IT'S TIME TO SAY BYE-BYE BIRDIE

I know this goes without saying but.....we won't be seeing Greg Bird anytime soon. I know, shocker huh? We expect to hear that. It was only a matter of time for history to repeat itself. By history, I mean his own repetitive injury history and the Yankees injury history so far this season. It's time to face the music, we've been here too many times before with Bird. Nothing has changed, but it certainly needs to. It's time to move on.

On Tuesday, doctors diagnosed Bird with a plantar fascia tear, his latest of a long injury list in his Yankee career. If it sounds familiar it should, Jacoby Ellsbury also has plantar fascitis and suffered a setback with it in February and still has no timetable for a return. Doctors say it's an injury that doesn't have long-term implications but this isn't a fast healing injury. Some reports say Bird could be out a month but I think THIS estimate is more accurate. Bird is made of glass, he doesn't bounce back easily and stick around afterwards. This injury is a big deal for any player, but realistically something as trivial as a hangnail is a big deal for Bird.

It makes you wonder if this is the end of Bird. The Yankees have Luke Voit, who may not be perfect but at least he doesn't have Bird's injury history. The Yankees also called Mike Ford up to fill in as needed. He gives the Yankees that left-handed bat that they could use. Bird just hasn't proven himself and he's had more time than any player deserves.

I'm not trying to be a mean girl here, last thing I want to do is beat up on Bird while he's down but this is a business. It's not personal. The Yankees need a team of the best players possible. Two major requirements of any major league player are to hit and to stay healthy and be available. He hasn't been able to do either of these things, so when will Brian Cashman open his eyes?

People are already asking him if the Yankees will ever accept that Bird simply just isn't a fit for the Yankees. His answer was Cashman-esque but still interesting, "Obviously the injury history is for the record and every question is fair game. Obviously when you employ a player like that you give all the treatment possible to try and stay healthy. It is a fair question to ask." You can read the rest of his answer HERE.

And it is a fair question to ask. It's also fair to expect Aaron Boone to have a very boneheaded answer, "Unfortunately, it is a little bit of his story so far, not being fully healthy. Even the times he’s been able to play through things, they’ve held him back to a point. I still fully believe he can be an impact hitter in this league, but you’ve got to stay healthy to be able to do that and that’s been the biggest challenge." It's not just "a little bit" of his story so far....it's pretty much all of it. Minus the great first impression we got of him back in 2015 when some fans and some BYB Writers (Here's looking at you Mike O'Hara) thought he was Mark Teixeira's replacement. He had the potential....I can admit that. That potential still hasn't been realized yet and it's time to stop waiting!

Now it's only fair to ask....maybe Bird just isn't cut to be a Yankee. Maybe he could catch fire somewhere else, like down in Miami. There's no pressure or expectation there. Maybe he's not meant to be a major leaguer? I don't know. I never want to see one of our guys fail, but I also don't want to hold onto hope and try and force something to happen.

Maybe we are trying to force Bird into being the next great Yankee infielder....and maybe it just isn't meant to be. Maybe it's time to say Bye-Bye Birdie.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj