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Two charged in road rage incident in Wilkes-Barre

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Plenty of sunshine Thursday before rain arrives

MOOSIC &#8212; Greg Bird walked to his locker bat in hand and a pair of gray Beats headphones slung around his neck on Monday with a smile across his face.He would play in his first game since June 14, when he was rehabbing with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders the first time, later that night and couldn&#8217;t wait.It would be just five innings, but it didn&#8217;t matter. He was back.&#8220;It&#8217;s always frustrating not being able to go out and play,&#8221; the New York Yankees first baseman said. &#8220;I&#8217;m excited to be back playing and to get back out there. Plain and simple.&#8221;Ravished by injuries, the last two seasons have been tough for Bird.After seeing his 2016 campaign stop before it even started, undergoing surgery on his right labrum, Bird has spent most of this season on the disabled list thanks to an ankle injury.He fouled a ball off his ankle toward the end of spring training, which hurt his play on the field to start the season and sent him to the disabled list on May 2. Then, just as he was starting to find a groove toward the end of that first Major League rehab assignment, Bird&#8217;s return was put on hold again.Two months and an ankle surgery later, Bird was back in the RailRiders&#8217; starting lineup and nearing a return to the Bronx.&#8220;It was frustrating going through it because we couldn&#8217;t quite pinpoint what was going on,&#8221; Bird said. &#8220;This is just a weird one. A lot of people have worked hard to figure it out and it&#8217;s not an exact science. It&#8217;s just how it goes. You have to deal with it and move on. I feel better, so I&#8217;m excited.&#8221;Restarting his Major League rehab on Wednesday, Bird said he doesn&#8217;t have any expectations for this stint with the RailRiders.When the first baseman was rehabbing the first time he was still trying to get his timing back and compete more consistently. Now, he&#8217;s just taking it day-by-day.&#8220;I don&#8217;t really have anything in my mind to check off,&#8221; Bird said. &#8220;Just play. Obviously I think getting up to nine innings &#8212; building up to nine innings &#8212; is one thing that they want to see, but I&#8217;ll be fine. I&#8217;m excited and looking forward to it, just getting back out and playing and having fun.&#8221;By the time Bird&#8217;s ready to return to the Yankees &#8212; likely early next week, he said &#8212; the landscape will have shifted significantly since the last time he played in the majors.Todd Frazier is a Yankee now and Chase Headley is the primary first baseman, and excelling. But that doesn&#8217;t matter to Bird.He just wants to get back and help out.&#8220;Get back playing and just play my game and have fun. I feel like I can help,&#8221; Bird said with a smile. &#8220;However they see fit I&#8217;m open for that. I&#8217;m just excited to play and have fun and enjoy it, really. We have a great team and it&#8217;s a fun atmosphere and fun to be a part of. Just to get back, be a part of that and help out how I can.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By DJ Eberledjeberle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</shirttailMeta></div>

An excited N.Y. Yankees 1B Greg Bird nearing his Major League return