Teixeira Expected Back Tonight

From Chad Jennings:

The Yankees expect Mark Teixeira to be in the lineup and playing first base tomorrow. After playing in an instructional league game yesterday, Teixeira will go through a normal workout today and rejoin the Yankees when they get home for this final three-game series against the Red Sox.

It will be Teixeira’s first game since aggravating his strained calf injury on September 8, and only his second game since originally hurting himself on August 27. His injury through the month of September, and Alex Rodriguez’s injury through the month of August means it’s been a long time since the Yankees have consistently had two of their middle-of-the-order bats in the lineup at the same time.

“Obviously two middle-of-the-order hitters, number one,” Girardi said. “But two, it gives you the ability not to stack left handers, which is something that we’ve had to fight and at times we’ve been vulnerable to that. It seemed like everyone was throwing left handers against us, and Tex is a huge bat against left handers. It’s affected us.”

The Yankees face two right handers (Buchholz and Matsuzaka) and one lefty (Lester) in this final series against the Red Sox.

Besides the injury to Mariano, everyone else is now back in the fold so finally, after several months of dealing with various players going down, the Yankees are pretty much at full strength. Hallelujah!

Teixeira Played in Simulated Game on Thursday

From George King:

Because running is considered the biggest test for a lcalf problem, the news was positive Thursday out of Tampa where Mark Teixeira participated in a simulated game.

“He looked good, he ran about 75 to 80 percent,” said minor league head Mark Newman, who watched the workout. “He swung the bat well, hit some line drives.’’

According to manager Joe Girardi, Teixeira played an inning at first base but running will dictate when he returns.

“To me, the biggest test is running the bases,’’ Girardi said before the Yankees' 6-0 loss to the Blue Jays. “I think he can protect it a little bit in the field if he has to. Sometimes you get in a situation like he was in Baltimore and your mind tells you, ‘I got to go.’ ”

...

Girardi said Teixeira would play in another simulated game but wasn’t sure if it would be Friday or Saturday. While it’s likely he could join the Yankees during the four-game series against the Blue Jays, it’s more likely he will be back with the club Monday when the Yankees open a three-game series with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

”You would like to know that he is 100 percent,’’ Girardi said. “But I don’t think you are going to know until you get into an intense situation.’’

I wouldn't push things, especially with those games on the Tampa turf coming up. Save him for the Boston series and hope those three games are enough to get his timing back.

Tex Out 10-14 With Calf Injury, Yanks Call Up Melky Mesa

Teixeira Headed for MRI on Monday

From Bryan Hoch:

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is scheduled to have a MRI on his ailing left calf Monday in New York and probably won’t be available to play in this week’s series against the Red Sox, manager Joe Girardi said.

Teixeira reaggravated his calf strain on the ninth-inning dive into first base on Saturday against the Orioles. The Yankees are hopeful that Teixeira isn’t back to the original level of injury and that a few days of rest might get him back into the lineup, but they’ll know more after the MRI.

Girardi admitted that there is concern that Teixeira could be out for the rest of the season.

“There’s part of me that wonders that,” Girardi said. “There’s basically three and a half weeks, and if it does go back to square one, then I really wonder.”

At this point I'm really starting to believe that all these injuries will just be too much for this team to overcome. I hope I'm wrong, but nothing that has happened since the All-Star break gives me much confidence.

Injury Updates: Tex, Pettitte, Nova

- To make that blown call on the final play of last night's game worse, Mark Teixeira re-injured his left calf and will likely miss Sunday's series finale against the O's.

- In better news, Andy Pettitte threw a simulated game on Saturday and apparently everything went smoothly. Here's a little more on Pettitte from Dan Martin:

“I felt good, it was a good day,” Pettitte said after the session. “It was another step in the right direction. I am trying to push it as far as I can with feeling a chance of injury.”

Pettitte is expected to have the ankle examined tomorrow in New York and could be cleared to run, which is one of the final hurdles he must clear before he rejoins a beaten-up rotation.

Barring a setback, the lefty would be able to field bunts and cover first base the next time he takes the mound, which should be in Boston this week. That session should last roughly 60 pitches and may be his final rehab appearance

- Ivan Nova came off the DL last night and instead of being inserted into the rotation the Yankees decided to to put him in the bullpen.

“He is in the bullpen for now. Our bullpen has been used a lot,’’ said Joe Girardi, who as of Friday had not made a decision on who would start today. “We will put him down there for now and then we will make some decisions.’’

Asked if Nova was a candidate to take David Phelps’ start Wednesday in Boston, Girardi danced.

“We are not that far ahead,’’ Girardi said. “With these tricky weather conditions, I am not sure what we are going to need.’’

But at some point, Nova is going to start.

“We have always considered him a rotation guy,’’ Girardi said. “He is not a guy who has pitched out of the bullpen a lot. Our concern was to get him back healthy.” I had the rotation set — that’s Freddy. We didn’t know what we were going to have in Nova.’

Personally, I'd much rather see Nova get back into the rotation over Freddy, but the Yankees seem to like to make bad moves all of a sudden.

Updates on Tex & Granderson

From Pete Caldera:

Mark Teixeira (sore left calf) was due to take BP on the field for the first time in a week and said he’s targeting Thursday’s series opener at Baltimore for his return.

Curtis Granderson (tight right hamstring) could be in the lineup tomorrow night, according to manager Joe Girardi.

With the lead down to one, it's pretty obvious that all these injuries finally caught up with the team. Getting these guys back should help, but with the way they've been playing (with or without them) let's just hope it's not too little too late.

Updates on A-Rod, Tex & Pettitte

I know most of this news is a day old, but I've had a very busy week, so sorry for the delay.

- Mark Teixeira will likely be out 1-2 weeks with his calf injury reports Mark Feinsand.

On to better news, Andy Pettitte threw off flat ground for the first time since his ankle injury:

Andy Pettitte could be throwing off a mound before the end of the week. The lefthander took a significant step in his return from a fractured left ankle when he threw off flat ground Tuesday before the Yankees beat the Blue Jays at the Stadium. Joe Girardi said Pettitte threw three sets of 20 pitches and tested himself during the last one.

“For two of the sessions, he did not push off much,” Girardi said. “In the last session, he basically did 10 or 12 pitches where it was his normal windup. He actually looked really good.”

... After Tuesday’s session, Girardi said of Pettitte’s next move “our hope is it’s a mound, a bullpen. We’ll have to see how he feels in the next couple days.”

He said that would likely occur Friday or Saturday.

Alex Rodriguez also took a major step in his rehab:

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez took live batting practice on Tuesday afternoon, the first time he's done so since fracturing his left hand on July 24 against the Seattle Mariners.

General manager Brian Cashman said on ESPN NewYork 98.7's "The Michael Kay Show" that if everything goes well, Rodriguez could begin a minor league rehab stint over the weekend. Cashman added that he believes A-Rod can be back earlier than mid-September, but also didn't want to put a firm date on it.

"So far, so good," Rodriguez said. "My legs are coming under me, and I see light at the end of the tunnel. My expectation is to come back at full strength and help this team win."

So despite the two losses to the Jays, not all is bad in Yankeeland.

Teixeira Leaves Game With Calf Injury

Mark Teixeira had to leave tonight’s game in the top of the fifth inning with a left calf strain. He’s headed for an MRI to check the extent of the injury. If there are any updates I will let you know. Hopefully it's nothing too serious. Haven't we dealt with enough of this crap already?

Updates on A-Rod, Pettitte & Tex

From Bryan Hoch:

The Yankees received encouraging news on Sunday regarding Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte, who are both progressing toward September returns from the disabled list.

A-Rod and Pettitte had X-rays performed on their fractured left hand and fractured left fibula, respectively, and team doctors told the players that their injuries are healing as expected.

"Everything is as scheduled," said Rodriguez, who was hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch on July 24 in Seattle. "We talked about four to six weeks at the beginning, and I think Tuesday is the four-week mark. We're right on schedule."

Rodriguez said that he will spend the next few days strengthening and expects to be re-evaluated during Thursday's off-day between series at Chicago and Cleveland. He has been keeping his arm in shape, throwing both baseballs and footballs often.

...

Pettitte returned from that Seattle trip having been told that he pushed himself too hard, hoping to accelerate his recovery from a June 27 broken ankle, but that swelling has subsided and doctors are closer to permitting him to resume pitching on a mound.

"Everything looks good -- it's healing up," Pettitte said. "Obviously, like I told you all before, I'm excited when they tell me, 'OK you can go on the mound and see how it feels.'

"But I've got to get on flat ground. I'll do that on this road trip, and hopefully after this road trip, it'll all be good. I'm hoping maybe right when we get back from this road trip, I might be able to get back on a mound."

Hoch also reported that Mark Teixeira expects to return to the lineup tonight in Chicago, saying on Sunday "That's the goal. 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."

All good news. With the way the Yanks have been playing the idea of getting these three back for the stretch run should put a smile on every Yankees fan's face.

I'll Say It...I'm sick of Teixeira

I remember a time when I was younger and I would have such blind faith in every athlete that donned the Yankee uniform. When a player struggled mightily, I cheered that much harder for him to do well. I’m 27 now (I know, still young) but Mark Teixeira is very slowly turning himself into a very unlikeable ballplayer. For their money, the New York Yankees have gotten one elite year out of “Tex.” The version that we have seen from 2010 until now, is not the version that the Yankees signed up for. This version is certainly not worth over $20Million a year.

Now, it is unfair to expect the type of half seasons he put up with the Atlanta Braves & Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim if you hit Pasadena you’ve gone too far. Personally, I was expecting closer to the numbers he put up with while he was with Texas. Although, the 2008 he had with Atlanta would fall under that umbrella, as well. This version of Teixeira refuses to make the necessary adjustments to return to elite form. Now, we are all succumbed to a hitter that will either hit a homer, groundout to second, or pop-out weakly to the infield. We’ve gone from seeing a hitter with a high 300 OBP to one that is maxing out mid-300. We’ve gone from a hitter whose OPS is in the high 800s-low 900s to low-mid 800. For the advanced statistic fans, he is 12th among Major League First Basemen in wRC+ and 7th among the ones in the American League. Basically, there are no statistics out there that can defend Tex’s lack of production.

Now, his severely underwhelming performance on the field aside, let’s talks about Tex and his constant excuses, shall we? How many times throughout the year did we hear about him feeling under the weather whenever he was struggling? Whether it was his wrist or his respiratory issue, there was always something handy. In 2004, Jason Giambi was diagnosed with a benign tumor to which he missed most of the season. He only played 80 games and we still heard no excuses about his lack of production. Players are sore, sick, and just feeling miserable all of the time. It is a long, brutal season yet Teixeira always feels the need to point out just how poorly he is feeling. Even if that was all true, man up and just deal with it. I am sick to death of the constant excuses from this guy. What are his excuses for the numbers he put up last year? How about in 2010?

If it isn’t some phantom physical ailment, another one is “Oh, he’s just a slow starter!” Interesting, if you look at the breakdown this year, he’s had one vintage Tex month. He’s not just a slow starter; he’s nothing special when he gets going either. Not this version anyway. Maybe if Tex would stop being so stubborn and adapt to the game that has clearly adapted to him, he could make this contract somewhat tolerable.

Twitter: @trevwolff

Teixeira May Sit For Boston Opener

From the NY Post:

General manager Brian Cashman, who admitted the wrist is bothering Teixeira, indicated the first baseman may not play Friday night when the Yankees open a three-game series with the Red Sox.

“He might get a rest, but no tests are scheduled,” the GM said. “It’s definitely not as bad as before, but it’s still bothering him. ... He’s icing it for maintenance purposes.”

No need to play with any kind of injury at this point, especially not against a 4th place team.

No Structural Damage For Teixeira

Girardi on Teixeira's Wrist Injury: "It's a Big Concern"

From Chad Jennings:

Turns out, Mark Teixeira actually hurt himself last night. He was trying to play through it tonight, and landing awkwardly on his glove wasn’t part of the plan.

“Yesterday, third at-bat against Doubront, swung through a pitch and it just didn’t feel right,” Teixeira explained. “Played through it yesterday. Got a lot of treatment last night. I had treatment today. It just didn’t feel good again today. And then when I dove, I landed right on my glove and I just tweaked it even more. I went back in the dugout, in the clubhouse, tried to swing the bat and just couldn’t do it.”

Teixeira will go for an MRI tomorrow. He said he’ll almost certainly miss tomorrow night’s game, but his concern is “low” that this is a significant injury.

“Not crazy concerned because like I said, I tried to play through it,” he said. “It’s one of those things if you really hurt yourself bad, you’re out and you can’t do much. I was kind of nursing it today when I was swinging so hopefully it’s just a couple of days and I can get back out there. … More achy and sore than major pain. That’s why I feel okay about it. Hopefully it’s not too bad.”

...

“It’s a big concern,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s a huge part of our lineup and hopefully it’s only a couple of days, but we’ll find out more tomorrow.”

Let's just hope that MRI comes back clean because this team cannot afford another key injury.

Hey, Guess What? More Injuries!

Here's a rundown of the most recent rash of injuries to hit the Yankees clubhouse via Marc Carig:

RHP Ivan Nova, sprained/bruised right ankle and foot, X-Rays negative The 25-year-old took a comebacker to his right ankle in the third inning and rolled the same ankle while making a defensive play in the sixth. After the game, Nova said his ankle was swollen and still in pain, though he didn't want to miss his next start. Of course, he may not have a choice in the matter.

"That's a possibility," Girardi said of scrubbing Nova's next outing. "We’ll have to be smart about it and make sure he’s OK."

...

RHP David Robertson, left oblique/rib cage soreness, tests scheduled for today Technically, Robertson's injury didn't take place last night, but rather during his last appearance on Friday. Robertson, working in a non-save situation, first felt the soreness during his outing. He iced the area and felt it again the next day. At that point, he notified Girardi, who has made Robertson unavailable since.

...

LHP Clay Rapada, head cold, viral infection Rapada finished his relief outing yesterday but had to be helped back into the clubhouse.

...

LF Raul Ibanez, hit by pitch on left elbow Girardi believes Ibanez will be sore. But Ibanez didn't seem concerned and said he'd be ready to go. Of course, he too is likely not to play today with the Orioles starting left-hander Wei-Yin Chen.

...

1B Mark Teixeira, bronchial inflammation Even though he began taking new medication to treat his condition last week, Teixeira said it has had no effect so far. He'd be more likely to heal if he were willing to take some time off. But after hitting a critical two-run homer last night, Teixeira said he had no interest in taking days off.

These injuries are very frustrating but better to have to deal with them earlier in the season, rather than later on when they can really hurt you. Nothing here seems too serious, which is obviously also a good thing.

Tonight's Yankees Lineup & Other News

Derek Jeter DH
Nick Swisher 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Andruw Jones RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Brett Gardner LF
Chris Stewart C

CC Sabathia LHP

- Teixeira will sit due to flu-like symptoms.

- Just a normal off day for Russell Martin, who is currently hitting .160 after going hitless in his last 9 ABs. Seems like he could use the day, no?

- Andy Pettitte will pitch for class-A Tampa on Friday.

- Michael Pineda was on the mound yesterday and threw a 26-pitch bullpen session. He will throw another in a few days and shortly after thatwill make his first minor league appearance as he works his way back.

Mark Teixeira = Jason Giambi ?

Soon after Mark Teixeira signed that huge 8-year, $180 million deal back in 2008, I stumbled across an interesting comparison, talking about how Tex could go down the same path as Jason Giambi, who had just finished his 7-year deal with the Bombers.

When I first heard this, I couldn't help but laugh. Giambi was a steroid-user, DL prone for a good part of his contract, and couldn't play first base for his life. Teixeira was arguably the best switch hitter in baseball, and arguably the best first basemen defensively in the league. Teix was a shoe in to dominate and hit .300 every season, and become the new face of the Yankees for years to come.

Or so I thought.

After a terrific 2009 season in which he batted .292 with 39 homers and 122 RBI, Teix's average dropped 36 points the following year, and another 13 in 2011 where he batted .243. Sound familiar?

In Giambi's first year in pinstripes, he batted .314, but out of the blue batted .250 in 2003, and played in only 80 games in 2004, where he batted .208. The final four seasons - .271, .253, .235, .247. Mediocre, and certainly not worth the $120 million George Steinbrenner was paying him. The home runs and RBI were still there, but when he wasn't driving in runs he was striking out, popping out weakly, or killing rallies.

Unfortunately it's not unlikely to say that's what Teixeira will do in his final 5 years of his deal. A promising young star when he signed, Tex is now 31 and this is when he should be putting up his best numbers, not his worst. There's still a chance he could turn it around, but to me, the only way for that to happen is for Teixeira to stop hitting left-handed. 

Teixeira is still a career .304 hitter from the right side, but .271 from the left. As is the case with most switch hitters, Mark has much more power from the left (227 home runs) than the right (86 home runs). But making him a solely right-handed batter would be huge as far as the overall production the Yankees would get out of Mark .

Sure, Tex's power would drop, but 25 home runs is still likely. What should be guaranteed is a return to hitting for average and a huge increase in OBP. More doubles, more RBI. You name it. Making Tex a right-handed batter would show incredible improvement and a return to form of the guy the Yankees signed him to be.

However, the likelihood of this happening is not good at all, and it's likely Tex will continue to switch hit and decline. The fans still have his back, as do I, but another year of batting .250 and not hitting in the clutch will make them think back to the days of gold thongs, the 'Stache, and seasons of Yankee playoff failure.

Tex to start bunting?

From Peter Botte:

No one should expect Mark Teixeira to become a $180 million bunter this season, but the Yankee first baseman admits he’s finally ready to give in to his frustrations over declining numbers the past few years.

The switch-hitter batted a career-worst .224 from the left side of the plate in 2011, often pulling the ball into the pronounced shift most opposing teams employ against him.

And he’s ready to try something drastic.

“When no one’s on base, if they’re playing a big shift, I might lay down some bunts this year,” Teixeira said before he was among the honorees at Tuesday night’s Thurman Munson dinner in Midtown. “I’ve been so against it my entire career. But I might lay down a few bunts. If I can beat the shift that way, that’s important.”

...

He believes an occasional bunt and an increased concentration on driving the ball to the opposite field will keep opposing teams honest and bring those numbers back closer to his career levels.

“That right-field porch is so enticing at Yankee Stadium, and I’m not going to complain about the 39 homers, but obviously I’d love to bring my average up and it’s very simple: lefthanded singles,” said Teixeira, who claimed he hasn’t dropped a bunt in a game since his freshman year of high school. “One hit a week really adds up.”

I never understood why lefties who face that kind of a shift don't bunt more often and I'm very happy to hear that Tex is open to it. If teams are going to give you a free single, take the single, every time.