Oh, and athletes are notoriously awful fathers..I think that is well established by this point?

No more rhymes now I mean it!

bottomline: I don’t think Tex’s responsibility to play as often as possible is more important than his responsibility to be with his family for a few days under these circumstances.

Defining Tex’ job responsibilities so narrowly is misleading. The Yankees don’t pay Tex to fill a position. They Pay him to be among the best players in the game. It’s Tex’ responsibility to be on the field as much as possible.

Personally, I think Teixeira should have played last night, again assuming there were no complications from the delivery. I don’t think taking an extra day is an egregious action, especially because the Yankees seemed more than willing to give it to him, but I do think his responsibility to the team is not irrelevant.

As for the replacement matching his production, I think it’s unreasonable to expect that. You’re lucky if your bench players can duplicate your starters, but you can’t expect that. Tex’s job responsibilities were not left unattended. Someone attended to them. When a ball was hit or thrown to first base, there was someone there to catch it. If they didn’t, that’s not Tex’s responsibility. Someone batted 3rd in his absence. Whether they produced in that spot is not his responsibility while he’s away.

As for Tex’ job responsibilities being left unattended, I would submit they were, to the extent that the Yankees do not have a replacement that comes close to matching his production.

[27] It’s great to be able to witness the birth of your child, but being a Father is much more than that. If anything, being a Father mean being there as your child grows up. Unfortunately for most athletes, that’s impossible to do. Are we suggesting that athletes are bad fathers? Or does simply witnessing the birth fulfill their obligation?

The watching my house argument doesn’t work because a.) you would have anticipated the possibility that the birth would have happened during that week, and would have made contingency plans and b.) it’s not like Tex’s job responsibilities were left unattended.

Nice read with the wrap-up. Thanks. And, as a newbie to the Banter, I think it is a great place for fans of a certain ilk to gather. Maybe to some of the founding fathers and mothers interest has declined, but I think it is fabulous, and cannot wait until the playoffs (hopefully) to be covered on the Banter.

Also, Tex did get a day off. He was there for the birth of his child. The day in question is the second day off. I think it would be very reasonable for the Yankees to have asked that he return yesterday (assuming mother and child were doing well). Having said that, I have no problem with Tex taking the extra day if the Yankees will give it to him.

Sure, family is the most important thing, but that doesn’t mean other commitments stop being meaningful. Otherwise, you could take your argument to the extreme and say Tex is so rich, he should just retire and spend every moment of every day with his children.

Teix is in a privileged position (one that he has earned, to be sure): he works in a business in which he does not have to go the office six months out of the year (though when he works, he does have a grueling travel schedule). He is paid handsomely; when he travels for business it is on a charter flight; he stays in nice hotels.

While I don’t think it is unreasonable for him to take a couple days off to be with his wife, I also don’t see it as unreasonable to expect him to make a concerted effort to get back to the team as soon as possible.

Great, great win last night.