Playing 1B for the NY Yankees is becoming a SORE subject. On March 24th, less than one week from the start of the 2018 season, Greg Bird was scratched from the starting line-up in a split-squad road game vs. Atlanta with a sore right foot. He had an initial exam by team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Murphy and later underwent CT & MRI exams which revealed inflammation in Bird’s right foot and he will be evaluated by a specialist in NY on Monday. The right foot is the same area where the 25 year old had right ankle surgery last July to remove an excess bone growth. Last Spring Training down in Florida, Greg Bird tore-up the grapefruit league hitting .451 BA with 8 homers, but after being on fire at the plate all March, in the final ST game before starting the 2017 regular season, he fouled a ball off his ankle. The initial diagnosis was a bone bruise, but after a horrendous April (.100 BA, 1 HR) he was placed on the DL on May 2nd. He was re-examined, and it was discovered that Bird indeed had a broken bone which was surgically removed in July. Bird returned in late August and played himself into shape in September and was the teams most consistent hitter in October, highlighted by the dramatic solo HR off Andrew Miller to keep the Yankees playoffs hope alive with a 1-0 game 3 win in the ALDS vs Cleveland. The Yankees hoped that the issue was behind them and that this year Greg Bird would be healthy and play a full season. But now there is concern. GM Brian Cashman said “I’m worried about it to be honest, I’m not sure what we’re dealing with, but when Greg can’t tee it up, it’s a problem for us because obviously he is a vital member of our organization.”Cashman is totally justified to be concerned,& speaking of “TEE it up”..
BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH:
Let’s recap.
March 2017- Bird fouls a ball off his right foot in the last spring training game
March 2018- Bird is pulled from the line-up in the last week of ST due to right foot soreness
—————–Let’s go further back. Let’s go back 6 years.
March 2013- Mark Teixeira hurt his wrist while HITTING OFF A TEE in an indoor cage during pre-game warm-ups with team USA at the WBC. Initially it was only a strain, but all Yankee fans know that it turned out to be a partially torn tendon sheath in his right wrist, and it was the beginning of a downward spiral in Teixeira’s career.
So if Greg Bird is not ready to start the season, Neil Walker could be playing 1B. When the Yankees signed Walker they mentioned one reason for their interest is because he can play 1B. I just looked up his career numbers. Neil Walker has started exactly 1,000 MLB games. He has started only 8 games at 1B.
Walker would be added to a very long list of those that played 1B for the Yankees since 2013. The list is too long to name everyone but when you think back to 2013 and remember Cashman saying they might try Ichiro or Alfonso Soriano at 1B when Tex went down, before turning to Overbay, Reynolds & who could forget Travis Ishikawa, you realize how long 1B has been unsettled. Through the years the Yankees have experimented with Kelly Johnson, A-Rod, Frankie Cervelli, Brian McCann. Last year R Refsnyder, T Austin, D Ackley, I Davis, B Butler, A Romine, C Parmalee, C Carter, C Headley, G Cooper, M Holliday, Ji Choi, & and oh yeah Greg Bird.
SORE SPOT:
If Bird can’t start the season I would give Tyler Austin the opportunity to play. He had a good ST hitting 4 HRs (tied for 2nd most on the team) but more importantly has experience playing 1B. The 8 career games that Walker has started at that position is not enough experience IMO
Hopefully the inflammation in Greg Bird’s foot is only a short term set-back because if not, 1B will continue to be a huge….SORE SPOT for the NY Yankees and their die-hard fans.
