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