I was a bit surprised by this one, as I didn't hear many rumblings. However, with a putrid offense over the last week and playing with a 3-man bench, perhaps Bird can give the team a shot in the arm. Bird started the season in AA, but was called up to AAA a few weeks ago where he hit .301/.353/.500 in 34 games. Bird is a lefty with a sweet swing and a good eye.
Drafted as a catcher, he is purely a 1B now, so he won't back-up any other positions. He's going to spell Mark Teixeira at 1B and ARod at DH, and hopefully let those two recharge the batteries a bit. In fact, he's starting at 1B tonight and batting seventh.
I'd love to see him come up and do what he does best - hit and hit and hit. Go win a job, like Shane Spencer did in August/September of 1998. While that's unlikely, it would be great to see him give the team an offensive jolt when they need it most...right now.
They should put Bird at second.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness his debut tonight wasn't terrible. His glove work managed to shine through. I also expect them to send him down after four games and then bring him back up in September.
He was fine. The box score says 0 for 5, but his first few at bats were good and he some ropes. He'll be just fine.
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