TAMPA, Fla. -- Paul Maholm faced a murderous row of world-champion New York Yankees from the Grapefruit League get-go Wednesday. First came the third-place finisher for the 2009 American League MVP, Derek Jeter, and soon after the runner-up, Mark Teixeira. In between came Curtis Granderson, acquired this winter in a trade. No easy start, this one.
No problem, either, for the Pirates' No. 1 starter at the ballpark once known as Legends Field.
Maholm's line: 11 pitches, 9 strikes and 3 groundouts. Just the way he wanted to start.
And afterward, he vowed that he expects nothing -- no knee, no flu, nothing -- to prevent him from his 30-plus starts this season.
Asked how he feels this spring, Maholm began, "Good. Perfect. ... Last year is done. Over with. It has been made a way bigger issue than it should have been.
"You know, I'm going to pitch every fifth day" in 2010.
He pitched in May and June on a gimpy left knee, the subject of four previous surgeries, and even briefly wore a brace. He battled the flu in a start at Minnesota that left him weak for a spell. He later admitted there were games he shouldn't have taken the mound. Two weeks ago, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan accepted blame while saying the staff this year will take a more watchful approach with the determined Maholm.
"There are not a lot of guys who go out there 100 percent for 30-something starts," Maholm said stridently Wednesday. "It's part of it. And I'll do it again."
He was sharp for an inaugural spring outing in a 6-3 loss to the host Yankees, who got a three-run, walk-off home run in the ninth off Virgil Vasquez. Maholm threw a first-pitch ball to Jeter, who then fouled off four pitches. He grounded out. Maholm got a called strike and a swinging strike against Granderson. He grounded out. Maholm threw a first-pitch ball to Teixeira. He grounded out.
"My goal was to go out there, get ahead of guys, challenge them, get ground balls," Maholm said. "And there were three ground balls in three hitters.
"Those guys, even this early, give you very good at-bats. The first guy I face is Jeter, and he's fouling balls off. You're going to get in the mode of being competitive and going after him and setting up pitches. So it definitely was a good first inning."
Ross Ohlendorf threw the second inning and threw one more pitch than Maholm, with 12. He set down Alex Rodriguez, Marcus Thames and Jamie Hoffmann on a strikeout, a groundout and a high-chopper that Ohlendorf fielded and threw to first.
"It's always interesting to see Alex Rodriguez is the first hitter you're facing," he said. "It was a lot of fun to get out there. It felt good. I feel more confident [this year], I feel like I know what it takes to get guys out more."
Team president Frank Coonelly, in his monthly chat at Pirates.com, addressed his much-publicized comments Feb. 23 after addressing the team in Bradenton, Fla.
"My use of the term 'dynasty' was a poor choice of words," Coonelly replied to the opening questioner Wednesday. "While I should have used another phrase, I make no apology for informing our players that our expectations and aspirations as an organization are at the very highest level.
"Gone are the days when anyone in the Pirates organization will use our market size or revenue limitations as an excuse for why we cannot expect sustained excellence in Pittsburgh. My message to the players was that our expectation was that 2010 would begin the next era of sustained excellence for Pirates baseball, and that message is one from which I do not run."
Jeff Clement's spring debut at first base went without a hitch: eight putouts and an assist, on a soft toss to Maholm to retire Granderson in the first after a soft grounder. He started that first inning by coming down the line to catch Ronny Cedeno's throw and tagging out Jeter, and he finished by stretching a bit to gather Aki Iwamura's quick throw on Teixeira.
Inside
Arizona's Justin Upton, only 22, signs a $51.25 million contract that will take him through his arbitration years.
First Published: March 4, 2010, 10:00 a.m.
