Who's the Genius Now?

Tonight, a Marlins rookie tossed the first no-hitter in the majors since 2004. Anibal Sanchez, 22 years old, with an era under 3. He was a Sox prospect, traded away in the various pre-season moves that brought Lowell and Beckett north from the Marlins. Lowell has had a great year, but after all, he's 34 years old. Sanchez is 22. The last out of the game was a grounder to Hanley Ramirez, playing shortstop for the Marlins. Ramirez too was a Sox prospect, perhaps the best of all our young talent. He's 24, batting close to 300, around 50 RBIs, over 100 runs scored. And last night Bronson tossed a shutout. We call them complete-game-shoutouts these days, because no one pitches nine innings any more. Bronson has reportedly struggled after the all-star break, but if you look closely, his era is still in the low threes. That's about a point lower than Schill's, a couple points lower than Beckett's, and who know how much lower than the staff average. I know, Bronson is pitching in the National League, and everyone's era drops over there. But we're all beginning to wonder aloud now: was Theo a genius, or just the luckiest guy on the planet? I guess we'll have to wait a year or two to find out.