Grilli taking his time early on in spring camp

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jason Grilli, who skipped his scheduled bullpen session on Saturday and has stayed off the mound since, is getting a kick out of the curiosity sparked by his "inactivity."

"You want to make sure I'm all right?" the Pirates closer said with a wide grin.

The right-hander eventually did get a little testy when questions continued why he had gone four days without pitching, after his first regular turn on Thursday.

Grilli reaffirmed he's just "taking his time."

The interest in Grilli's throwing schedule is understandable, considering he had missed two months of last season's second half with a forearm strain. But Grilli lightly shrugs off any concern, pointing out "last spring I pitched one inning in the World Baseball Classic, and when the bell rang I was ready to go."

Grilli had gone two weeks between Grapefruit League appearances for the Bucs, and in that span was used for one inning by Team Italy in the WBC. Overall, he logged only six innings in exhibition play, then came out of the gate converting his first 25 save opportunities.