Yankees' Mark Teixeira Struggles to Control Cough BALTIMORE - A disappointed Mark Teixeira said Monday that his persistent and almost debilitating cough had not improved the way he had hoped, and that he was at a loss trying to figure out how to get rid of it. "It's very frustrating," Teixeira said. I though we had taken care of it, but it hasn't gotten any better. Despite the problem, Teixeira has not missed a game since April 17. But his batting average was only .223 going into Monday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles. Teixeira said he had no choice but to continue to play through the illness, but Manager Joe Girardi said he might give him a day off on the Yankees" four-game trip to Baltimore and Toronto. "I gave him the one day off when he came in and looked really cruddy," Girardi said. I haven't seen that lately. He just looked like he hadn't slept. If he looks like that again, I'll probably give him another day. Teixeira has had the cough for more than a month, ever since the team's welcome home dinner in New York on April 9. He has taken a series of medications, including antibiotics and most recently the steroid prednisone, which he thought would finally cure it. He had a series of tests performed last Tuesday at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital in Manhattan, including a CT scan, a lung test and a breathing test. He was told nothing serious was discovered, which he found to be a great relief. He was found to have a severe case of congestion in his bronchial passageways and was told the prednisone would hopefully take effect within a week. But seven days later, Teixeira's condition has not improved, and may in fact have gotten worse. "Every time I run, it comes up and I have one of my episodes," he said. When Raul Ibanez hit his dramatic three-run homer Friday night, television cameras showed Teixeira barely able to congratulate him at the plate because he was coughing so hard. Despite the condition, Girardi said he had seen some indications that Teixeira might be breaking out of his slump. He was 4 for 12 in his previous three games and Girardi said his swing looked better. But he had not driven in a run in five games, and since he hit two home runs in Boston on April 21, he has hit .169 with one home run and six R.B.I. in 19 games. "We know he's capable of doing more, and I think we'll see it," Girardi said. I think it's coming, I really believe that. According to Girardi, part of the issue may be that the first month of the season has typically been Teixeira's worst. He has a career .238 batting average in the season's opening month, and his 33 home runs in March and April are also the fewest. May has been his third-worst month for batting average at .284. He has hit .266 in June. "It's too early," Girardi said. We've seen these slow starts from Mark. Most years we've talked about this. I think he's swinging the bat a little bit better, and I hope it continues when he gets back to full strength. Pettitte's Day After Andy Pettitte played catch in the drizzle at Camden Yards and said he felt good after his first major league game since 2010. "I'm on one piece, y'all," he told reporters. Pettitte allowed four runs in six and a third innings and took the loss in Seattle's 6-2 victory Sunday. He said he was disappointed in his ability to make adjustments. He kept throwing cutters inside to right-handed batters, despite suggestions otherwise from catcher Russell Martin, and he was punished for it. "After the game I was saying, "Russ, slap me upside the head," " he said. "//"You wanted me to go slow, and I didn't go slow." I was shaking him off and stuff like that on pitches. Now that he has joined the Yankees again, Pettitte envisions that his pitching will benefit from the stability of his being with one team rather than several. His rehabilitation included starts for four minor league teams in various cities, and was interrupted for two days of testimony in Washington for the Roger Clemens perjury trial. "That was crazy," Pettitte said of his vagabond month. "That was, "Lord, keep me healthy, please." I was flying all over the place. I was worried about my legs, I was worried about staying loose. I just wanted to stay healthy. During that stretch I wasn't able to get my body taken care of.