NEW YORK (AP) – Mark Teixeira isn’t bitter about Boston’s little Twitter.

Just after the Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-3 Thursday night to improve to 8-0 against New York this season, Boston owner John Henry wrote on Twitter: “The MT curse?”

“I laughed. It’s just silly. It really is,” Teixeira said Friday. “We talked to probably 10 or 12 teams this offseason. If 11 owners want to take their shots at me, that’s fine. They can say whatever they want. but there’s no reason for me to, you know, get into any war of words with a 70-some-year-old man. it doesn’t make any sense.”

Henry, who turns 60 in September, said Friday the posting was “purely entertainment.”

Back when Teixeira was a free agent in mid-December, Henry and other Red Sox officials met with the first baseman in the Dallas area. After the meeting, Henry said Boston had been outbid, which some interpreted as calling a bluff by Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras.

The following week, Teixeira agreed to a $180 million, eight-year contract with the Yankees.

“I was completely up front with everybody. I was completely honest with everybody,” Teixeira said. “This is a business, guys. Everyone knows the Yankees paid the most. This is a great place to play. This is the greatest organization in the history of baseball. If somebody has a problem with the decision I made because it was a family decision and a business decision, they can have their opinions. That’s fine. I made the best decision for me, and it’s worked out.”

Even with a slow start, Teixeira entered Friday with a .289 batting average, was tied for the AL lead with 19 homers and had 52 RBIs.

“I’m really glad he’s here and he’s not up a little further north,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s been a big part of our success, what he’s done, whether it’s been defensively or just his attitude or taking a guy out at second. We all know what he’s done with the bat. It’s kind of hard to imagine where we are without him.”

Teixeira joked about getting tweaked on Twitter, saying “everyone that I want to talk to, I have their phone number.”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I love playing this game. You know, if I’ve offended anybody from the time I was 18 years old to now, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I think it’s a little silly. It’s actually very silly.”

Notes: The Yankees have a new, real wrestling belt to hand out, given to CC Sabathia by Jerry “The King” Lawler. It replaces the toy belt that has been going to the star of the game. Sabathia said Lawler told him he will give him another real belt, one with the Yankees logo. … LF Johnny Damon was held out of the Yankees starting lineup because he told the team Thursday his eyes had been “fluttering,” according to Girardi. … Xavier Nady, on the disabled list since April 16 due to a partial ligament tear in his right elbow threw from 125 feet Thursday and, feeling a little sore, from 75 Friday. There’s still no timetable for him to come off the DL, but Girardi thinks it can be soon. Nady plans to return to the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., next week for more rehabilitation.

AP-ES-06-12-09 1934EDT