It's now or never for Mr. Gregory Paul Bird

Yesterday, in a stunning late-inning moment, YES Centerstage ringmaster Michael Kay reverted to his sports radio bomb-throwing ways, and all but blamed Greg Bird for the recent torturous game-four meltdown in Boston. 

It came about after Bird failed to snag a bad throw to first. Kay said Bird has let his batting slump affect his fielding, and he honed in on that Sunday night debacle, when Miguel Andujar bounced a throw that Bird couldn't handle, allowing Boston to tie - and later win - the game. 

Kay said Mark Teixiera, now a fellow sports analyst, assured him that he would have snared that throw 99 out of 100 times - it was a routine major league play. Bird muffed it, effectively ending the Yankees' hopes for the AL East. That's a lot to heap on a home team player.

Later yesterday, when Bird came to bat, the YES broadcast experts analyzed his swing in slow-mo and pronounced it lacking, unable to catch up to a major league fastball. Paul O'Neill said Bird has failed to make adjustments, a liability that starkly threatens his career.   

On the next pitch, Bird drove a HR deep into the right field bleachers. O'Neill laughed it off, saying it was the fastest adjustment he's ever seen. And the broadcasters droned into the usual "maybe-this-at-bat-will-break-him-out" banter, which plays for every slumping Yankee.

Listen: I'm not here to rip the YESsirs. We spank them regularly on this blog for crassly leading cheers; we cannot become indignant if they criticize a player. Still, it's rare to hear the type of fed-up impatience being directed at Bird. If we assume that YES reflects the views of the front office - (I think it's a fair conclusion) - the Greg Bird Era at first could be ending soon.

The recent deadline trade for Luke Voit, now in Scranton, came out of the blue. It turned out to be significant that Brian Cashman sought a RH first-baseman and not an outfielder (which turned out to be a bad move due to unforeseen injuries.) If and when the Yankees return to full strength in the outfield, Neil Walker could become the daily 1B. 

Come winter, Andujar could move to first - his bat justifies it - allowing the Yankees to mount a full-wallet chase of Manny Machado for 3B. Bird, age 26 next year, would be gone.

For the record, I still believe in Bird. But something's gotta give. Entering yesterday, over the last month, he's hitting .185. Over the last 14 days, he's at .132. Over the last seven: .125. Dear God, that's a disaster. 

But I don't like hearing players get singled out for such a towering Yankee collapse. There are a million Yankee demons on which to blame that disastrous loss at Fenway - with our all-star closer atop the list. Let's hope Bird's homer does start something. But when he staggers back to the dugout after a pop-up, he's gotta be hearing more than just boos. He can hear a train pulling out of the station. And let's hope he doesn't hear what they're saying on TV.