Mark Teixeira turns 30 today and the only thing the New York Yankees first baseman probably wants for this milestone birthday is an end to his annual April struggles.
Teix had a good day yesterday with three solid hits. But so far his birthday isn't going that great as he has struck out three times. Before Saturday, Teix was 0 for 17 to start the season, breaking his own personal record for futility, made during his rookie season.
The good thing is Teix still has a sense of humor about his struggles, but his inability to build on yesterday's good at-bats has got to be frustrating. At some point, the slump will start to get in his head. I hope he can fight against that.
An incident during today's game with Pat Burrell trying a strange take-out slide into first base may be just the thing that Teix needs to shake the cobwebs out. "That's terrible," Tino Martinez, calling the game for the YES Network, said. "There's no need for that."
Teix got fired up after being plunked last year, intentionally he believed, by ex-teammate Vincente Padilla. The Rays have hit Teix as well and also intentionally kept him from passing their teammate Carlos Pena for tops in homers and RBIs last year. Perhaps this is the nudge he needs to fire him up and end his April blues.
Happy birthday, Teix!
Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.
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