Kila Ka'aihue is apparently the new mascot of Royals fans everywhere (or at least the ones in cyberspace) because there literally has not been a single day that's gone by since his promotion to the big leagues without my inbox popping up with a plea for his playing time.
One person even seemed to insinuate that I was personally keeping Ka'aihue on the bench, so we know at least one person we're dealing with is either dumb or on drugs.
Ka'aihue is as close in baseball terms to what political pundits refer to as "an empty vessel."
I'm an amateur political observer, so I'll probably butcher this, but the essence of the empty vessel seems to be an idea or person that has no discernable track record so believers are free to assign their own ideas.
It was one of the early explanations given by some for Barack Obama's explosion, and, I think to a lesser extent, one of the thoughts people have about Sarah Palin now.
But this is not a political blog or a political post, so getting back on track here, Ka'aihue seems to have found that perfect place where his numbers exploded this year while playing for an organization that just hasn't seen something like this, or produced many top-flight big leaguers (which is why Deric Ladnier was fired as scouting director yesterday).
Trey Hillman has said Ryan Shealy will get the bulk of the plate appearances over Ka'aihue, and I'll defend that.
Much as we'd all like to see what Ka'aihue can do, his place in the Royals' future is secure. He'll get at least four plate appearances a day in spring training, and, depending on what happens this winter, a realistic chance to hit his way onto the Opening Day roster.
More likely, he'll open in Omaha, and if the magic from 2008 continues, be in a great position for a midseason callup.
Either way, he's in good shape.
Shealy? His situation is a little more tenuous.
The Royals (and, more importantly, Dayton Moore) have an investment of two big league pitchers into Shealy. They want him to succeed, especially since he's a great "clubhouse guy" with the rare (at least for the Royals) willingness to take a walk.
He's also on a one-year contract, so there's an urgency here to figure out as best they can what they have with Shealy. Give him the ABs against big leaguers, see what he has, see if it's worth bringing him back in the spring.
With Shealy, this is essentially a one-month tryout. Giving Ka'aihue the ABs would essentially be a one-month reward.
I'm as intrigued by Ka'aihue as anybody* but his future with the Royals is secure.
* Part of the intrigue is that scouts seem to be all over the place on this guy. I've heard maybe 10 opinions on him, and none of them are the same.
I think I mentioned on this blog the other day that one scout, a very well-respected one, said his organization's reports on Ka'aihue indicated he was "a dream that's not happening." Another said basically that while the insane production came out of nowhere, that's not unprecedented, especially with guys who come from light-competition backgrounds like Hawaii (more often it's northern states) and he should be taken seriously as a prospect.
The consensus seems to be guarded skepticism, with the thinking being that he's earned a very long look and, if nothing else, the right to fail.
But with Shealy, the Royals need to figure out what that future is. The reports on him say his bat is slow, that he's got what scouts call "slider bat speed," and it's true that he seems to drive the ball to right field more than left, but since when is opposite field power a bad thing?
Heard a former big leaguer, a multiple-time All-Star, say that the Royals should just leave Shealy alone, if only for this month, and let him be himself and drive the ball the other way, even if it meant teams started playing the opposite of the Papi shift on him.
Stop messing with Shealy, the vet was saying, and let him prove he can do it his own way.
I'd like to think that's what the Royals are doing now.
The worst that can happen is that Shealy fails, and the team knows where it stands.
It's not about whether KK should play or not, it's about whether Gload should play one more inning at a position that is crowded in the organization. If Gload is going to be our 1st baseman next year, then Moore should be fired. If he isn't, why play him? Matchups or not. Give me a break!! Get a clue Hillman, look to next year - play Shealy, Butler or KK. Put Gload in the OF if you want to get him reps. Geez!