Teixeira too sick to play

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This article was published 20/05/2012 (5242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira was held out of the New York Yankees’ lineup again Saturday, given another day off to try and shake the nasty cough that’s been bothering him all season.

The all-star first baseman has been plagued by a lingering cough since early April and has tried just about everything to get rid of it. He saw a chest specialist, who assured him it’s nothing to be worried about, and was given medicine that didn’t seem to work.

“I’ve seen every doctor that’s out there,” Teixeira said Saturday morning, sounding hoarse and a little bit tired. “We’ve tried everything. That’s why rest is like the last effort here. I’ve taken more medicine than I’d like to, so I think we’re done with that option. Rest is kind of the final straw here for us.”

Hoping consecutive days off will help, the Yankees sat Teixeira on Friday night against Cincinnati and left him out of the lineup again Saturday in a 6-5 loss. New York manager Joe Girardi said he might give the switch-hitter another day off today, too.

“It physically has to wear on him and mentally has to wear on him, and I’m just trying something different to get rid of it,” Girardi said. “It’s difficult. He wants to be out there. Tex is a ballplayer who wants to play every day. But I just said, you know what Tex, watching what you’re going through, I just don’t think a day is enough. So let’s try something else and if we can’t get rid of it with two or three days off, well we know that the rest isn’t necessarily going to help and we’re going to have to find some other way.”

Teixeira is typically a slow starter, and this season has been no different. He was hitting .228 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 37 games.

Nick Swisher, who normally plays right field, replaced Teixeira at first base for the second straight game Saturday. Raul Ibanez was in right field and Dewayne Wise in left.

Teixeira planned to limit his activity Saturday to a little bit of stretching and he was set to watch the game from the dugout again. But he doesn’t like to sit out.

“It’s not easy, but you know you have to sometimes take care of yourself and try to get better because it’s a long season and I want to make sure I’m good for the long run,” he said.

If this extended rest doesn’t do the trick, the slugger said he’ll simply adapt.

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“I’ve been fighting through it for over a month, so I’ll be able to do it again,” Teixeira said.

When he was examined by the chest specialist earlier this month, Teixeira was told he had severely inflamed airways and was given medicine that he hoped would alleviate the problem within a week or so.

It didn’t work. Teixeira is still having a hard time breathing when he runs around, and the choking cough has sapped his energy and strength.

— The Associated Press