Ten games into the 2010 season, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has only three hits (and ten walks) in 36 at bats (.083 average).
Despite his struggles, Teixeira is trying to maintain a positive attitude.
"The competitor in you, you never accept failure. You never like not getting hits. But at the same time, I stick with my plan and I know that it's all about the team," Teixeira said, per Mark Hale of the New York Post. "And we're 7-3 right now. The team's doing great."
It's not uncommon for Teixeira to get off to slow starts. There are three things that seem certain in the month of April: taxes, showers and a slow start for Tex.
His April (through Friday's game) career .242 average, 22 home runs and 78 runs batted in are by far his lowest totals for any month. The next lowest splits are .277 (June), 39 HRs (May) and 119 RBI (July), respectively.
That said, Teixeira was hitting only .200 at the end of April 2009 with three home runs and ten runs batted in. He finished the season with a .292 average, 39 home runs and 122 runs batted in and in second place (behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer) in AL MVP voting.
If Teixeira is on your fantasy team, it's way too early to be concerned considering his typical slow starts, enormous skills, the great lineup around him and his home ballpark.
If he's not on your team, however, consider making a buy-low offer to the owner that does and reap the benefits. Hurry up while values are deflated.
