Tag Archives: Paul Maholm

19 Oct

called to hall

A crafty left-hander who was the eighth overall pick in the major league draft and a college slugger who has topped 800 wins as the coach at his alma mater are among the eight new selections to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Paul Maholm and Jim Page are joined in the 2023 class by former NFL stars Lewis Tillman, Patrick Surtain, John Mangum and Jeff Herrod, former basketball player and coach Carol Ross and Olympic skeet shooter Tony Rosetti. They were introduced at a press conference Wednesday at the Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson. The formal induction ceremony will be held next summer. Maholm, who grew up in Holly Springs, was an All-American at Mississippi State who won 27 games over his three seasons and was drafted No. 8 by Pittsburgh in 2003. He spent 10 years in the big leagues, winning 77 games, twice posting 10-win seasons. Page batted a school-record .487 as a senior at Millsaps College in 1985 and went on to become the Majors’ coach, a job he still holds. He is 815-554-3 all-time and has won eight coach of the year awards at the NCAA Division III school. P.S. Mangum, from Magee, is the father of Jake Mangum, the ex-MSU outfielder and two-time Ferriss Trophy winner who is an up-and-coming player in the New York Mets’ minor league system.

31 Oct

lefty for hire

The list of free agent pitchers includes some big names: Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, James Shields, Ervin Santana, to name a few. It also includes many more names from the MLB rank-and-file, role-fillers such as Paul Maholm, the former Mississippi State star from Greenwood. Maholm, a 32-year-old left-hander, was a late signee last off-season by the Los Angeles Dodgers and had a generally lackluster year: 1-5, 4.84 ERA in 30 games (eight starts). Over 70 2/3 innings, he yielded 82 hits and 28 walks with just 34 strikeouts. And he finished the season on the disabled list. Maholm was a first-round draft pick by Pittsburgh in 2003 and spent his first seven MLB campaigns with the then-lowly Pirates. He has bounced from the Chicago Cubs to Atlanta to the Dodgers over the past three seasons. His career numbers: 77-100, 4.30 ERA. Since he is a lefty who can start or come out of the pen, Maholm should get another shot in 2015. But he again might have a long wait this off-season. P.S. Read an interesting comment from Kansas City’s Alex Gordon, who was held at third base while his two-out hit was misplayed in left field in the bottom of the ninth inning of World Series Game 7. “I’m not as fast as Jarrod Dyson,” Gordon told mlb.com. “If I was, I probably would’ve scored (the tying run).” He’s probably right. Of course, a pop up ended the game and gave San Francisco the title. Former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout Dyson, who swiped 36 bags during the season, didn’t get to use his speed much in the Series. He wasn’t on base very often and never attempted a steal.

22 Apr

mississippi mismatch

The Mississippi matchup of veteran left-handers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night proved to be a letdown. Well, Cliff Lee, the ex-Meridian Community College star, was brilliant for Philadelphia, but Mississippi State product Paul Maholm fizzled for Los Angeles. Lee (3-2, 3.09) went eight innings, allowed four hits and no walks and struck out 10 in the 7-0 victory. The Dodgers were blanked at home for the first time in 2014. Maholm, trying to secure a rotation spot in his first year in Dodger blue, lasted just five innings and allowed eight hits and four earned runs, including a home run to Ryan Howard. Maholm is now 0-2 with a 5.60. He also committed an error that led to a run. … Elsewhere in The Show on Monday: Corey Dickerson, another Meridian CC product now back up with Colorado, belted his first homer of the year while going 3-for-4 in the Rockies’ 8-2 win against San Francisco. Dickerson is batting .375. Former Ole Miss star Alex Presley went 3-for-4, including a triple against Felix Hernandez, as Houston beat Seattle 7-2. Presley is batting just .200 for the Astros, who picked him up on waivers from Minnesota late in the spring. Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson returned from the bereavement list and started in center field for Kansas City, going 0-for-1 with a sac and a run in a 4-3 loss to Cleveland. Dyson is hitting .111 in just nine at-bats. The Royals say they plan to platoon the lefty-hitting Dyson with Justin Maxwell while starting center fielder Lorenzo Cain is out with an injury. Props to ex-Mississippi Braves standout Evan Gattis on his first career walk-off homer for Atlanta, which beat Miami 4-2 in 10 innings. Still can’t figure why Gattis is batting seventh in the lineup.

23 Mar

dodger dog

Paul Maholm, the former Mississippi State Bulldogs star, made his official Los Angeles Dodgers debut on Sunday in Australia. One of three pitchers the Dodgers used in a rocky bottom of the ninth inning against Arizona, Maholm struck out the only batter he faced. L.A. held on to win 7-5 despite yielding four runs in the ninth. Veteran left-hander Maholm, cut loose by Atlanta after a 10-11, 4.41 ERA season in 2013, struggled in competition for the Dodgers’ No. 5 starter job during the first few weeks of spring training. He figures to rejoin that battle when the team returns to the States. P.S. Getting to the majors is hard, they say, but staying is even harder. Despite hitting .354 so far this spring, Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson has not nailed down a job with the Colorado Rockies. The left-handed hitting Dickerson, 24, who had a solid rookie year in 2013, is competing for one of two available outfield jobs. Commenting on questions about his defense, Dickerson told mlb.com: “I think I’ve got a pretty good track record and I can play any position in the outfield — I have the speed and the tools to do it.” Already sent to the minors this spring were Picayune’s T.J. House by Cleveland; Ole Miss product Phillip Irwin by Pittsburgh; and Hattiesburg’s Robert Carson by the L.A. Angels (who took him off their 40-man roster). … Released on Saturday: former Mississippi Braves star Jeff Francoeur, who hit .286 with 10 RBIs for the Indians this spring.

09 Feb

california dreamin’

The opportunity is grand. Former Mississippi State standout Paul Maholm reportedly has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, regarded by many as a favorite to win the World Series this season. Left-hander Maholm, 31 and coming off a 10-11, 4.41 ERA campaign with Atlanta, presumably will compete with Josh Beckett (and maybe others) for the No. 5 spot in the Dodgers’ rotation. LA is stacked at the top with Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dan Haren. Maholm’s deal was just one year for $1.5 million with possible bonuses. He’ll have to earn his spot and hold on to it, which he was unable to do with the Braves, but he could hardly have wished for a better place to land.

04 Feb

it’s about that time

With training camps already springing to life in Florida and Arizona, it’s curious that free agent Paul Maholm has yet to be signed. The Mississippi State product from Greenwood, one of those crafty left-handers, was cut loose by Atlanta after a lackluster 2013 season: 10-11, 4.41 ERA. Maholm’s career numbers aren’t great — 76-95, 4.28 — but he pitched for some bad Pittsburgh teams early in his career. He broke in in 2005, so his arm has a few miles on it, but one would think he could still be an effective back-end-of-the-rotation pitcher. Perhaps his price tag is too high. Maybe teams are waiting to see what some of the other remaining free agent pitchers get. Surely Maholm will land somewhere in the next few days. … Roy Oswalt, the veteran right-hander from Weir and Holmes Community College, is also unsigned, though it seems likely he will retire after his poor 2013 campaign with Colorado.
P.S. Here’s an early look at Mississippians already slated for big league camps:
40-man roster members
Position players
Joey Butler (Pascagoula), St. Louis; Zack Cozart (Ole Miss), Cincinnati; Brian Dozier (Southern Miss), Minnesota; Corey Dickerson (Meridian CC), Colorado; Jarrod Dyson (Southwest CC), Kansas City; Billy Hamilton (Taylorsville), Cincinnati; Desmond Jennings (Itawamba CC), Tampa Bay; Tyler Moore (Mississippi State), Washington; Mitch Moreland (MSU), Texas; Alex Presley (Ole Miss), Minnesota; Seth Smith (Ole Miss), San Diego
Pitchers
Robert Carson (Hattiesburg), Los Angeles Angels; Louis Coleman (Schlater/Pillow Academy), Kansas City; T.J. House (Picayune High) Cleveland; Phillip Irwin (Ole Miss), Pittsburgh; Cliff Lee (Meridian CC), Philadelphia; Lance Lynn (Ole Miss), St. Louis; Jonathan Papelbon (MSU), Philadelphia; Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss), Oakland; Donnie Veal (Jackson), Chicago White Sox
Non-roster invitees
Position players
Julio Borbon (Starkville), Baltimore; Chris Coghlan (Ole Miss), Chicago Cubs; Ed Easley (MSU), St. Louis; Eli Whiteside (Delta State), Chicago Cubs; Alex Yarbrough (Ole Miss), Los Angeles Angels
Pitcher
Tony Sipp (Gulf Coast CC), San Diego