Results tagged ‘ Mark Teixeira ’
Updates on Kevin Youkilis, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter
A few quick updates to share from the Yankees clubhouse as they prepare for tonight’s game against the Rays at Tropicana Field:
- Kevin Youkilis is still having treatment on his sore back and is not expected to play until Thursday at Yankee Stadium. Joe Girardi said they won’t ask Youkilis to come to the bench during tonight’s game so he can keep receiving treatment, but Youkilis’ back is supposedly getting better. He did not appear in the clubhouse this afternoon. The Yankees are again playing Jayson Nix at third base and Lyle Overbay at first base against left-hander David Price.
- Mark Teixeira is still taking only dry swings, and said that his right wrist hasn’t loosened up enough to permit him to move on to batting practice. Teixeira said he feels like the wrist is healed, but acknowledges he won’t make it back for May 1st. Teixeira’s initial time frame of the injury was eight to 10 weeks, so May 1st would’ve been about the earliest possible date, but Teixeira still believes he is on track to play in the big leagues during the month of May.
- Ben Francisco has struggled in his role as the DH against left-handed pitching, but Girardi said that he will stick with him, saying that he believes “Francisco has hit some balls pretty decent.” That said, Girardi acknowledges how much the lineup misses guys like Derek Jeter and Teixeira against lefties.
- Brennan Boesch is likely to be in tomorrow’s lineup as Girardi plans to give Vernon Wells a day off.
- Jeter is expected to rejoin the Yankees on Thursday in New York and will talk to the media at Yankee Stadium. Girardi said that he believes Jeter has been fitted for a walking boot on his left ankle again.
Mark Teixeira on wrist injury: “I can’t come back too early”
Mark Teixeira returned to Yankees camp on Sunday morning and clarified that the injury he suffered this spring was to his right tendon sheath, which is a similar injury to the one that the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista had last season.
There had been some confusion because even though GM Brian Cashman said Teixeira and Bautista had similar injuries, the Yankees also said Teixeira’s injury was to the tendon, not the tendon sheath. In any event, Bautista rushed back from the injury and needed surgery, which is a mistake that Teixeira does not intend to repeat.
Teixeira said that while he’d love to be back in the eight to 10 weeks outlined by the Yankees, he also does not want to have a setback like Bautista’s, having learned a lesson from his own nagging calf injury last season. For the first time, Teixeira raised the possibility that he might miss all of May because of the wrist injury.
“This is one of those things I can’t come back too early,” Teixeira said. “We saw when I tried to play too early last year what happened. This is unfortunately, if I try to play too early, we could miss the whole season and we don’t want that. I don’t know if it’s going to be middle of May, end of May, beginning of June. I don’t know when it is, but I know that there’s a whole bunch of season left and the time that really matters is the playoffs.
“We have a great team, we have guys that are going to be able to pick me up when I’m gone. We have guys that can pick Curtis [Granderson] up when he’s gone. I think Curtis and I will be back around the same time and that’ll be a big boost to the club.”
Think Mark Teixeira is overpaid? He agrees with you.
You might have missed it in the avalanche of Super Bowl preview coverage, but Dan Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal turned in a terrific story with Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, one in which Teixeira spoke candidly about his future and the relentless demands of living up to an eight-year, $180 million contract.
You don’t hear this unvarnished brand of speech too often from professional athletes, but Teixeira provided a very honest assessment of where he stands, and he hasn’t shied away. At last night’s Yankees charity event in Times Square, Teixeira even took a moment on stage to laud Barbarisi’s work to the audience.
In short, Teixeira acknowledges that there isn’t much he can do on the field that will make a $22.5 million annual salary seem like it makes sense.
“I have no problem with anybody in New York, any fan, saying you’re overpaid. Because I am,” Teixeira said. “We all are.”
“Agents are probably going to hate me for saying it,” he continued. “You’re not very valuable when you’re making $20 million. When you’re Mike Trout, making the minimum, you are crazy valuable. My first six years, before I was a free agent, I was very valuable. But there’s nothing you can do that can justify a $20 million contract.”
As he approaches age 33, Teixeira seems to have come to terms with the realization that his production levels are not going to magically improve as time goes on. He said that he’s on the backside of his career and doesn’t want to play 10 more years; he just wants five or six good ones.
“I looked at the first six or seven years of my career, I was in my 20s, it was easy,” Teixeira said. “I wasn’t searching for the right formula. To think that I’m going to get remarkably better, as I get older and breaking down a little bit more, it’s not going to happen … Maybe I’m slowing down a tick. Look, I’m not going to play forever. Eventually you start, I don’t want to say declining, but it gets harder and harder to put up 30 [homers] and 100 [RBI],” Teixeira said.
In the face of a sinking batting average, Teixeira seems to have decided that he must focus on those proud, round numbers – 30 and 100 – and play to the in-house advantages provided by Yankee Stadium. That is, he should embrace the short porch, forget about hitting against whatever defensive shifts teams employ and focus on impacting the baseball with authority.
“You can’t make everybody happy no matter what. I need to concentrate on what I do well. And what I do well is hitting home runs, driving in a lot of runs, and playing great defense,” Teixeira said.
Pettitte, Teixeira to play for Team USA
Mark Teixeira played for Team USA in the ’06 Classic.
Andy Pettitte and Mark Teixeira will be taking the field for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, as confirmed by MLB.com last night.
The tournament will reunite Pettitte with former manager Joe Torre, who has signed on to fill out the lineup cards for the United States entry. The 40-year-old Pettitte will be tuning up after a truncated season in which he went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 12 starts.
Meanwhile, the Classic schedule means that Teixeira will be getting into game mode a little bit earlier. Given his history of slow regular season starts, perhaps this is a new way of trying to avoid those April struggles.
Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic) and Francisco Cervelli (Italy) have also been rumored to be participating in the Classic, with full rosters slated to be announced on Thursday on MLB Network.
In case you’re wondering, the Yankees did not have to approve participation for their players. Teams do not have the ability to stop players from taking part in the Classic unless there is a pre-existing injury.
Martin, Cano, Teixeira among Gold Glove finalists
Three members of the 2012 Yankees have been nominated as finalists for Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, as voted upon by Major League managers and coaches — Russell Martin, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira.
The winners will be announced during the 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove Award® Announcement Show on Tuesday, October 30, 2012, at 9pm ET on ESPN2.
Martin is listed among the catchers with the Tigers’ Alex Avila, the White Sox’s A.J. Pierzynski and the Orioles’ Matt Wieters.
Teixeira’s competition is at first base with Adrian Gonzalez, nominated for his time with the Red Sox, and the Royals’ Eric Hosmer.
Cano will contend at second base with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia and the Mariners’ Dustin Ackley.
Yankees look ahead to ALCS Game 3
10/15/12: Phil Hughes, Mark Teixeira and Jayson Nix discuss what they need to do to be successful in Game 3 of the ALCS
Report: Dodgers asked about CC, Teixeira
Before the Dodgers pulled the trigger on their big trade with the Red Sox last week, they asked the Yankees about the possibility of trading for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
The Yankees told Dodgers executives that they had no interest in trading either player, according to the report. Sherman also noted that there were no signs that the Dodgers had any interest in acquiring Alex Rodriguez.
Los Angeles instead added first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett, outfielder Carl Crawford and infielder Nick Punto in a blockbuster, salary-dump with the Red Sox, agreeing to take on $260 million in future salary.
Teixeira has calf strain; MRI scheduled
Mark Teixeira left tonight’s game with a left calf strain and is scheduled to undergo an MRI tonight at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the Yankees have announced.
Teixeira: Sox swap shows baseball is “all result business”
As the Yankees were winding down from their 3-1 win over the Indians last night in Cleveland, the clubhouse televisions were tuned to coverage of the wild deal in the works between the Red Sox and Dodgers that figures to send Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to Los Angeles.
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira – who considered signing with the Red Sox before inking his big deal with the Yankees for the 2009 World Series-winning season – shared his thoughts on the rumors with reporters:
What’s your reaction to the trade reports?
“It’s interesting. It just shows that it’s an all result business and the Red Sox aren’t used to not making the playoffs. You have three really good players that might be on the move and I guess it’s all null if it doesn’t happen. But if you’re not winning, you’ve got to find something else to mix it up.”
As a player with a big money deal, are you surprised to see Crawford and Gonzalez being moved?
“Yeah. One of the reasons that I didn’t sign with Boston was they don’t offer full no-trade clauses. I would hate, personally as a father and a husband, I would hate to uproot my family here in New York and get traded somewhere else. That’d be devastating. I could play baseball anywhere, really, but to have to uproot your family — that would be really tough. And Boston doesn’t give full no-trade clauses. This is what could happen.”
Ever regret that decision not to sign with Boston?
“I have never once questioned my decision to come here. This is the most amazing place to play baseball. Living in New York is unbelievable. But I’ll be honest with you, a no-trade clause helps because your family can set roots. You know that if you have a bad game, they’re not going to trade you. You know that even if your team might have a bad stretch, they’re not going to look at you as, ‘Oh, you’re the reason why. We’re getting rid of you.’ This is a tough business and whether that trade goes through or not, just the fact that they’re talking about getting rid of three guys they committed to just shows that it’s all about winning. It’s not show-friends, it’s show-business.”
Think these drastic changes could help Bobby Valentine?
“I really don’t know him that well. I worked out at his facility, I see him once or twice an offseason and we small talk about baseball. I really don’t know him that well, so I really don’t know. He’s got a great facility. I love working out there. I really do.”
What’s it like to be traded like that?
“I was in a different situation where I was about to be a free agent anyway and I was kind of a hired gun for two stretch runs. It’s a little different for me. It’s flattering, it actually is, because the team wants you to help them make the playoffs or make a run in the playoffs. Like I said, if I was to get traded now – which isn’t going to happen – it would completely rock my world because of my family. That’s the tough part. I don’t know what family situation these guys are but that would be my No. 1 concern.”
If you hadn’t been traded, would you feel so strongly about no-trade clauses?
“Maybe not, actually. Maybe not. I know how difficult it is to uproot your family. I tell people, the last two years before free agency, I was a gypsy. I lived all over the plate. So it’s not easy, it really isn’t, and that was one of the big reasons that I wanted a full no-trade clause.”
Mark Teixeira expects to return to lineup on Monday
NEW YORK – Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is expecting to return to the lineup on Monday after missing a three-game series against the Red Sox with a sore left wrist.
“That’s the goal,” Teixeira said. “I could probably push it today, but we don’t want any setbacks. We don’t want anything to get inflamed again. So we’re going to take it easy today.”
Teixeira took ground balls at first base on Sunday while wearing a compression brace on his wrist, which has already had one cortisone shot administered as he missed three games from July 31 to Aug. 2.
That quelled the pain temporarily, but Teixeira experienced a flare-up after playing 14 straight games. He said that it seems to bother him most when he swings and misses or attempts to check his swing, and is hoping to avoid a second cortisone shot.
“The reason that we want to take a few days off is I don’t want it to linger,” Teixeira said. “We don’t want it to linger, especially something like a wrist. As a power hitter, I need my wrists. I need my hands. And if it does linger, then it’s not going to help anybody. It’s not going to help me or the team.”
Teixeira is batting .257 with 23 home runs and a team-leading 78 RBIs in 112 games. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he is hoping to write Teixeira’s name in Monday’s lineup against the White Sox in Chicago, and is concerned the injury may be something Teixeira will battle the rest of the season.
“I think it’s a possibility that he could have to deal with this the rest of the year. And I think it’s a possibility it could be gone, too,” Girardi said.
“We’re not really going to know until he goes through it and how effective the treatment is, but he did play a pretty long time before it came back a little bit. That’s good. Hopefully this time it’ll be much longer.”
Bryan Hoch
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