SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Ron Mahay has been sort of the invisible man of the Royals' bullpen in Spring Training. But don't worry, he'll appear when he's needed.

Mahay has pitched in just two Cactus League games so far, working two scoreless innings. But he's not been idle. A couple of days ago, for instance, he pitched an inning against a conglomeration of Texas Rangers Minor Leaguers.

Sometimes when a Major League veteran is sent to get work in against some eager kids, a six-run inning erupts. So how did it go?

"Good. One inning, two strikeouts, a flyout. That's it," Mahay said. "No explosions."

The best thing about Mahay this year is that he's well-heeled. Rich in the sense that his left heel is healed. The bout of plantar fasciitis that hobbled him late in the season is over.

"The foot's feeling good, really good," he said. "No problems. I haven't started running yet, but I've been doing everything else."

With his left heel hurting, Mahay's very tidy 2008 season went awry. He went from an ERA of 1.75 on July 30 to a final of 3.48. His record remained an immaculate 5-0, but his other numbers crumbled like a dry cookie.

"Oh, I know it," he said, chuckling. "You don't have to tell me that."

In his last 10 games, which were interrupted by a disabled list stint, he gave up 14 earned runs in nine innings and opponents hit .421 against him. In his previous 47 games and 56 2/3 innings, he had surrendered just 11 runs and opponents hit only .221.

It was an unseemly mess.

"With me, it was a lot mental, too, because I knew I had this and I was trying to get past it," Mahay said. "And it just wasn't working. That was probably my fault, to keep throwing with it when I shouldn't have. I get hard-headed, I guess, when it comes to stubbornness."

Over the winter, Mahay underwent a shock-wave treatment for the heel malady, which made a vast improvement. He really doesn't know what caused the problem. One doctor speculated walking around the house barefoot on hard tile floors might have been a factor. Anyway, he's sure have on shoes these days.

Meantime, Mahay is very much in manager Trey Hillman's plans. In fact, with Jimmy Gobble released, John Bale recovering from surgery and Horacio Ramirez competing for a rotation spot, Mahay could be the only left-hander in the Royals' bullpen.

Mahay's infrequent appearances this spring were part of the plan.

"Just being careful with him and slowing the reps down simply because we really need to see our other personnel more," Hillman said, "and it also gave us more time to make sure the foot is as OK as we thought it was."

Mahay won't be used to fill Gobble's situational left-hander role, although he's sure to be brought in to face a lefty from time to time. Most often, though, he'll appear in the seventh or eighth innings, probably on a swing shift, along with right-handers Juan Cruz and Kyle Farnsworth, to set up closer Joakim Soria.

"You know how it goes -- the hot hand usually gets the eighth," Hillman said. "I think that position has to rotate because of the ups and downs and [number of] pitches in previous days. But if it could rotate because of performance, that's even a bigger advantage, and if you have two righties and a lefty in that situation, that's even more of an advantage."

Even though Mahay is what Hillman calls a "power shagger," his running has been halted to take the pounding off his heel. So he's relegated to a stationary bike or the Stairmaster.

But Mahay has been training all winter. He lives about 50 minutes from the Surprise ballpark.

"We moved out here five years ago and it was the best thing for us, especially for my job," he said. "Training-wise, I work out here and lift and throw and get myself prepared. And it's always nice out. I'm not battling the rain and the snow. It's actually the ideal place for athletes to live."

He and wife Alison used to live in New Jersey. In Arizona, she has a business called The Athletes Child, selling clothing and gifts for "children who love the spotlight." If you're a Web site shopper, it's theathleteschild.com.

They have two daughters, Madison, 9, and Mackenzie, 7, and a son, Mason, 4.

"They'll be visiting, of course, when we go home for the homestand. It'll be Madison's birthday on April 10," he said.

That's the date of the home opener against the New York Yankees. Maybe dad and the Royals can give her a victory for her 10th birthday.