Yankees: Return of Bird will give Girardi more lineup flexibility

The Yankees manager and coaching staff have pretty much run out of options when it comes to juggling their lineup, creating a maximum run production tandem in the three, four, and five spots. That could change as early as this week.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has tried just about everything to create a lineup that produces runs in the second half. Typically, the number three spot is reserved for the best hitter on the squad. That was a natural choice for Girardi in the first half when Aaron Judge was soaring with unknown limits, and generating offense by himself.

Now, of course, things have changed in the second half, and Judge is suffering from whatever ails him, and the team has followed with too many games like the one on Sunday against the Red Sox in which they could only manage three hits over nine innings.

Judge was seen in the clubhouse after that game wearing a shoulder harness containing ice. He sloughed off the obvious question saying there was nothing wrong and it had nothing to do with his feeble .170 average since July. But then, the next question begs, why are you bothering wearing it?

By October, the Yankees will need a set lineup with roles defined for everyone. And if Girardi is going to put a cap on a great season of managing the team, it is incumbent on him to make it happen.

No matter, the issue remains the same. Judge is not hitting, and his position in the three hole is hurting the team. Meanwhile, though, Greg Bird continues his rehab with Triple-A Scranton and will travel with the team today when the Railriders play in Rochester, New York.

Noticeably, Rochester is just a short hop on a plane to Detroit where the Yankees are playing today through Thursday. With Bird, the Yankees, though they say otherwise, have reached the point where it’s ready or not, here he comes,

Girardi has said concerning Bird; he’s the best pure hitter on the Yankees team, which makes him a logical choice for the number three hole when he returns. But for Girardi, it’s not as simple as that.

Juggling eggs

There’s the matter of egos and confidence to deal with. Judge is mature enough to take a demotion in the lineup, perhaps to the sixth hole, and it’s likely to take some of the pressure he’s dealing with off his shoulders. But Bird is a player made of different feathers (ha, ha).

Remember, he hasn’t played at this level in almost two years, except for an abbreviated appearance in April before he re-injured his ankle.

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And you’ll also recall that didn’t go so well for Bird as he mustered up a .100 batting average with only a couple of home runs. So the odds are that Girardi will remain with Judge where he is, spotting Bird in the lineup, seeing how things go with him.

The trouble is, of course, the Yankees need Bird to be Bird now when the team is struggling as a whole. Starlin Castro is also with Scranton getting regular at-bats, and his return will also help. Matt Holliday is also rehabbing in Tampa, and his return will help as well. But Bird is the key.

None of this is to suggest that Bird is “soft” and he needs to be handled with kid gloves. In fact, the opposite is true when you consider what the man has dealt with over the last two seasons. And it was Bird himself who pronounced to all he would play with the Yankees before the season was over. This, at a time when the team had all but given up on him for the season.

With flexibility, comes complexity

No, for Bird, it’s more a matter of mechanics, timing, and getting used to seeing pitches delivered at major league speeds with a sharper break than he’s used to seeing. And it’s more about getting used to the routine of playing at this level. And that’s the tricky part for Girardi to weigh and monitor as each day goes by with Bird back on the team.

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The Yankees lost a lot when Bird went down. His Spring Training had been magnificent, and all signs pointed to Bird having a breakout season. It wasn’t to be, and the Yankees have struggled ever since.

In spite of a poor game on Sunday defensively, Gary Sanchez seems to have found his way. Didi Gregorius remains as steady as ever along with Chase Headley. And Todd Frazier is contributing with solid defense at third with some power to boot.

But sometimes, as we know, too many options are just as much of a problem as too few. And that is the dilemma facing Joe Girardi as he tries to put the right pieces in the right places at the right time.

Next: Can the Yanks make some noise in the Playoffs

By October, the Yankees will need a set lineup with roles defined for everyone. And if Girardi is going to put a cap on a great season of managing the team, it is incumbent on him to make it happen.

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