“If they’re playing a big shift, I might lay some bunts down this year,” Mark Teixeira told Bryan Hock of  MLB.com. “I’ve been so against it my entire career, [but] I might lay down a few bunts. If I can beat the shift that way, that’s important.”

Bunting is all fine and good, but the real change is whether he and Hitting Coach Kevin Long can work together to rediscover the stroke that made Teixeira one of the best first basemen in baseball.

I called for Teixeira to be the MVP in ’09 due to his impact on both sides of the ball. The Yankees infield was clearly upgraded defensively with his presence, and offensively he brought a more complete package than his predecessor, Jason Giambi. Teixeira led the league in home runs, RBI, and total bases that season. He also won the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and finished second to Joe Mauer in the MVP race.

Since then, Teixeira has produced two of the worst seasons of his career, despite maintaining healthy home run and RBI totals. His season was full of extreme peaks and valleys, and you never felt he fully was “locked in” for any extended stretch. This has to change in 2012 in order for the Yankees to continue to be one of the better offensive teams in the American League.

Despite scoring the second-most runs in baseball, the Yankees went through some valleys during the 2011 season. Part of it was due to the early season struggles of Derek Jeter, as well as losing A-Rod for nearly two months. One of the main reasons was very few players outside of Granderson and Cano produced up to expectations on a consistent basis. When you look at their current lineup, for a team to that is expected to be powerful offensively, there is a whole lot of question marks.

Jeter, Granderson, Cano, A-Rod, and Teixeira make up the top five of the Yankees order. Due to age and injury respectively, I consider Jeter and A-Rod question marks. It would be foolish to count on either to return to their historic forms.

Curtis Granderson had a huge year versus LHP thanks to his work with Long, but I don’t want to pencil him in for another MVP-type season until I see him do it again. Outside of ’11, Granderson was a very good player with extreme platoon splits – In order words, not someone you can count on.

Nick Swisher? I don’t think Swisher is the underachiever he was in Chicago, however he’s come up small during each postseason. He’s also shown a penchant for streakiness throughout the season. I also sometimes wonder if baseball is still his priority or is he more interested in developing a brand. You can’t rely on Swisher as a core offensive player. He is better suited to wreck games in the 7 spot or lower.

The bottom of the order has two players – Martin and Gardner- who are in the lineup for their defense and, as of this writing, there is no full-time Designated Hitter. Even if they obtain a left handed complement to Andruw Jones, I don’t think that scenario guarantees specific production. This might be one of the softer bottom-third’s we have seen here in years.

Right now, you can argue that Robinson Cano is the Yankees only consistent hitter. He’s developed into a tremendous player, but it’s simply not enough. Unlike prior years, pitchers can navigate the Yankees lineup. We saw Detroit do it 3 of 5 games this past October.

The Yankees pitching, on paper, is better. But last year’s questionable staff wasn’t the issue in the postseason; it was the offense.

If Mark Teixeira can return to the form we saw in 2009 it will go a long way to establishing a solid core in the middle of the order. Rodriguez will be his old self some of the time, but there needs to be someone other than Cano and Granderson that will be there every day.

That burden falls on Mark Teixeira. Whether it’s Yankee Stadium, mechanics or health, he needs to figure out a way to return to his prior form. I do know one thing; it won’t be due to him laying down a few bunts against the shift.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: 2012 Yankees Lineup, Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees