Slumpdog no more, call him MVP Mark!

In the beginning of the season Mark Texiera was having his difficulties donning his new Yankee Pinstripes and fitting in with his new surrounding in the big city. Nothing was going well for Mark, every time Texiera was up with runners on, or with the game on the line, he would simply fail miserably. A month into the season and his numbers were below the famous Mendoza line. The Boos were a constant at the new Yankee Stadium, as the fans were letting him know this is New York. But then things would soon start to change for Mark, so after his abysmal 1st month of the season, Texiera would get some company and some protection in the Yankee lineup.
All it took for Mark Texiera to FINALLY get him game going was the arrival of Alex Rodriguez who had just served his time from baseball steroid probation.
The arrival of A-ROD back in the Yankee lineup, prove to be just what Texiera needed to help alleviate some media pressure that was surely on his case every day as he was the new man on the block. Without A-ROD in the beginning of the season Texiera was below the mendoza line, he was failing in every pressure situation, at the time it was to much. Thank GOD for A-ROD if you're Mark Texiera. In his last 27 games, just the time when A-ROD had homered in his 1st at-bat of the season, Texiera is hitting 378, with 13 homeruns, and 37 RBI's.

The Yankees paid Texiera a whopping $180 million for the next 8 years, and I don't think giving anyone that kind of money for that many years is a good idea, but for the moment the Yankees have a guy they can call the team MVP. Not only is he red hot with the lumber, but is glove work has been gold glove caliber all the way. The big guy has been cat like at 1st base, and he has seemingly single handily solidify the Yankee defense who recently broke a all time record for most games without committing an error as a team.
When he was going bad I joked about Texiera, calling him the Slump dog Millionaire for his big contract and his missed opportunities, that at a time when the Yankees were sputtering as a team, and Yankee Land was in early panic. In the beginning of the season when the Yankees had just signed Texiera, I was comparing Texiera's arrival to New York and his supposedly great glove play to Tino Martinez and Don Mattingly.
After one month of seeing Texiera do his thing at 1B, and it clear that he is better then Tino ever was as a defensive wizard, and he is also a more potent hitter then Tino. As for the Mattingly & Texiera comparison, Mattingly is ""Donnie Baseball"" to me, a better clutch hitter, maybe, but glovewise Texiera is a right handed Don Mattingly, there seems to be no weaknest here. It is still early in the season to think that Texiera can carry on at this pace, but if this is any indicator of what he can do for the Yankees, then Brain Cashman has gotten this one right.
If Mark Texiera can give the Yankees at least, 6 solid seasons of allstar baseball, then the signing of Mark Texiera was right move for the Yankees all the way.
I am never a bigfan of giving players long deals like the one the Yanks gave Texiera simply because guys tend to take it easy after receiving the big contract, and then there is the injuries factor, not only are you paying the guy big time money, but there is always a big risk when paying someone guarantee money because what if he gets seriuosly hurt, or imagine if he starts to break down within the 1 couple of years? you are then left with damage goods and you have to pay him while finding someone else to play his position, ouch. But if all goes well, the Yankees have themselves a REAL stud.