I was wondering when Yankee fans were going to start booing Mark Teixeira, given that even Melky Cabrera has been hitting better than he has, and given how impatient some fans can be. Not that it's right to boo your own players - I hate, hate, hate it - but Teixeira has been having a terrible season so far.
Mark has been off the mark, hittingwise - he's only at .200 right now. Heck, Jose Molina and Angel Berroa have a better batting average. Mark seems like a good guy, and I'm glad he's a Yankee, but he's not having a good year just yet.
Anyhow, despite all this, the $180 million man has been off the radar, partly due to people knowing he's traditionally a slow starter, partly because he's been hurt, and partly because of other players, like Chien-Ming Wang, having horrendous years.
All of that changed last night, when Teixeira got booed, heartily, by Yankee fans for failing in the clutch several times. It didn't look good, either, that both Ramiro Pena and Cabrera got huge hits last evening.
But it's not like booing is going to make Teixeira produce. I know he wants to do well, but he hasn't just yet.
ESPN's Bill Simmons made his bones on, among other things, coming up with The Derek Lowe Face, the pained expression the pitcher would have when the game started falling apart.
Can we talk about the Mark Teixeira Face? Because he seems to constantly have some really pained, or weird, expression on his face when he's up to bat. He makes A-Rod look like he has a poker face!
Am I the only one to notice this? Half the time Teixeira looks like he either smelled something bad, ate something bad, or heard something bad. What's up with that?
I know this may sound silly, but I just want to see if our readers had noticed the same thing I did!
In other news, that was one of the more fun wins of the year. And the Stadium's fans sounded
fairly pumped, for once, this year.
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
7 comments:
Wow, get a life. Here is a young player, very talented that did not have a strong start, boo if you think that will help(it won't) but to start analizing his facial expressions is stupid. This guy seems to really care, a quality hard to find these days, so lighten up and if by the end of June he is still at .200 then we should be concerned but not with facial expressions!
Lisa,
I too noticed his odd facial expression when at bat. I think he looks like a sad puppy. But he seems like such a nice guy and I saw his press conferences when he was in Boston and he has such a great personality. I have mixed emotions about him not coming to Boston because I like Youk on first and I still think Lowell is a solid, albeit aging, player. I think I have read that he always starts off slow. He, unfortunately, will come around for you.
What did Tino hit the first few months in '96? He eventually came around and was part of a championship team that year. Hopefully the same happens with Tex.
I like Tex. And his facial expressions just give me the impression that he's earnest about wanting to do well. He's been a revelation with the glove, and it's only a matter of time before he starts bashing the ball. For some reason, I'm just not worried about him at all and think it's way too soon to boo him.
Who really cares about his facial expressions?? It's such a non-issue...lol. As far as hitting I'm not worried in the least especially when Alex returns..the lineup will improve drastically. I have to give kudos to Swish who was technically the sub/bench player but has turned into a very important player for us. How long will it last? Who knows but he's come up big for us so far...
I was at the game last night and it was fun with the Yankee fans really into it. First the "kiddie" pitchers come through and now the "kiddie" position players won it last night...very cool.
As far as the booing of any player especially on your team ...classless & childish ...IMO
It's only May 1st...plenty of games to play and I'm looking forward to a terrific season ...
Peggy
Go Yankees 2009 !!!
I'm upset with Tex's performance thus far, but not with his effort or his attitude. I'd rather have a player who's trying hard because he wants to win and just isn't getting the job done -- Paul O'Neill was sometimes such a player -- than one who wasn't getting it done and didn't seem to care.
Jonmouk points out Tino Martinez's slow starts. Maybe it's a Yankee first basemen's thing. Jason Giambi didn't get off to great starts.
Then there was Saint Donald Arthur Himself, who batted in April as if he wanted us to forever remember Ralph Terry as Number 23. (Wouldn't have helped with me -- he won the Cy Young Award and Games 5 and 7 of the World Series in 1962, and I'm not THAT old.)
I've been to one game thus far, and I didn't boo Tex then. But I've been screaming at him through the TV (yeah, that works... ) since the Boston series last weekend. I know both feelings, the "You're a bum! An overpaid bum!" feeling and the "Hold on, he's still getting used to New York, give him a chance" feeling.
Some of the most popular Yankees didn't get off to great starts. Need I mention some I am old enough to remember? Reginald Martinez Jackson had a rough start that was made for a movie one day (and now has one). Ron Guidry took two years to get untracked. Goose Gossage was awful for the first two months he was in Pinstripes. But they worked it out, and became legends. (Yes, Reggie, I know, you brought your star with you, but it was New York that allowed you to become a legend.)
There is a flaw when you look at AVG ... look for OBP. The same thing happened with Swisher's brief slump. The guy at least gets on base via the walk. That helps the team.
In that respect, he gets more in base than Jeter, Molina and Berroa. Yes! More than Derek Jeter!
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