Wave should hit next August

At Scraton, we won this year on the shoulders of tribal elders, such as the Great Shelley Duncan, the underappreciated Cody Ransom, and the tragically overcompensated Kei Igawa.

Last night, we won on the young arms and legs of starter Ivan Nova and infielder Kevin Russo.

Both could be in New York next year.

So could several relievers and a few Double A spuds.

Overall, in the minors, one could say this was a year of more big disappointments (Andrew Brackman, JB Cox, Dellin Betances) than big breakouts (Jesus Montero, Nova).

Overall, it was giant leap forward.

We didn't trade the plantation for Doc Halladay. We kept our cards. We have a wave of young talent that should crest around -- oh, I'd say next August.

Can you imagine next August? Hughes and Joba. Maybe Ian Kennedy. Nova. By then, Montero will have hit his way through Triple A. Russo will be up. Melancon. Robertson. Cervelli. Austin Jackson. Gardner. I'm leaving people out.

We could sit out the free agent market next winter and still be infused with enough talent to dramatically improve.

Obviously, every bit of optimism hinges on how we do next month in the post-season. But even the most pessimistic fan -- Alphonso, are you listening? -- has to like the state of this franchise today.

Now... if we can just knock Boston out later this month...