

Some of the words are outrageous. You might recall the scout who last year predicted that pitcher Brett Tomko, if everything went right, could win 15 games for the Royals. He fell 13 victories short of that, though his 6.97 ERA did not suggest that he was unlucky. Some of the words turn out like prophecy. One baseball man, watching an unknown kid named Joakim Soria pitch in 2007, said: “Nobody knows it yet, but that guy might the best pitcher on the whole team.”

And the wonderful part of this is that all the talk just mixes together the wise observations, the ridiculous statements, the good guesses and the nonsense, and there’s no telling what’s right and what’s just plain stupid. And it doesn’t matter now. It’s March. The baseball season is still six weeks away. The weather is perfect. It’s just good to talk a little Kansas City Royals baseball.

•First base: The Royals seem happy with new first baseman Mike Jacobs. The brain trust knows that Jacobs has his shortcomings — he strikes out a lot, he doesn’t walk much, he’s a below-average defensive first baseman — but the guy slugged 32 home runs last year in Florida, a tough home-run park. He came in with the reputation as a hard worker, and so far he has lived up to that. “I’m really impressed, Jacobs looks in great shape,” one observer says. “Looks to me like he’s moving pretty well around the bag defensively.” …

Not that anyone cares, but the player who has impressed me most so far is Royals prospect Kila Ka’aihue. It’s hard to see how he makes the team out of camp, but he had a monstrous offensive year in the minors last year (combined .315 batting average with 37 homers and 104 walks in Class AA and Class AAA) and when you watch him you can see how. He works the count, he has great balance, and he has hit the ball hard every game I’ve seen him play. One sign of a good team is that good players sometimes aren’t quite good enough to make the roster. I don’t think some time in Omaha will hurt Ka’aihue, but I certainly hope the Royals give him every chance. He looks awfully good.

•Second base: Royals manager Trey Hillman is getting a bit testy about second-base questions, probably because he simply does not know who will start there. The options:

1. Mark Teahen is probably his best offensive option, but it’s unclear if Teahen can really adapt to second base. Baseball people I’ve talked to say there’s no way Teahen can stick defensively. “He’s too big and too bulky and he can’t get low enough,” one observer says. And more than a couple of people have wondered if Teahen made a wise decision leaving camp to go play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic when he’s trying to learn a new position.

2. Alberto Callaspo has some offensive skills, he rarely strikes out, and he hit .305 in 213 at-bats last year. But he has no power, no speed, he’s no better than an average second baseman defensively, and he’s had some off-the-field troubles.

3. Willie Bloomquist seems to be the best defensive player of the bunch, he’s a positive influence in the clubhouse, and he has legitimate stolen-base speed. But he’s very limited offensively (he only had one extra base hit — a double — all of last year) and he has never been an everyday player.

To reach Joe Posnanski, call 816-234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 03, 2009 10:15 PM

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