Pain persistent, but Tex hopes to avoid DL

NEW YORK -- Mark Teixeira said that it was "very painful" to attempt hitting off a tee and that he is not able to correctly grip a bat, but the Yankees' first baseman is hopeful that he will be able to avoid the disabled list.

Teixeira sustained a laceration to his left pinky finger in Wednesday's 5-1 victory over the Tigers, requiring three stitches. He said the cut is healing, but he is still swinging at only about 50 percent.

"The joint is really, really sore, and so whether it was sprained or bruised, we're not sure exactly," Teixeira said. "But the joint is really sore. The cut, you just wrap it up and you play. The joint, I can't grip the bat."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Teixeira took some light batting practice in the underground cages on Saturday and reported some improvement.

"He felt better today; he took swings and felt better, so hopefully it's not much longer with him and we'll just take it day by day," Girardi said.

Teixeira said that swinging would affect him more from the right side of the plate. Girardi said that if it appears that Teixeira would be out for six to seven days, the Yankees would give thought to placing him on the DL.

"Right now, it's working, what we're doing," Girardi said. "But we'll just wait and see."