Mark Teixeira rips umps, hurts calf

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BALTIMORE -- New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira reinjured his left calf sprinting to first base on a game-ending double play that left the tying run at third in the Yankees' 5-4 loss to the Orioles on Friday.

After watching replays that clearly showed his head-first slide beat the relay, Teixeira questioned the umpire crews' integrity.

“

Sometimes you wonder if the umpires are just trying to get out of there. They don't want you to make a comeback. They want to go home because those were terrible calls. It is what it is. We are out there fighting. I'm out there playing on one leg. I wish it had gone my way.

” -- Mark Teixeira

"Sometimes you wonder if the umpires are just trying to get out of there," said Teixeira, who had argued a strike three call in the eighth. "They don't want you to make a comeback. They want to go home because those were terrible calls. It is what it is. We are out there fighting. I'm out there playing on one leg. I wish it had gone my way."

Teixeira already had argued with home-plate umpire Cory Blaser in the eighth when he thought a called third strike on a 3-2 pitch was "five or six inches outside."

After first-base umpire Jerry Meals called him out to end the game, Teixeira said he told him, "You got me again."

"I'm probably going to get fined," Teixeira said. "But I don't care, really. I'm out there fighting. We are out there fighting. When you are battling like we are battling and they can't get a call right, that pisses you off. It really does."

Teixeira had missed the previous 10 games before returning Saturday from his calf strain. He said he is "most likely" out of Sunday's game. Teixeira estimated he is not "even close" to 100 percent and did not know how much time he would miss. The Yankees are off on Monday.

"I don't want to make any predictions," he said. "I probably won't be in there (Sunday)."

He said he only slid head-first because he was forced to go all out to try to beat the relay.

"I don't think I've ever dove into first base in my life," Teixeira said. "I couldn't get there running. I did my best. I got there, but the call didn't go our way."

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Teixeira wasn't the only Yankee who criticized the umpires Saturday. Manager Joe Girardi didn't hide his feelings, either.

"He was clearly safe," Girardi said. "Jerry missed it. You hate to lose a game that way, but he missed it."

"I didn't feel we lost the game, I feel we got cheated out of it," Yankees catcher Russell Martin said. "Once again, it is part of the game of baseball. Umpires are human. They are going to make mistakes."

Yankees president Randy Levine called an impromptu teleconference with reporters, but then canceled. According to a team spokesman, Levine may make a statement or talk with the media Sunday.

With the loss, the Yankees and Orioles are tied again for first place in the AL East.

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Andrew Marchand

ESPNNewYork.com

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Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years at the New York Post. Follow Andrew on Twitter »