"Curtis Granderson has been a Yankee for one season and a handful of days. It seems like he has been in the Bronx forever.

That's because Granderson is a rare breed - a highly skilled pro who is naturally aware of the world outside the clubhouse walls and works to forge alliances. The Tigers replaced him with an excellent center fielder/leadoff man in Austin Jackson but he didn't really take his place. You can't.

Like Derek Jeter, he plays so much bigger than his statistics, which can be dissected to show he's little more than an average player. Really?

Yankees manager Joe Girardi certainly doesn't think Granderson is little more than an average player. He told reporters in spring training he was his second best player down the stretch in 2010, meaning he was valued above every Yankee except MVP candidate Robinson Cano.

That says a ton when you consider he is on a roster that includes Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, among others.

Granderson embraced the chance to go to New York in the roster-shuffling that saw the Tigers deal him and Edwin Jackson while trying to remain a contender.

A .268 career hitter, Granderson got off to a slow start but ended 2010 hitting .247 with 24 home runs. But you can't stop there in analyzing him. He and left fielder Brett Gardner provided tremendous outfield defense for arguably the best fielding team in the AL, and he came alive when it mattered most."