Teixeira's patient, calm approach has paid off

BOSTON - It's not a case of Mark Teixeira anticipating bad Aprils and looking at them almost nonchalantly.

"No, I don't accept it, I don't expect it, I don't like it," Teixeira said. "But at the same time I don't want to say, hey [hitting coach] Kevin Long, let's try a whole new stance, let's try to guess at every pitch. I've always had the same approach my entire career and I don't ever want to get away from that."

And so, a typical April played out for Teixeira this season and, if the first week of this month is any indication, a typical May is following.

Teixeira went 4-for-6, including three home runs, Saturday to bring his average to .207, the first time he has been above .200 all season. After hitting .136 in April, Teixeira is hitting .400 with a .471 OBP.

"This game will humble you, and I was humbled the first few weeks of the season," Teixeira said. "I think the last week or two it's been feeling better."

After hitting .200 last April, Teixeira hit .330 in May on his way to hitting .292 with 39 homers and 122 RBIs. Asked why almost every season of his professional career has gone this way, he smiled at the group of reporters gathered by his locker after Saturday's game.

"If I knew,'' he said, "we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Teixeira said that early in his career, long slumps bothered him, but he's well beyond that now.

"No, because I've been in this position before and I feel good," he said. "That's the thing. If I was hurt, if my bat started getting slow, I'd start saying, 'Oh, my goodness, what's going on here?' But I felt good. It just wasn't happening for me."

Long said that aside from his talent, Teixeira's temperament is what most impresses him.

"The thing about Mark that I really have to commend him on is his professionalism," Long said before last night's game. "I swear to God, you wouldn't know if he was hitting .130 or .350. It's just that subtle demeanor that he has - coming to the field every day and being the same guy."

Long said that's not always the case with major-leaguers.

"When a guy starts to struggle, he'll start beating himself up and he'll start wanting to make drastic changes," Long said. "In this case, a drastic change is not the best answer, and Mark realizes that, and I think I do, too, from being with him a couple years."

Long said that watching Teixeira have similar problems in 2009 helped him work with the first baseman this season.

"It helped me that we had been through it the year before," Long said. "I just really felt deep down in my heart is was going to be one swing here or one good game here or there and we were going to be right back on pace."

For Teixeira, experiencing the lengthy slump was made easier by the team's success. Unlike last year, when his slump coincided with a slow start by the team, the Yankees burst from the gate this season.

"If we were in last place and I was leading the league in hitting and home runs, I wouldn't be happy," Teixeira said. "It's all about wins and losses for us. We're playing great baseball. When one guy doesn't do the job, the next guy comes and picks him up, and we've been doing that all season."

And as is usually the case, Teixeira is starting to do it in May.