"So why is Curtis Granderson suddenly such a lethal weapon against lefthanded pitching?

Granderson said it dates back to hitting coach Kevin Long tinkering with his mechanics last August during a road trip in Texas, and it continues with daily batting practice encounters with Long.

"It's been working with Kevin Long and the ability of him to throw lefthanded BP day in and day out," said Granderson, who launched his 15th homer of the season Saturday night with a leadoff shot in the sixth inning of the Yankees' 7-3 victory. "But it's constantly battling, trusting what we've been working on, the changes that we made, definitely never second-guessing what Kevin Long and myself started on last August."

Granderson's early-season power numbers are staggering. But what makes his home run total - he's second in the majors behind Toronto's Jose Bautista - is that eight of his blasts, including Saturday night's off Mets starter Chris Capuano, have come off lefties. The have come in a total of 47 at-bats against southpaws this season, a stunning number considering he hit just four homers off lefties in 158 at-bats all of last season, and his previous career best were the five homers he hit off southpaws in 147 at-bats while with the Tigers in 2008.

Alex Rodriguez said he has not seen a transition such as the one Granderson has undergone from last Aug. 14 to now - a span that has seen Granderson hit 29 homers, second only to Bautista's 36.

"No I haven't," Rodriguez said. "I remember the day when he and Kevin Long got together in the cage in Texas and it's been pretty magical since."

Still, despite all his long-ball work of late, Granderson doesn't want to be lumped into the category of power hitter. That club, he says, is reserved for others on the team."