I’m certain that hiring a lifelong Yankees fan to write about the Twins isn’t the weirdest or wildest thing the purveyors of Pulltab Sports have done (e-mail me to exchange stories), but before you head over to Twins Daily, hear me out.

● Before there were the Bombas, there were the Bronx Bombers.

● While you guys like to think of us as the evil Darth Vader, neither the Yankees nor Twins have won a World Series since 2009.

● Twins fans will soon loathe Gary Sanchez as much as I do.

● We both think our managers rely too much on certain analytics.

● I grew up a Yankee fan in the 1980’s. Mike Pagliarulo (former Twin alert) was the Yankees’ leading home run guy. It wasn’t pretty - much like most of both teams’ playoff series the last 15 years.

The Thesis: Make Glove, Not W.A.R.

I’m not anti-analytics, mind you. (Talking to you, future MLB GM who’d like to hire me as an assistant). They’re part of a strategy. But they’re not the entire strategy. Know what grinds my gears? Constantly hearing the “numbers” show how much the batters have an advantage the third time through the lineup against a starting pitcher. It’s such a small sample size because managers never let it happen!

Just once a game (or season), I’d like Rocco Baldelli or Aaron Boone to say “eff it, this guy tells me he’s good, he’s good” and leave him in there for the seventh inning. Okay, in Rocco’s case, the fifth inning.

**Strat-o-Matic: My kind of analytics.**

Five Burning Questions

How Will Correa Fit In?

About 3:15 p.m. last Friday, Carlos Correa surpassed Roy Smalley (former Yankee alert) as the best shortstop in Twins history. Has there ever been a team with a greater improvement at SS in one season than Andrelton Simmons to Carlos Correa?

**The former greatest SS in Twins history.**

The Twins came out of nowhere - in a very un-Pohlad move - to give Correa $35 million a year over three years. Wow.

But what will the adjustment look like? Minnesota fans can be fickle. If he struggles in the season-opening six-game homestand, how long until the fans start yelling SHOOOOOOT when he’s at the bat (sorry, hockey guy showing through).

Can the Twins Survive With Six No. 3 Pitchers?

I’ve seen enough of Sonny Gray (former Yankee alert) to question his role as a No. 1 pitcher for a contending team. But he’s durable and doesn’t give up many home runs. The Twins were finalizing a deal to get Chris Paddack from the Padres Thursday in exchange for free-agent-to-be closer Taylor Rogers. After a promising rookie season, Paddack’s ERA the last two seasons is nearly 5.00.

The rest of the rotation? Man are they going to miss injured Kenta Maeda. Opening Day-starter Joe Ryan made a favorable impression last year, but he’s only toed an MLB rubber twice. Dylan Bundy and Bailey Ober are fine, but with the way Rocco manages his bullpen, this team has only one innings muncher to get to Taylor Rogers. Seriously, who’s going to close now?

At some point, if the Twins are in contention, they have to go out and get another pitcher, right? Right?

Not to mention, shortened spring training expects to lead to shorter outings for starters for at least the first month of the season.

Can Buxton Stay Healthy?

Byron Buxton is no doubt one of the most outstanding defensive center fielders in the game. He’s shown signs of brilliance at times at the plate, but just not enough consistency, and a lot of that is his injury situation. Buxton hit a career-high .308 last season, but he missed 101 games.

Listen, Buxton isn’t going to change the way he plays the outfield. It’s a bit of a grab bag on a nightly basis whether he’ll put himself in position to suffer a serious injury.

Speaking of a grab bag - it’s borderline irresponsible to go into a season with an injury prone CF and no bonafide CF as a backup. Buxton’s two backups are the starting RF and Nick Gordon, an infielder by trade who went through this scary situation in the outfield earlier this week.

Let’s Talk About Gary.

Someone argued with me on Twitter when the Donaldson trade went down, telling me Yankee fans were upset about losing Gary Sanchez. He knows different Yankee fans than me.

Sanchez was actually fine his first two years in MLB, perhaps setting unrealistic expectations. His batting average the last four years? .186, .232, .147 and .204. It’s rough in 2022 to just give up an out most times through the lineup. It’s not like he’s the Andrelton Simmons of catchers, either. In fact, expect to see Ryan Jeffers get plenty of action behind the plate and Sanchez to DH.

But Sanchez was probably a guy who didn’t quite have the intestinal fortitude to handle NYC media. He can hide a little bit more here, maybe it’ll be good for him. More than 30 percent of his hits the last two seasons have been home runs, so he’ll fit in here.

Also, I love Gio Urshela. He won’t replace all of Donaldson’s offense at 3B, but he’ll stay in the lineup and I think he’ll surprise Twins fans. Likely to hit ninth, he’ll help tableset for Buxton, etc.

Will the Chemistry Rain Down?

“Bringer of Rain” Josh Donaldson was fine for the Twins when healthy, but all reports say he was a bit of a curmudgeon in the locker room. What was the vibe in there? Without reporters always in the clubhouse, it’s hard to tell.

Look, I do think that “chemistry” can be a bit overrated. But, all I need to do is point you to the Wolves and Wild this year - two teams that are undoubtedly having fun and winning games at the same time.

How much of a leadership role does Correa take on? Byron Buxton can be a leader for sure, but he’s got to be healthy enough to be around the team. Nelson Cruz brought this team together, and he’ll be missed no doubt.

Bold Prediction

The Central isn’t very good - you expect the White Sox to win the division, with the Twins not too far behind. The question is can the Twins get the last wild card? Remember, there are three wild cards from each league this year in MLB. The question becomes, can the Twins beat up on the Guardians and Royals enough to make the playoffs?

I’ll say the Twins do a very un-Twins thing and acquire a top line starter at the deadline. 87 wins, final wild card spot, and another playoff matchup with, wait for it, the…Yankees.

**My view of the last Yankees/Twins playoff game**

Ryan Stanzel is a PR pro and freelance content creator based in the East Metro. Follow him on Twitter or e-mail him here.