Alex Rodriguez is doing well in his recovery, according to Mark Teixeira.
“He’s in good spirits,” Teixeira told The Post last night after the Yankees’ 17-7 victory over the A’s, saying he and A-Rod have exchanged text messages. “He watches every game. . . . I know he’s itching to get back.”
Rodriguez underwent surgery on the slightly torn meniscus in his right knee July 11. His total recovery time is expected to take between four and six weeks. So far it’s been approximately a week and a half.
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The intense heat forced the to take extra steps to protect their players from temperature-related issues. A memo on the clubhouse door provided tips, such as drinking a lot of water, eating often but in limited quantities (including an abundance of fruits and vegetables) and not doing extraneous pregame work.
“Basically we kind of pre-hab all this stuff,” trainer Gene Monahan said.
The temperature for the first pitch was 100 degrees, the hottest for a Yankees game in The Bronx since July 5, 1999, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Today’s high is expected to be 98, according to weather.com.
“That’s something we’re trying to be smart about,” manager Joe Girardi said.
The Yankees did not take batting practice, though Girardi said that’s also because the team didn’t return from Tampa until 3:30 a.m. yesterday. Players had an extremely late reporting time yesterday of 5:30.
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Jorge Posada went 1-for-5 last night and has not homered in his last 17 games. In that stretch, he’s hitting .160 (8-for-50) with no homers, two RBIs, one extra-base hit and 12 strikeouts. Posada maintained he’s feeling “much better than I was after coming from the interleague and All-Star break.”
Posada, who turns 40 next month and is a free agent-to-be, also could not say how much longer he wants to play or if he’s definitely interested in playing next year. He said, “I’m keeping the option open and see what happens.”
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Rafael Soriano (inflamed elbow) is due to be in uniform for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tomorrow and could throw in back-to-back games tomorrow and Monday. Eric Chavez (broken foot) made his fourth rehab start last night for Class-A Tampa and went 1-for-4 in seven innings. Girardi said Chavez needs to play a nine-inning game and appear in back-to-back games before he can return to the Yankees. The manager said it’s “possible” both players could return during this homestand.
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Marcus Thames, signed to a minor league contract Thursday, took batting practice in Tampa yesterday. He will do so again today.
— Additional reporting by George A. King III