Caleb appears ready to make the jump hopefully next year. I'm excited to see what he becomes. It's definitely nice to have insurance for Colson - his second half OPS was just .557. I fear the league has figured out how to exploit him out of the zone.

I don't think Braden was rushed at all. He didn't have a great postseason, but for a 23 year old coming up, he did absolutely fine in his 400ish plate appearances.

4 hours ago, 2Deep said:

I don't think they rushed Braden. I think Braden came up when he was ready but now has to make adjustments at the MLB level......it's ok to do that. Not everyone comes up and rakes, it's all a process.

Hell, look at what Vargas had to go through before he turned into anything. A lot of the board was completely done with him and now he’s the best player on a playoff team.

I’m not saying Braden (or Colson for that matter), will have a similar experience, but we gotta relax on who’s a bust and who’s a future star.

I have loved Bonemer since his very first at bat in Kanny. He has what the scout's call "a good face." Nothing seems to intimidate him, and while his swing is a tad unorthodox, he's so strong he makes it work. My record with guys I like is super mixed. I was an early guy on Baldwin, Antonacci, and Colson. But I also really thought Oscar Colas would be something. Ah, no. It will certainly be interesting to see how Bonemer turns out.

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Oooh, I can't wait for the Soxtalk special of him hitting a big homer in his first game and Ron declaring victory before he promptly turns into September Colson and he pretends he never said anything.

• Predicted Antonacci's rise when he was still in the low level minors

• Predicted that David Sandlin would be a good pitcher. He had some very good starts for us.

• Predicted Braden's call up date and nailed it to the day.

My track record this season was impeccable. I'll have some piping hot crow ready for you when Bonemer becomes a star.