New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira says he will not waive his full no-trade clause under any circumstances, trying to put to rest any further speculation that he could be dealt for the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols.I always thought any Pujols to the Yanks talk was pointless, this just verifies that.
"I'm not going anywhere," Teixeira said as Yankees position players reported on Saturday. "I got that no-trade for a reason. I'm going to be buried in these pinstripes. You know what, I would be disappointed if the fans of New York weren't looking to make our team better, but they've just got to know I'm not leaving."
ESPNNewYork.com, citing a baseball official, reported earlier this week the Yankees would not explore a trade for Pujols.
Tex also had this to say about the upcoming season:
"We're the underdogs this year," Teixeira said. "I love it. No one is picking us right now. Everyone in here should be looking forward to winning a championship. When you put on the pinstripes that is exactly what your goal should be every year. I think everyone understands that just because the public may not be picking us it doesn't mean we don't believe it in here."
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"We didn't win last year," Teixeira said. "We played terrible in the playoffs. We didn't win the division. Our goal is to win the division and we have to re-prove ourselves this year, which is going to be fun for all of us.
"No one is going to feel sorry for us. No one is going to say, 'Poor Yankees. They didn't get this guy. They didn't get that guy. They didn't win a World Series. They always have a bull's-eye on their back.' We should. We should expect to win every single year ... We are the gold standard in baseball and we have to live up to that."
