Mark Teixeira's Wrist Is Not All Better Yet

NEW YORK -- The Yankees were pretty down about the way their ballpark opener went. But first baseman Mark Teixeira was feeling pretty good -- for a different reason.

"I got some good stuff after I came out of the game," Teixeira said with a smile. "And I think I'm going to be just fine."

The good stuff was a cortisone shot in his injured wrist. Teixeira, who missed three games on the Yankees' recent road trip because of the wrist injury, came out of Thursday's home opener in the seventh inning with the Indians ahead 10-1 and immediately visited with a team doctor who advised and administered the pain-relieving injection.
"The doctors are very confident that this will be the thing that takes care of it once and for all," Teixeira said.

The Yankees hope so. While Alex Rodriguez is still on the disabled list recovering from hip surgery, Teixeira is the only real power threat in the middle of their lineup. If he has to miss time, or if he's not 100 percent, the lineup is going to struggle to score runs. So far this year, in seven games, Teixeira is a .160 hitter with one home run and three RBI. Not exactly the kind of numbers that justify a $180 million contract, but it's still way early and maybe the shot is what he needs to keep going.

The Yankees play again Friday afternoon, but Teixeira said he didn't think he'd have to miss any more time because of the injury or the shot. Still, it might be worth checking tomorrow afternoon before setting your fantasy lineup.

Meanwhile, Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady went on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow injury. The consensus belief seems to be that Nady will have to have surgery and miss the rest of the year, but the Yankees aren't saying that yet because they're not done testing him yet. Nady had an MRI and an X-ray on Wednesday, another X-ray today and is scheduled for another test Friday. So stay tuned on that.