The No-Names have won six of seven

It can go without saying that the 2019 Yankees are better off without Greg Bird. I don't mean Bird, the decent human being, or Bird, the glove man at 1B. They're simply better off without Bird, the lefty lump who bats cleanup and hits .171 without power. Since that Bird vanished onto the Injury List, perhaps never to be seen again in pinstripes, the Yankees are 6-2. (With him, they were 6-8.)

You could say the same about Mr. Giancarlo Stanton, the pride of the Death Star. Sure, the guy can be expected to put up seasonal numbers, and it's certainly too soon to give up on him, but in the three games he gifted us this season, before harming himself on a swing, Stanton fanned five times and left on base the entire cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. In 2019, he has yet to drive in a run. 

Speaking of afterthoughts... Aaron Hicks! The 2018 season already seems like a dream. Was it real or Memorex? That's more than can be asked about Jacoby Ellsbury, whose era with the Yankees seems to go back to cassette tapes and Compuserve. Does anyone expect him to ever again don a Yankee jersey? Why? The jury remains out on whether Luis Severino will pitch again this year. Miguel Andujar? We never learned if he solved his 3B fielding woes. Dellin Betawhatizname? Hmm... I just can't place the face.

One month into 2019, and it's normal to see Luke Voit bat second, and Clint Frazier hitting cleaning up (though don't be surprised if he disappears today due to a sprained ankle last night.) We've already seen a sign of the apocalypse that nobody anticipated: Brett Gardner batting third. The Yankees are the tip of the iceberg that is Scranton-Wilkes Barre. But when they win, as they did early this morning in 14 innings, we experience the joy of stealing something valuable... like an ice cream sandwich - the joy of the cat finally getting the canary.

Yes, the Yankees were merely playing the Angels, a certifiable can of tomatoes. But Boston just swept three from Tampa in Cigar City, and suddenly, the long-anticipated two-team race looms. If we must go to Boston with Mike Tauchman in CF and Gio Urshela at 3B, so be it. Until we see otherwise, both of them beat the free-swishing Bird and Stanton. 

Old Man Rumsfeld once said, "You go to war with the army you have." We will enter May with Mike Ford as DH, and Tyler Wade at 2B. Both may receive opportunities they will never see again as Yankees, and I for one will root harder for them than perhaps the big names who will eventually replace them.

Here's to the Yankees getting healthy... but here's to the army we have: We might not see such spirit again this season.