Starter Paul Maholm seemed plenty pleased with his one-inning appearance against the Yankees in Wednesday's 6-3 loss, an outing that officially began his final month of preparation before the 2010 season.
Maholm retired the side -- a formidable trio of Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira -- in an 11-pitch first inning that marked the left-hander's first outing in Grapefruit League play. He induced three ground-ball outs and threw all but two of his pitches for strikes.
"It was a good day," Maholm said afterward. "When the first guy I face is Jeter and he's fouling balls off, you kind of get in the mode of being competitive and going after him and setting up pitches. My sinker was down, and the few sliders I threw were good."
Because it is still so early in spring, the Pirates planned to limit Maholm to one inning of work regardless of the result. He's scheduled to double that workload in his next outing and then continue progressing deeper into games from there.
Though manager John Russell has not tabbed an Opening Day starter, Maholm's selection as the team's first Grapefruit League starter could be a harbinger for Russell's eventual decision. Maholm has looked sharp since camp opened, and he once again arrived at Spring Training in peak physical condition.
"He has the ability to do what he needs to do to get ready," Russell said. "For the most part, he knows how to prepare and that's where he is in his career. We tell all of our pitchers not to worry so much about the ERA and results, as opposed to pitching down in the zone and pitching ahead."
Maholm specified efficiency when asked what he plans to target through March. His goal remains to get through each inning with 10 or fewer pitches.
The left-hander also insists that he is back at 100 percent after dealing with some soreness in his surgically repaired left knee last year. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan noted earlier this spring that the Pirates made a mistake in letting Maholm pitch through injuries and even an illness last summer. However, Maholm is not getting into this debate.
Stubborn as Kerrigan had predicted, Maholm still doesn't cite injuries as a reason for the dip in his performance last year. And he maintains that he handled the physical demands of the game last year the same way he will moving forward.
"Last year is done," Maholm said. "It's been made a way bigger issue than it should have been. I'm going to pitch every fifth day. There are not a lot of guys that go out there at 100 percent for 30 something starts. It's part of it. I'll do it again. Everything is good to go."
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