Cures for diseases have been discovered in less time than it’s taken doctors to figure out what is ailing Mark Teixeira, but the first baseman said he is confident he now is on the road to recovery. But he also learned that he may not be fully healed for a year.
Teixeira visited a specialist at New York-Presbyterian yesterday who inserted a camera down his throat and found nerve damage to a vocal cord, which was caused by the initial infection and likely has led to his lingering cough.
“It’s good news for me since we think we found the reason for all this,” Teixeira said before the Yankees’ 7-3 loss to the Rays last night. “She gave me some medicine and hopefully that will help the nerve calm down.”
Though Teixeira no longer has the wheezing cough that made it hard for him to breathe, he is still affected by the problem.
“My voice still isn’t where it needs to be,” said Teixeira, who also feels tightness in his ribs. “I can’t yell on the field, which as a first baseman, you communicate with the pitcher, the catcher, when guys are stealing. You want to be able to yell and use your voice.”
Until the nerve damage goes away, Teixeira will continue to cough — which means the inflammation in his airways won’t be completely cleared anytime soon. He expects to be on medication for “a couple of weeks” and to visit the specialist again after the upcoming road trip.
“She said it could be around for a year,” Teixeira said. “We’ll have to manage it.”
* David Robertson came through a batting practice session yesterday without a problem to the left rib cage injury that has him on the DL. Now, the Yankees will decide if the right-handed reliever needs another BP session or is ready to start a minor league rehab assignment.
Robertson, who last pitched on May 11, is hoping to skip another BP activity.
Brett Gardner took batting practice yesterday and is scheduled to play for Charleston (Single-A) today. The original plan was for Gardner to play in a game yesterday, but the stiffness that surfaced Wednesday after getting five at-bats in an extended spring game Tuesday forced the Yankees to back off.
Joba Chamberlain is ready to graduate from throwing bullpen sessions off half mounds to full mounds today in Tampa.
* Freddy Garcia, whose grandfather passed away in Venezuela, left the team yesterday and was placed on the bereavement list. The Yankees elevated right-handed reliever Ryota Igarashi from Triple-A Scranton to take Garcia’s place.