FLYGONNA NOW
Greg Bird has chance to soar in playoffs after rocky season
Mark Teixeira was a symptom of the aging Yankees’ problem in 2015 when they limped into the wild-card game and were blanked by the Astros. Now, as he enjoys retirement as an ESPN analyst, he may be a small part of the solution as they strut back into the postseason. Teixeira spent an afternoon with Greg Bird as the first baseman battled a mysterious foot injury that threatened to end his season. “We got coffee one day after his rehab and spent about an hour together,” Teixeira said. “Just kind of talking through his frustrations. And being someone that had been through everything in my career, I kind of told him to take the longterm view of this and understand that sometimes you are going to have these injuries you have to fix. “And understand you are no good to the team when you can’t play up to your ability and just make sure you are communicating to the team how you are feeling and how you are progressing.” The Yankees likely will play host to the Twins on Tuesday night, exclusively on ESPN, in the AL wildcard game, though they are spending the final week of the season desperately trying to chase down the Red Sox for the AL East crown. While Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez have been the two constants — minus one slump and one injury, respectively — Bird can be an Xfactor as the Yankees strive for their first postseason win in five years. The Twins are expected to start righty Ervin Santana in the wild-card game and the Indians, the Yankees’ likely ALDS foe, have an exclusively right-handed rota- tion, making Bird an everyday player in the early stages of the playoffs.
Bird has not been a worldbeater since his return, but has added a power lefty bat to the lineup (19-for-80, eight home runs, 23 RBIs) and a solid glove at first base since his late August return.
The position was a black hole as he stumbled through April with the injury and did not get much better as he sat on the disabled list for more than three months.
“No doubt [he can be that difference-maker]. The Yankees have had such a roller-coaster year in part because of injury and now they have their full team or close to it,” Teixeira said. “If you look at their roster right now, it’s pretty formidable. … The Birdy we see now is the one we all know and love. He’s a guy that when he is right has a pictureperfect swing for Yankee Stadium.
“That’s what we are seeing right now, that beautiful, left-handed swing that could lift the ball and he’s doing really well.”
Bird, Brett Gardner and Didi Gregorius will be the only three players left from the 2015 wild-card lineup that was overmatched by Dallas Keuchel. General manager Brian Cashman almost completely remade the team through trades and the farm system in the two years since.
“You have young guys who are making their mark in Judge and Sanchez,” Teixeira said when asked if he thought the Yankees were capable of making a deep run.
“You have younger veterans in Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro, who have played well, really well. Then in July they added four real quality players (Sonny Gray, Tommy Kahnle, Todd Frazier and David Robertson). Any team would kill to add four guys like that before the deadline and that was on top of a really talented roster.”