I was skeptical about the Yankees acquisition of Curtis Granderson in the winter of 2009. Although he was a good defensive centerfielder with pop, his inability to hit left handed pitching, high strikeout rate, and average OBP made wonder if he was a good fit.  I hated it even more when I factored the young depth of Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy included in the deal.

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News came on my show that winter and believed it was a great deal for the Yankees. He believed that Granderson could provide the type of production in centerfield that was missing since Bernie Williams. He believed he could fit into the offense in a similar way. He also believed he was the type of personality that would excel in New York.

My opinion didn’t change much last year as it took a huge September (9 homers, 25 RBI) to bring his numbers to respectability. Quietly, however, Granderson had a nice postseason against Minnesota and Texas. Since his insertion into the two hole late last year he’s hit like one of the best in the league. Right now, it’s hard to argue that Granderson is the best offensive player on the Yankees. Yes, better than Cano, A-Rod, and Teixeira.

Even more important, Granderson is just 30 years old. The Yankees have the oldest position players in the league (31.4 years), so anyone south of that number is a welcome sight. Considering their dearth of non catching positional prospects, it makes Granderson’s performance that more important. He very well could team with Teixeira and Cano to make up the core of the Yankees offense going forward.

Joel Sherman pointed out this weekend how the three way deal with Detroit and Arizona has worked out for all parties. The Tigers received a young pitcher in Max Scherzer to complement Justin Verlander, as well as Phil Coke and Austin Jackson. The D-Backs, surprisingly, landed a workhorse for their rotation in Ian Kennedy. The only thing that would have made this deal perfect for the Yankees is if they swapped Chamberlain for Kennedy. Easy to say now - Kennedy was coming off an aneurysm- but the Yanks could use a starter that gives them quality innings at the top of the rotation. They will attempt to acquire an “Ian Kennedy type” of pitcher this season. Meanwhile, although Chamberlain has improved greatly this year, he is just another middle reliever that can easily be obtained.

Granderson is providing the kind of production you would have expected from Alex Rodriguez pre-hip surgery. With Swisher in a season long slump, Posada and Jeter showing regression from age, and Cano in a month long slump it’s a good thing that Curtis Granderson is around. Without him, I don’t know if they would be as close to Boston as they are. I couldn’t have been more wrong about this acquisition.

Want to know where to find Mike Silva now? He Host's the "Weekend Watchdog” on Long Island’s ESPN affiliate Champions Radio (96.9/107.1FM Suffolk) go to http://weekendwatchdog.com to listen and interact with Mike at mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Austin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers, Ian Kennedy, Max Scherzer, New York Yankees, Phil Coke