“I’m not going anywhere,” Teixeira told reporters at the Yankees’ Spring Training facilities in Tampa. “I’ve got that no-trade for a reason. I’m going to be buried in these pinstripes.”

For those still dreaming about such a trade, take it to your fantasy baseball leagues. The outrageous idea can be put to bed once and for all. And, no, it’s doubtful the Yankees make a run at Pujols if he were to become a free agent after this season.

Pujols for Teixeira is a way out for the Cardinals, who are running out of time in their quest to meet Pujols’ deadline for a new contract by the start of spring training.

Teixeira for Pujols also is a way out for the Yankees, who lost the offseason to the Red Sox and need a major splash to divert attention from their scary-thin rotation.

Heck, the deal even would be a way out for Pujols, who not only would get his money, but also would leave St. Louis with his reputation intact. His parting gift to the Cardinals would be Teixeira, a first baseman who is nearly at his level.

The Yankees could agree to pay Pujols $30 million per season as a condition of the trade; they’re already paying Teixeira $22.5 million annually, and they’re the geniuses who caused all this trouble by awarding the sun, moon and the stars to Alex Rodriguez, to the tune of $27.5 million a year.

Now, I can’t sit here and say I wouldn’t want for this fairy-taled trade to happen because Pujols is an all-world baseball player (and would help the team in April and May when Teixeira would be batting .159), but let’s get realistic and stop dreaming. A trade of this magnitude will not happen.

How wrong I was.

Cliff Lee pitched eight solid innings and an early mistake by Andy Pettitte allowed Texas to score two runs on a Josh Hamilton home run in the first inning and that’s all the Rangers needed in this one. Texas tacked on six runs in the 9th, but it didn’t matter as the Yankees were only able to muster two hits all day in the 8-0 Game 3 loss.

Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees a huge effort after giving up the Hamilton two-run home run in the 1st inning, but with Cliff Lee going, the Rangers were confident that two runs were all they needed.

The Yankees move on to Game 4 down 2-1 and they’ll give the ball to AJ Burnett to try to tie the series up at 2-2.

If Burnett is to have a successful day, the Yankees’ offense is going to have to wake up. Since they went off on the Rangers in the 8th inning of Game 1, they have scored two runs in 19 innings. Mark Teixeira is still without a hit this series and the Yankees struck out 13 times against Cliff Lee in the Game 3 loss.

If this series goes seven games, I’m not confident the Yankees will beat Cliff Lee in the winner-take-all Game 7, but you can’t look that far down the road yet. For the Yankees, they must take it one game at a time and it starts with AJ Burnett in a critical Game 4. It’s not likely that Burnett will match Lee’s Game 3 line, so he’ll need help from the offense in order to win this game.

On Saturday, Teixeira came up in the 3rd inning with a runner on and the Yankees down by two.  He promptly deposited Mets starter, Mike Pelfrey’s 2-1 pitch into the bullpen and the Yankees never looked back.  And, for at least one more day, Teixeira hasn’t looked back either.  On Sunday, Teixeira came up in a crucial, albeit early, situation.  Again, he delivered.  This time, the victim was Mets Ace Johna Santana.  This time, the damage was far worse because the bases were loaded.  Despite it being the only offense the Yankees generated on Sunday, it was more than enough for CC Sabathia, as the Yankees rolled to a Subway Series win that gave them sole possession of first place in the AL East.

Another sign that this current surge is no fluke is the level of competition Teixeira is teeing off on.  Halladay, Pelfry, and Santana aren’t names that you’re going to find at the back of a Major League rotation.  They are All Stars & possible future Hall of Famers.

Mark Teixeira’s bat will go a long way in determining how long the Yankees can hold on to their current position.  So, it is important to note that his two home runs this weekend came as both a left handed and right handed hitter.  His power and consistency are showing signs of life from both sides of the plate, which means teams will have a hard time matching up against him no matter who they send to the mound.

Many have said that the Yankees have made their way into a first place tie with Tampa in spite of Teixeira’s struggles.  Those pundits always seem to forget about the superlative defense that he brings to the diamond every day.  But there is no denying that it was Mark Teixeira’s bat that has powered the Yankees into first place on this Father’s Day.  If he is finally breaking out of his season long slump.  The rest of the American League might need to be put on notice.  Because with Rodriguez and Cano behind him, the Yankees may just redefine Murderers Row.

This article wasn’t supposed to be about starting pitching. It was supposed to be about how the Yankees are getting offensive contributions from different and sometimes unexpected guys each night. Going on a tangent about starting pitching shows you just how important it is. Yankee fans don’t need to be reminded of that, however, because they learned the importance of starting pitching throughout the years and saw it at it’s peak in the playoffs last year.

The Yankees’ bullpen hasn’t pitched very well, but the offense has given the bullpen a nice cushion in most games to work with. The source of offense has been a story for the Yankees thus far. With Nick Johnson and Mark Teixeira, the number two and three hitters in the lineup, batting under .200, and Teixeira and A-Rod hitting two home runs each so far, you would think the Yankees were having problems offensively. There is a reason they are still winning games at a high rate. They have actually gotten contributions from unusual sources and strong contributions from one man named Cano. 

Cano has been red-hot and for a few games he was hitting every single ball on the nose and driving them to right field. His nine home runs and 21 RBI can’t go overlooked as a reason they keep winning. It has also been another typical, strong season for the Captain. He is actually second on the team with 20 RBI.

The unusual contributions have come when Randy Winn hit a big three-run home run while replacing the injured Granderson, Cervelli having a big all around game against the Orioles, Thames batting over .400 and taking advantage of his playing time, and Gardner batting over .340 and heating up the base paths. Getting contributions from these guys while some of the big guns are struggling tells you a lot about a team. Somebody has been there to pick up the slack. They’ve been a great “team”. 

Granderson’s hurt, Vazquez is struggling, Posada’s banged up, Mo is stiff, Johnson’s not hitting, Tex is just waking up and A-Rod is having a power outage. This team should be hovering around .500. Instead, other guys are doing their jobs plus a little more, and the incredible starting pitching is allowing the Yankees to score four or five runs and win games. A few years ago they had to score seven or eight runs to win games. That’s no longer the case with the pitching staff the Yankees have today.

But the good vibes were quelled quickly on Tuesday as the bats fell silent and the bullpen couldn’t piggyback on a gutsy outing by Phil Hughes, as the Yankees aided the Orioles in attaining their first home win of the season.

Concern spread across the Empire that the teams quick start may be grinding to a halt and that their bullpen, an incredible advantage in 2009, was showing signs of being very human. But that all changed in less than twenty-four hours. The Yankees teed off on Oriole’s starter Jeremy Gthrie. What was most impressive was that, of the eight runs scored, the 3-4 combo of Teixeira and Rodriguez accounted for only one of them, a sac-fly by A-rod.

On the hill, CC Sabathia showed why he is an ace by holding the Orioles to 3 runs in 7.2 innings. And just like that, the Yankees were back to their winning ways. That momentum carried over into Thursday night as AJ Burnett hurled a gem shutting out the Orioles with 8 innings of 3 hit ball before Rivera came on in the 9th to pitch in a non-save situation.

The offense, while quieter than Wednesday, was led by Robinson Cano, the American League’s leading hitter. His two home run performance left him batting a torrid .407. It is Cano who is carrying both the power and run production of the big bats in the middle of the Yankees line up. He his as much responsible for their strong start out of the gate as is the starting staff.

With Texeira’s typically slow start and A-Rod not quite finding his power swing yet. It is Cano who is making opposing pitchers pay. It is unlikey that he will hit .400 for year, but when Teixeira & A-Rod do turn it on. It will be an impressive display of power in the heart of the Yankees lineup.

The pitching staff also seemed to have found it’s grove after it suffered a hiccup out west. Despite the no-Decision, Phil Hughes was brilliant on a night when it appeared he didn’t have his best stuff. CC and AJ followed suit with dominating performances. So, the Yankees head home after the 9 game trip in just about the same shape they left, firing on almost all cylinders.