Palladino: Yankees' AL East Title Hopes Hinge On Teixeira's Leg
By Ernie Palladino
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The problem with the Yanks' first-base situation doesn't really involve rookie Greg Bird or Joe Girardi's misguided scheme to put Alex Rodriguez out there.
It's all about Mark Teixeira and that lower leg bruise, whose bark has taken a real bite out of the lineup.
Once the 35-year-old gets back in the fold, whenever that happens, all will be well. Bird, who has proved himself major-league worthy despite the mess he made of Monday's 4-3 loss to Boston, seems to be a reliable bat. Chase Headley will not need to prepare for a switch to first base.
And A-Rod can continue in his role as designated hitter.
In other words, the sense of normalcy so necessary in the Yankees' current chase mode will return, thereby increasing their chances of overtaking Toronto for the AL East lead.
Unfortunately that scenario hinges on Teixeira, a good, gritty player upon whose neck now officially hangs the "hard luck" tag. His comeback from two years of battling a wrist injury had gone superlatively, as 31 homers and 79 RBIs indicated a return to his own powerful form of normal. Girardi had handled him well with the odd day off or early removal to preserve his body.
But even Girardi's body management skills couldn't prevent that foul ball from ricocheting off his right leg Aug. 17 in Minnesota. Since then, he's played in just eight innings and has had three at-bats.
If Teixeira was moving toward a comeback, that still would not be a problem. Despite falling out of first, the Yanks have managed to tread enough water to stay within easy reach of the Blue Jays. Bird, despite Monday's butchery, has shown that the situation is not too big for him. And the lineup did explode for 38 runs in their three-game weekend sweep of Atlanta.
But that is not the situation. In the nine games before the Braves series, the offense averaged 3.3 runs, a number boosted only by the eight runs it scored the day after Teixeira's injury.
Questions abound about whether the 40-year-old Rodriguez has run out of gas after hitting just two home runs in August, his last on the 20th.
But the biggest question involves Teixeira's immediate future. Doctors can't seem to figure out why the pain in his leg persists. X-rays, an MRI and a CT scan have not revealed any hairline fractures. Another checkup in which all the tests would be repeated was scheduled for Tuesday.
As things stand now, Teixeira appears no closer to returning than he was Aug. 18.
Girardi's only real options, for now, are to either keep Bird at first or move Headley over from third. Keeping Bird there would not be a bad move, providing he starts to hit a bit more.
A need for consistency should keep Headley at third. And that same reason should keep A-Rod in the designated hitter's role, Girardi's out-of-the-box thinking notwithstanding. Rodriguez's description of his two appearances at first as "uncomfortable" should alone preclude Girardi from experimenting with him there at this critical point in the season.
The only real solution, of course, is to get Teixeira back swinging and healthy. But that may not happen for a while. If the leg remains a mystery, it may not happen this year.
Without him, the division chase and everything involved with it will become infinitely more difficult.
