Teixeira not bothered by another slow start

Mark Teixeira stood in the batter's box, poised to bring the Stadium crowd to its feet.

With two runners on base and the Yankees trailing by three runs, he could have buoyed the eighth-inning rally and resurrected his shrinking batting average in the process.

Instead, the first baseman grounded out to third, capping an 0-for-4 afternoon that extended another one of his dismal springs.

Teixeira's batting average stands at .097 (3-for-31) - the worst start of his eight-year career.

Yet he said he remains unfazed by his hitting woes and is confident his touch at the plate will return - just as it has each of the last seven years.

"Unfortunately, I've been in this position a lot," said Teixeira, who started this season 0-for-17. Teixeira, a lifetime .289 hitter, has a career average of .243 in April/March.

"Every game is new. It's all about the wins and losses and what happens yesterday or today doesn't affect anything that happens tomorrow. So, we have a chance to win the series tomorrow and I'm going to do my best to help the team win."

His breakout game against Tampa Bay Saturday - a three-hit affair - was supposed to jump-start the Yankees' $180-million man toward a productive Spring. But he followed that with another 0-for-4 performance against the Rays the next day.

Manager Joe Girardi said his only worry is that Teixeira will try to do too much at the plate.

"Sometimes frustration sets in a little bit," Girardi said of Teixeira, who has been hitless in seven of the Yankees' eight games. "I mean, if there's any concern about Tex, it's that he starts trying too hard and doesn't let it happen, because it's going to happen."

Teixeira's inefficiency at the plate in April has become as predictable as chilly day games in Spring. But for all his familiarity with this curse of sorts, he has no explanation for it, nor does he see any reason to change his approach in the batter's box.

"I've tried everything," he said. "But I don't want to start changing stuff too much, because . . . whatever struggles come early on, it turns around and it turns around really well. So I'm just going to stick with my plan and try to go out there and do the job."

Having to face Angels starter Joel Piñeiro Wednesday also didn't help. The righthander gave up only one run on five hits, walked none and struck out seven in seven innings.

"He's a lot different," Teixeira said of Piñeiro, whom he last faced in 2007. "He's a sinkerballer now. We knew that going in, but until you see it you don't appreciate it."