THE GANG'S ALL HERE I like prospects. I like following their progression through the minor leagues and dreaming of how good they can be. I like when they get called up to the big club and I can officially begin associating them with the organization. So of course, I don't like the trading deadline. Sure there are guys I would deal and there are players worth acquiring, but ideally, I would like to build a majority homegrown team. That said, I am extremely happy, and shocked, that no one left the Yankee system during all the trade rumblings. Hopefully, those guys can justify the Yankees keeping them...for now. Robinson Cano got off to a fast start at AAA before slumping horribly. The slump lasted for nearly a month, but it seems that Cano is back on track. His last two games, Cano has gone a combined 4 for 7 with a single, a double, and 2 home runs. His average is up .025 points to .248 and he still has a very good BB:K ratio of 9:10 in 101 AAA at bats. If he can close the season with a hot month of August he should receive a September call-up. It also helps his case that he's only made 1 error in 28 games at AAA. Dioner Navarro got off to a fast start at AAA, extra base hit wise, while otherwise slumping. Since then he has begun hitting singles and taking walks. Through all this, and after yesterday's 1 for 4 with a single and a strikeout performance, Navarro is only sitting at .200. That .200 average has been compiled in just 65 at bats though, as Navarro has played very sporadically since his promotion. In the recent 5 game stretch, he did not play in games 1 and 3. Brad Halsey had his best start since returning to Columbus, and right on schedule too. Halsey went 6.2-4-0-0-3-8-0 (IP-H-R-ER-BB-K-HR) to lower his ERA to 3.25. This is important for Halsey, because with the recent trade of The Big Enigma™ and the arrival of Profoundly Pedestrian™, he may work himself into a rotation shot by September, or at the very least guarantee himself a shot at the 2005 rotation. And by guarantee I mean make sure the Yankees will give him a shot when Brown goes down to injury. Chien-Ming Wang was very good yesterday in his second AAA start. Wang had a line of 5.1-5-2-2-2-8-1 and has struck out 14 in 11.1 AAA innings. If he keeps up a strong K rate I would like to see him get a shot in September. Justin Pope is not a pitcher that regularly gets much publicity on this blog, but his Friday performance was too great to completely ignore. Pope pitched a gem, 9-1-0-0-1-10-0, and it was needed as the Thunder offense was also 1 hit, though they did pick up 2 runs and the victory. Since his huge night, Bronson Sardinha has just been ok. The result of this effort is 4 for 15 with 3 singles, a double, a walk, and a strikeout. Still, his average is at .322 despite playing his home games in what has thus far been the most severe pitchers park in baseball. His EL average would rank 4th if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. I wouldn't expect him to do much, if anything, tonight because he and the rest of the team are facing Matt Cain. Jose Valdez, 4.2-5-4-4-5-6-0, continues to have a rather mediocre season. Sure the ERA is only 3.90 (which isn't even all that great for the FSL), but he's yet to put together one long stretch where he not only is effective at stopping runs and, but also maintaining good peripherals. Tampa has played 2 games since the last update and the results aren't compelling one way or another. Eric Duncan was 1 for 9 with a single and 2 strikeouts, Rudy Guillen was 1 for 3 with a single, a walk, and 2 strikeouts, and Melky Cabrera was 3 for 9 with 2 singles, a home run, and 3 strikeouts. Melky is now hitting an even .300, while the others are down in the .250ish range. Abel Gomez, 6-2-2-1-3-4-0, was so-so and Tyler Clippard, 5-8-5-5-1-4-2, had a poor outing as the BC Yanks fell twice in their last 3 outings. Hector Made, 3 for 7 with 3 singles and 2 walks in the first two games, but 0 for 4 with a strikeout last night, saw his hitting streak of 2+ weeks come to an end. Made is still doing a great job of finishing the season strong, which is key when evaluating prospects and deciding whether or not they kicked into a higher gear or are a good candidate to do so going forward. Erold Andrus, 4 for 13 with 4 singles and 2 strikeouts, seems to be of the same philosophy as Made. *** Questions, comments, suggestions to minoryankeeblog@hotmail.com   ¶ 12:31 PM