Q&A with Greg Kirkland of Pinstripe Alley

As usual, when facing a less familiar opponent, we reached out our SBnation sister site. Since the Twins are travelling to the Bronx, that would be Pinstripe Alley, and none other than bonafide friend-of-Twinkie-Town Greg Kirkland.

1. The Yankees have been hit by the injury bug to an unprecedented level, yet have still seen some success. How have they managed to do so?

That would be the blood pact they make with the demon god....errrr, I mean depth. Yes, definitely depth.

The Yankees have a very strong farm system and thankfully a lot of the Triple-A Scranton/Railriders have stepped up during these dark, 2013 Yankee times. Their pitching has also held up quite well. That always helps.

2. With a largely pieced together roster of unheralded and unknown players, who should we know on this Yankees squad? How many of these guys have earned a place on the roster long term, and who could be sent packing?

Gary Sanchez is healthy and hitting massive dingers, much like your Twins, who have definitely been following the “Knock out a home run” part of the We’re Gonna Win, Twins song. Gio Urshela has raised some eyebrows with his solid hitting and excellent defense. I don’t know if he stays on the roster, as Miguel Andujar is progressing well in his rehab. Troy Tulowitzki, however, is not. No one is shocked by this.

3. What is the general mood among Yankees fans this season? Your record looks pretty good, but is it enough, or are you guys looking for something else?

It’s been a healthy mix of “OH GOD, WHAT IS HAPPENING” and “GIOOOOOOO GO GIOOOOOOO” sung like the Power Rangers Zeo theme. Okay, to be fair, that’s just me.

Basically April was bad due to injuries but good due to winning, which is a strange feeling. What we’re really looking for is our core roster back up and running. That would just be swell.

4. The Yankees are well known for hitting a lot of home runs, but how much of that is the guys they have, and how much is Yankee Stadium? Would Aaron Judge be just-another-slugger if he played elsewhere, for example? Is Mike Tauchman going to hit like 50 home runs this year?

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Stanton hit powerful, glorious dongs that would go out in any stadium. They broke the record last year with dingers and yeah, plenty of away games for those. In 2017, Judge hit one that almost left Safeco Field. Sure, there will always be the short porch in right field, which we will live and die by. Mike Tauchman is definitely not going to hit 50 home runs this year. He is welcome to prove me wrong.

5. What is your prediction for the Yankees record this year, and will they make the playoffs? Who wins the AL East? Who are the AL Wildcards?

I think I predicted 118 wins this year, and I’ll stick by that, because that’s how I roll. Unless the Rays are for really real, the Yankees should take the division. Unless the Red So figure their things out, and we all hope they do not. At this point, I think the two wildcards are coming from the AL East and AL West. Just so you know, I picked the Twins to win the AL Central in the Pinstripe Alley pre-season predictions post. Thank you for proving me right thus far.

6. Who wins this series between the Twins and Yankees, and who wins the season series? If they meet in the playoffs, who wins?

For every answer to this question, the Yankees do, because I would never ever ever bet against the Yankees beating the Twins and I’m going to guess that many people here would not make that bet either. I live in MN now, so I’ve seen this. But hey, anything is possible.

7. Who is a player that will impact this series that we probably haven’t heard of?

Tyler Wade, because I’m legit having trouble remembering who is even on the team at this moment. It’s been that kind of April.

8. Anything else I should have asked, but didn’t

-How is Aaron Hicks doing?

-Would you like Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios for Troy Tulowitzki and pizza?

-Why are the Mets?

-Have you ever been to Hello Pizza or Rise Bagels to fulfill your NY cravings while living in MPLS?

-Is David Hale still a thing?

-Is Ant-Man a great Avenger or the greatest Avenger

These are the immediate ones that come to mind.

Maija told me to answer these as well

-How is Aaron Hicks doing? He’s hurt and it’s sad :(

-Would you like Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios for Troy Tulowitzki and pizza? Yes, yes I would.

-Why are the Mets? No one truly knows.

-Have you ever been to Hello Pizza or Rise Bagels to fulfill your NY cravings while living in MPLS? Why yes, I do love those places for pizza and bagels and you should go there if you haven’t been

-Is David Hale still a thing? No one truly knows.

-Is Ant-Man a great Avenger or the greatest Avenger? Greatest! Everyone loves Paul Rudd!

Thanks Greg!