Monday, August 17, 2015

ICYMI: My Early Impressions of Greg Bird


Greg Bird was called up to the New York Yankees on Thursday to give the big league club a true backup at the first base position. Manager Joe Girardi wasted no time in throwing Bird into the fire as he started his first game at first base and batted seventh in the lineup. The left-handed Bird did not start against the left-handed pitcher David Price yesterday but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him give Alex Rodriguez a day off today inside the Rogers Centre. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so let’s see how many words I can come up with after watching him play live and take at bats for nine innings against the Cleveland Indians.


Bird did not look flustered or bothered by the bright lights of the big leagues, not at the plate and not in the field. Bird was actually drafted out of High School as a catcher and back issues forced him to play more first base, not to mention the fact that he is a big stature kind of guy, but you couldn’t tell it as he looked comfortable and natural at first base. Now he wasn’t forced to make some of the line drive stops, diving attempts or wasn’t forced to pick some of the balls out of the dirt that Mark Teixeira has this season but he looked fluid and natural at the position. His foot work and mechanics were where you want them to be and he’s a big target for the other infielders to throw at, which never hurts.


Bird finished the day 0-5 but he hit the ball hard enough to get at least two, possibly three, hits on the night. Bird impressed me with his batters eye and ability to take pitches. When Bird did swing he connected with solid contact and used all fields when he did, something that cannot be taught easily in my opinion. His left-handed swing should produce 20 home run power over the course of a season inside Yankee Stadium and around a .285 - .300 average in my opinion.


Bird impressed me, he really did. I can now see at least a glimpse of why the Yankees made him virtually untouchable at this year’s July 31st trading deadline. A picture is worth a thousand words but that game was only worth 399, I need to step my game up.

2 comments:

  1. Bird, looked good in all aspects of his game, "hit the ball hard and often and good things will happen", so they say. I'd like to see him make a good reason for keeping him around, should be interesting.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)