Teixeira Lands on DL: How It Affects the Yanks

Mark Texeira spent very little time on the DL over the first nine years or so of his career and for the first three years of his Yankees tenure he rarely missed time, missing only 16 games in that span, but the last year and a half hasn't been kind.

Just a few days after telling reporters he wasn't sure if his surgically repaired wrist (which cost him 147 games last season) would ever be the same, Teixeira pulled up lame during last night's win over the Toronto Blue Jays. While the severity of the hamstring injury is not yet known, it was evident in Teixeira's face and reaction that it wasn't good. He was visabily upset and slammed his glove when he came out (thankfully not injuring anything else in his fit of anger).

To me, this is a fairly decent blow to the Yanks. I have felt that they need Texeira to have a solid season in order to make it back to the playoffs. Now, a two week stint on the DL isn't going to break his or the Yankees season, but you have to hope that it's limited to a two or three week at the most stay. Out of the big editions the Yanks have made in the offseason, I think Tex returning was a big one. Ellsbury has to prove he's going to be able to stay on the field and even with the solid season he had last year, Beltran is getting up there in age. There's already some question marks in the lineup at second and third base, so adding first to that weakens the team both at the plate and defensively. If Teixeira isn't going to be out there for at least 140 games and give the Yanks the glove and bat he was for the first three years in pinstrips, there is going to be that much more pressure on the new guys to produce. To my thinking, the biggest bat in this lineup with a chance to carry the team on his shoulders may very well be Brian McCann, who if he stays healthy might ravage that short left-hand porch in Yankee Stadium to the tune of 35 to maybe even 40 home runs. That doesn't remove the need for Teixeira in that lineup though.

My gut? Teixeira is going to be hard pressed to be the player he was. While I'm not thinking he's going to miss most of the year again, I have a feeling this isn't going to be his one trip to DL Land, and Yankee fans might want to temper expectations for him going forward.

Yankees/Twins Game One was Typical for New York

This is looking awfully familiar.

Game One in the Yankee/Twins ALDS went by the typical Yankee script. The Yanks got around on Twins starter Francisco Liriano and scored four times in the sixth; C.C. Sabathia pitched a decent, if unspectacular, six innings; Mark Teixeria broke a 4-4 tie with a booming home run; and Mariano Rivera closed to game down with a 4-out save.

Like I said, familiar.

The Yanks didn’t pitch particually well. C.C. Gave up four runs (3 earned) in 6 innings and Kerry Wood got in some trouble in the 8th and Rivera had to come in for the extended save. However they pitched well enough to win and the offense put up a six spot (amusing enough they averaged roughly six runs a game in Sabathia’s starts this season).

For the Twins, who seem to always be just a little short in the winning department against the Yanks in the playoffs, it’s got to be frustrating. Tonight’s game will go a long way towards seeing if this is going to be a real series or not. The Twins likely cannot go into Yankee Satdium and expect to win two in a row there, so they REALLY need to win this game if they are going to have a chance to win this series.

It’s ironic again that the Yanks will face Carl Pavano here. To say Pavano was a bust in a Yankee uniform is an understatement. Most Yankee fans would likely decribe Pavano as a thief, seeing he made a boatload of cash and gave the team noting but injury after injury with a few poor starts mixed in. However, since leaving the Bronx, Pavano has found the ability to pitch that got him that huge contract in the first place and finished this year with 17 wins. Andy Petitte will look to show that he’s healthy enough to be the rock in the playoffs he’s expected to be.

The Twins need this one or this series will just be a mirror of their last two playoff series against New York. The Yanks have won seven straight against Minnesota in the playoffs. Tonight is as big as it gets for this team right now.