My reaction was similar to JGS before the trade. I had and still have considerable concerns about Grandy’s K’s and problems with lefties. That said, he is very good defensively. His combination of speed and power will fit very well in Yankee Stadium. He can get slotted into various places in the lineup. Plus, he is a very smart, good guy whom people like. He will fit into the club and fast, and the fans will gravitate toward his personality and hard-working attitude quickly.

I am not big on trading prospects, but combining Jackson with two decent but expendable pitchers was fine with me. They upgraded the OF defense right away, got younger, and added talent. Strong move by Cashman.

when I first heard the Yankees were interested, I came down very strongly against acquiring Granderson on a couple of blogs, but something Sam Borden wrote today made me go back and look a little harder

through his age 28 season, Curtis Granderson hits an ugly .210/.270/.344/.614 against lefties

but through his age 29 season (when the Yankees got him), Paul O’Neill hit .217/.273/.327/.600 against lefties. He improved substantially against lefties after that, and wound up with a career OPS of 700. Still not good, but that also included a couple of seasons where he hit very very well against lefties (1994–.304/.439/.552/.987)

I think he will be a frustrating player at times, but if either A) he learns to hit lefties a little better (distinctly possible) or B) Ajax doesn’t pan out (distinctly possible), then this might be a steal

and what the heck was Josh Byrnes thinking?