Once word got out that legendary Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken liked to bust slumps by swatting balls off a battingtee as far as he could, for instance, every high-school team suddenly owned a tee.
New York 1B Mark Teixeira (wrist) hit several long homers on curveballs off a pitching machine at the Yankees' minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. 3B Alex Rodriguez, coming back from hip surgery in January, is hitting off a tee and swinging at soft toss flips in a batting cage as he wraps up his second week of baseball activities.