Bird despite deep slump

miserable start to his 2016 season, hitting .150 with no extra-base hits in April. He’s no stranger to the pressure Bird is facing at this juncture. And he expects his younger teammate to find his stroke soon.

“You never want to see a guy get off to a tough start, especially with the spring training that he had,” Headley said. “He got a little banged up, and the timing gets off. But I don’t worry about him. He’s going to hit. We just got to keep running him out there and keep getting him at-bats. He’s going to figure it out.” think the more that I’ve been here, Joe (Girardi has) given me a little bit more freedom, giving me some green lights to run. And when I have the opportunity and the numbers are right, I’m going to do it.”

In recent years, the Yankees have been hindered on the base paths because of a roster littered with aging veterans. But with likes of Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann no longer with the club, Girardi has the freedom to play younger and more athletics players. “I’ve never wanted our club not to be aggressive on the bases,” the Yankee manager said. “But sometimes with the people that you have, they’re not going to steal a lot of bases in a sense. So Gardy has done a good job. Ells has done a good job. Headley has done a good job. So I told our guys, ‘Whenever you can get an extra base, get that extra base.’ That’s the bottom line, and I’ve been saying that from Day 1. But sometimes your teams are more constructed to be more aggressive on the bases.” ... Matt Holliday was scratched from the Yankees lineup about an hour and half before first pitch Saturday after he experienced lower back stiffness.