Time for Bird to Fly the Coop

Not that I have a whole lot of faith in Aaron Boone these days or trust that he has the slightest bit of common sense but, even he doesn’t sound like he’s a believer in Greg Bird anymore. I guess it is the one thing he and I can agree on right now.

It may be hard for some to hear, but right now Luke Voit is a fan favorite and Tweety Bird is just yesterday’s news. I’ve never been completely sold on Greg Bird but I wanted to see the guy succeed. Any fan would. He just hasn’t been healthy long enough to really prove what he does….or does not have. I’d like to give the guy a fair shot but he can’t stick around long enough to take it.

So now we have Luke Voit. He came from the Cardinals looking for a shot, we gave it to him and he rose to the occasion. He did more than “just enough” he did so much that he made the postseason roster while Bird didn’t. He handled the pressure and delivered results. His clutch hit in the Wild Card game was a major contributing factor to getting the Yankees to the ALDS. He’s been a bigger part of this team in a short couple of months then Bird has been in years.

So now what about next season? The Yankees can’t ignore Voit’s success and some tough decisions will need to be made. Even Boone admitted that Voit could have the edge in spring training, read that HERE. Even Boone would be foolish not to admit that Voit gave the Yankees what they were looking for. He tries to hide behind a lot of things but even he knew this time there was no denying this. Bird may have the left-handed power the Yankees desperately need to balance out this right hand heavy lineup but it does them no good if he continues with is .200 BA.

Let’s face it, some guys just aren’t cut out to play for the Yankees and I would say Bird is one of them. There’s nothing wrong with that. Who knows, maybe Bird could land somewhere else and be a big name on the team. I mean, Brian Cashman thinks that could be the case for Sonny Gray. He was reliable as an Oakland A, but as a Yankee he just couldn’t hack it. The Yankees are going to try and shop him this offseason and find a match and that’s the right move for both Gray and for us. I think the same can be said for Bird. We have to stick with what works, and Voit has earned the opportunity at a starting role next season.

his isn’t an easy place to succeed. I want to see Bird succeed, but I think the time of waiting and hoping is over. It’s time to cut the cord, relieve some of the pressure and let him potentially thrive somewhere else. It’s the right thing to do for him, and for us. This is a deal that went bad and it is time to make it right. There’s no hard feelings. This isn’t personal, this is just business.

–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @Nyprincessj