REMEMBER ME? Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, walking off the field in spring training, says there’s “no pain” in his injured right wrist and expects to return May 1. (N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg)
CLEVELAND — All you had to do was see Mark Teixeira’s smile last night to know he is on schedule for his May 1 return. He may even return a day or two early from his right wrist injury, if all continues to go well and today he expects to start swinging a bat.
It’s about time the Yankees got some good injury news.
“There’s no pain, just a little tightness,’’ Teixeira said on the second straight night the Yankees were rained out against the Indians at Progressive Field.
Teixeira was happy with the rainouts because these were two games he would have missed, but if all goes as planned, he will be able to play.
“Every game we don’t play now is one less game that I have to miss,’’ he explained.
“I’m so excited about my progress,’’ he said. “It feels really, really good. I couldn’t be happier. I’m confident I’m getting better and I’m just excited to be around the guys and hopefully looking at that May 1 goal. It was a blessing in disguise that it happened in spring training. It was an overuse injury that might have happened April 1 and then I’d miss two months of the season rather than one month.
“I was lucky that it happened in spring training [at the World Baseball Classic].’’
In Teixeira’s mind this injury was going to happen, and it’s for the best it did in spring training.
The first baseman will see Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser today and is expected to get clearance to begin swinging a bat.
“I’m really excited because when you get injured, there is that ‘What if?’ What if you need surgery and you miss the entire year and that’s no fun,’’ Teixeira said. He said he is over that “what-if” stage and now has a solid game plan on returning to the Yankees lineup.
He will start with swinging a fungo bat and do that for a day or two because it is a lighter bat.
“Just to get the motion, then a regular bat for a couple of days, then tee, then soft-toss,’’ he said of the progression.
“The tendon is fine,’’ Teixeira added. “The injury was to the sheath. It was torn and like anything that was torn it will scar tissue over. It just needs to be functional. I have scar tissue all over my body.”
Teixeira has learned his lesson and will cut down on the number of swings. He said he is looking for “quality’’ work over “quantity.’’
“I have to cut back on swings,’’ he said. “I’m such a violent swinger. I swing very hard from both sides of the plate, my wrists are very involved in my swing and this was an overuse injury. I banged up my left wrist in 2009.’’
So now it is about less swings, not more.
The switch-hitting first baseman turned 33 yesterday, so it is time to make changes.
“Hopefully by Toronto, one week from now, I will be taking batting practice on the field,’’ Teixeira said.
If that goes well he will travel with the Yankees to Tampa, stay behind for extended spring training for two or three days, get at-bats there and then play in a couple of minor league games and be ready to return to the Yankees lineup either April 30 or May 1 against the Astros.
“The true steps are going to be in the swinging part,’’ manager Joe Girardi said. “Everything has been encouraging so far.’’
Teixeira made this trip because he wanted to be with the team and he said he loves what he sees of this “new’’ Yankees team.
“It’s a great group of guys,’’ Teixeira noted. “We came together late because in spring training you had a bunch of guys brought in at the end. We’re really forging some good relationships.’’
Teixeira will wear compression wrist wraps and tape his wrists for extra support, something he never liked to do in the past because he liked to feel loose at the plate.
He has learned the hard way changes must be made.