Yankees' Girardi On WFAN: Headley Closer To Breaking Out Of Slump
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Yankees manager Joe Girardi says he has not lost faith in third baseman Chase Headley, who has been struggling over the season's first five weeks.
Entering Thursday night's game against the Royals, Headley was batting .178 and had no extra-base hits in 90 at-bats.
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"He got off to a really rough start, but I think he's closer," Girardi told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Thursday. "I think you're starting to see him impact the ball better."
Girardi added that Headley has been dealing with the slump "as well as you could expect a person to deal with it," including not allowing it to alter his plate discipline or affect his performance in the field.
Meanwhile, Francesa asked Girardi if he would consider calling up Rob Refsnyder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for this weekend's series against the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees will face American League wins leader Chris Sale (7-0) on Friday and Jose Quintana (5-1) on Saturday. Both are left-handers.
Refsnyder, a righty, was on a 15-game hitting streak in the minors as of Thursday.
Girardi did not rule out the possibility of a call-up.
"We are not there yet, so we'll worry about that after the game (Thursday)," Girardi said. "But obviously these (White Sox pitchers) are two guys that are really tough on left-handers. ... So we'll see what happens."
Girardi said Refsnyder has been playing a lot of different positions in Triple-A, but he wasn't sure if he was comfortable enough at third base to play it in the majors.
The Yankees manager also gave some injury updates. He said Mark Teixeira was in the lineup Thursday night after dealing with neck spasms this week.
Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) is running better, but "I don't really consider him ready to go," Girardi said. Alex Rodriguez ran Thursday the first time since straining his hamstring last week. And CC Sabathia (groin) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday.
Rodriguez and Sabathia are on target to return to the team late next week, Girardi said.
To listen to the full interview, click on the audio player above.
