Yankees second-half has arrived; who steps up?

Greg Bird

Despite starting to pick it up as of late, Greg Bird has struggled almost as much as Sanchez this season.

Batting .223 with just eight home runs, Bird is nowhere near spectacular, nor what anyone hoped for out of a replacement for Mark Teixeira at first base. But Bird has recently pushed his batting average up to where it stood on June 25th (.186).

Even when Bird was batting below the Mendoza Line, he was not playing as poorly as many thought. More than half of Bird’s hits this season are extra base hits. On top of that, his walk rate has stayed steady, around 11 percent for the past three seasons.

The problem with Bird this season is that he is hitting more ground balls than ever and is pulling the ball more than half the time. For a player without speed, there is little chance of him beating out much of anything on the ground.

The good news is that Bird has hit balls harder this season than any season previous. If improved play from Bird continues, the Yankees could easily battle the top-notch Red Sox for the pennant.