"Ask Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson for his AL MVP candidates and he mentions Boston's Adrian Gonzalez, who leads the league in hitting, and Toronto's Jose Bautista, who is tied for the major league lead in home runs.

So what's wrong with supporting the candidacy of another guy who, after yesterday's 9-2 rout of the Rays at Yankee Stadium, is tied for the lead in homers, is the runaway leader in runs scored and also was No. 1 in RBIs at the end of the afternoon? That guy is Granderson.

"He's been outstanding," said winning pitcher Phil Hughes, the beneficiary of another Granderson homer. "When he's on the field, he's been unbelievable and then there's what he means to this clubhouse. He's a super positive guy, always full of energy and real positive. He's been our spark. Every time we need a big hit, a home run, it seems like he's the guy hitting it. Every year it seems like someone steps up and has that sort of year. Robbie [Cano] did it last year and Grandy this year has been unbelievable."

Granderson keeps making his case for inclusion in MVP talk. And the better he does, the more those who blasted the three-team trade that brought Granderson, now 30, to The Bronx a year ago from Detroit forget the pieces exported were Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy and Phil Coke."