"Gil Meche is already having a better spring than a year ago. Five times already, he's pitched from a mound in either a bullpen workout or in throwing batting practice and - so far - he reports no problems with his shoulder or lower back.

That's not just good news for the Royals. It might be the best possible news in what has been an upbeat camp through the first week of full-squad workouts.

"I've pushed (myself in) a couple of bullpens to see where my arm was," Meche said, "and I felt great. For me, in camp, it's always been a matter early on of trying to get my fastball going and make sure my body feels good.

"As of right now, I feel good, and I'm ready to go."

A cautionary note: Meche hasn't yet thrown many breaking balls. That test should come in the next few days and in his scheduled two-inning start a week from today against Texas.

Injuries limited Meche to 23 starts last year when he slumped to 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA. He missed nearly a month midway through the season and didn't pitch after Aug. 29.

His shoulder recovered sufficiently that he could have made a few late-season starts, but club officials opted for additional rest to enable a new back-conditioning program to take effect."