WHY CURTIS WILL REIGN IN 2012

It’s no secret, Curtis Granderson had an amazing year and was new and improved after his first year with the team in 2010. When the Yankees traded for Granderson, the Yankees thought they were going to get the Granderson from 2007 and 2008 who posted some insane numbers including 23 triples and a .302 average. Although it has taken a year to see production like that again, he is reminding everyone what he is capable of. After a successful season, what can we expect from him in 2012? Can he continue to be this productive?

You have heard about the great revamp Kevin Long made on Granderson’s swing in August of 2010, but what exactly did he do? Long’s changes included cutting down on the excessive movement at the plate before Curtis would swing which helped him deliver a more compact swing and speed up the use of his hands. After applying the changes to his swing the results came instantly as Granderson hit 14 homeruns in 48 games and he picked up right where he left off for the start of 2011. Now that Granderson has a new and improved swing, what else has changed?As Granderson’s power numbers increased, so did the strike out rate (24.5%) which is his highest since 2006. Granderson did help pitchers by swinging at more pitches that were out of the strike zone at close to 26% which is also a career high for him. Pitchers gave him fewer fastballs to hit this year when they caught on to his approach at the plate and switched to more off-speed pitches making that hunt for the desirable fastball more frustrating. Granderson also admitted that his 169 strikeouts this year was an area for improvement and that he will work on it during the offseason. If Kevin Long can help fix his swing, making him more selective at the plate should be an easier task to master….and an even better hitter in 2012.

Improved mechanics are not the only reason why Granderson will be even stronger for 2012. During Postseason 2011, Joe Girardi changed the order of the lineup switching Robinson Cano into the #3 position and putting Mark Teixeira into the #5 spot, which I was ecstatic to see.

As Teixeira continued to struggle, Cano continued to hit and prove why he was the most consistent hitter on the team. Moving Cano to the #3 spot made sense, most managers will agree that this is where your best hitter should be to help drive in the most runs. Assuming that this new lineup is what will be used for 2012 and that he continues to hit second it can only help Granderson at the plate because he will have better protection behind him. Pitchers will be more likely to pitch to Granderson and take a chance on him rather than take a chance with Cano. If Granderson gets on base, he is more likely to score with Cano and ARod batting behind him; it is a win-win situation at the top of the lineup. Yankee fans saw the outcome of this strategic move in Game 1 of the ALDS when Cano hit a Grand Slam. This was just one game….imagine seeing this all season long.
It’s hard to imagine what Curtis can do by the time he is at the end of his career. 2011 was an amazing year for him and his silver slugger award and MVP consideration only prove that, but he is still in his prime physically. If he continues to train hard during the offseason and work on the changes he needs to make to be more consistent at the plate we could be writing about many more MVP nominations and possibly....World Series #28 in 2012. I like the sound of that.

--Jeana Bellezza --BYB Writer and Editor



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