Granderson in thick of MVP talk

Curtis Granderson is second in the American League with 35 home runs but still won't refer to himself as a home run hitter.

He sure as heck isn't going to portray himself as an MVP candidate.

Which is OK.

Plenty of Yankees are willing to bang that drum on his behalf.

"It would be hard for me to believe that there's a guy who's impacted his ballclub more than Curtis Granderson has impacted ours," hitting coach Kevin Long said outside the clubhouse after Sunday's game against the Twins. "You talk about what you're capable of doing and how you're expected to perform, and I think he beats everybody's expectations, including mine, that would be out there. And that, to me, is the sign of an MVP."

Besides the home runs, Granderson leads the league in runs (114), RBIs (98), triples (10), total bases (275) and is second in slugging (.594). He is tied for ninth with 24 stolen bases and is 12th in on-base percentage, not to mention playing the best defense of his career in center.

"I think right now, if you had to vote, he'd get my vote because of what he can do offensively, defensively, on the bases," Mark Teixeira said. "He can beat you with power. He can beat you with speed. He does it all. His numbers are pretty incredible right now."

Ballots to the Baseball Writers Association of America, whose members vote on the regular-season awards, were sent out last week.

Voters must list 10 on their MVP ballot. Though finding that many legitimate candidates this season is a challenge, it is top-heavy. The Blue Jays' Jose Bautista, who has 36 homers, will be in the mix, as will the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera. Three Red Sox, led by Adrian Gonzalez, will get votes, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia the other two. Robinson Cano's second-half surge is putting him in the picture.

And with the season Tigers righthander Justin Verlander is having, maybe he becomes the first pitcher since Dennis Eckersley, while with the Oakland Athletics in 1992, to win the Cy Young and MVP awards in the same season.

Long and Teixeira said Granderson's consistency, carrying the Yankees' offense at various points this season, should be taken into consideration.

"If you look month to month, you're going to see close to the same numbers across the board," Long said of Granderson. "Every team goes through stretches where they don't have all their guys [going well] and he's been there since Day 1. That's another sign of a guy who's really providing more to our lineup than anybody else."

Teixeira has 34 homers and 95 RBIs but has endured stretches in which he hasn't produced.

"He's been very consistent and that's very tough to do," Teixeira said of Granderson. "He's been our most consistent hitter. Like I said, here's a guy that can steal bases, hit for power and play Gold Glove centerfield. You just don't find them."

For his part, Granderson has low-keyed his season, leaving the superlatives to everyone else.

"The main thing is each day is just try and do anything I can, at any point, whether it be a sac bunt, a hit-and-run, on defense, steal a base, drive the baseball, to help this team win a ballgame," he said. "We're trying to win as much as we can."

Alex Rodriguez, who returned from the disabled list Sunday, has won three MVPs.

"When people compare him to other players, you can't forget he's a centerfielder," A-Rod said. "He's playing high-quality defense out there, scoring a bunch of runs, RBIs . . . those are the two most important stats in baseball. He's helping our first-place team do what we're doing. So in my eyes, he's the MVP."