(I CAN'T THINK OF A TITLE) Columbus was off tonight, but played Wednesday afternoon. Dioner Navarro did not play in that game, as I expected, it seems he is on the extreme version of the Joe Torre "Who's Hot"™ rest plan. I guess it's a Yankee organizational thing with Cs. Robinson Cano, who has been allowed to play through slumps and everything else in his time with the Clippers. This is paying off because after enduring a deep slump, Cano is on fire once more. In Tuesday's game the 21-year-old 2B was 2 for 4 with a single, a double, and 2 strikeouts. His average is up to .265 in 113 ABs and he has only 1 error in 31 AAA games. Brad Halsey continues to be off his game since returning to AAA. His outing produced the disappointing line of 5-10-5-5-2-5-2 (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO-HR). Following Halsey both last year and this, I am developing a theory about him. When he strikes people out (AA '03, MLB '04, since demotion '04) he struggles, when he lets his defense handle more chances (A+ '03, pre promotion '04) he gets good results. The only exception to this is SS-A '02. Why this happens, I'm not sure, but it's something to keep an eye on. Perhaps he's one of those pitchers that needs to pitch to the defense, as announcers are fond of saying. This is too comfy of a reason for me though, and I will try to see if I can find a more tangible explanation. Trenton played 3 games in the last two days, and won two of the three. Sean Henn pitched the first and was mediocre. The hard-throwing left-hander finished with 5-7-3-3-1-6. His ERA is up to 4.39, and after an encouraging start to 2004, he is going to have to go on a tear to salvage his year, at least statistically. Meanwhile, Bronson Sardinha is in the process of cooling off offensively, 1 for 8 with a single, a walk, and 3 strikeouts in the 3-game stretch. His defensive struggles, 1 error in the last 3 games and, 16 errors in 40 AA games, and 39 errors in 101 games on the season, have gotten to the point where Sardinha is now being replaced in the late innings of ballgames. I would really have liked to see Bronson make some more strides with his defense at the hot corner to enhance his trade value, but it seems as though he may not be long for the position. One turn through the rotation ago, it seemed as though Tyler Clippard was beginning to pull away from Abel Gomez in terms of overall 2004 performance. This was an intriguing development as the two had been side-by-side almost all season long. Now, one bad start by Clippard and a decent one by Gomez had Abel in the performance lead. Tonight, the left-hander padded his edge. Gomez, not one for long outings, went 7-3-1-1-2-5-0 as he stifled the Lansing Lugnuts. Abel's ERA is down to 3.17 and he is coming close to getting his walk rate in the 1 every 2 innings range, which is MUCH more acceptable. He did not pick up his 10th win though, as the Battle Creek offense was only good for 8 hits and 1 run in a 13-inning affair. (Tampa report forthcoming) Hector Made, 1 for 6 with a double and a strikeout, was decent, and Erold Andrus, 3 for 6 with 2 singles and a double, was very good. Made is now tied for 3rd in doubles and Andrus is 6th. Due to promotions for other players, both hitters have a shot at taking the league doubles title. In the shock of shocks, SI has lost their last two games. The "offense" has managed 0 runs and 10 hits over the stretch. This is the same offense that could somehow do without Marcos Vechionacci of course. Estee Harris has cooled off a bit, going 0 for 6 with 2 strikeouts in the 2 contests. Tim Battle, meanwhile, seems to have settled around the .250 range for batting average, though he was just 1 for 6 with a walk and a strikeout over the two games. Jeff Marquez, the 19-year-old RHP who was a first round selection of the Yankees this year, had one of his worst NYPL starts. He could only muster 4-7-5-3-2-2-0. His ERA rose to 2.86. After dominating the GCL, Marquez has been solid in the NYPL. *** Questions, comments, suggestions to minoryankeeblog@hotmail.com   ¶ 9:29 PM