Cooper, Sox aim to assist Jackson
It looks like White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper has another project on his hands.
Unless starter Edwin Jackson, acquired in a trade from the Diamondbacks Friday, is flipped to another team like the Nationals, he's going to pitch in the Sox' rotation beginning Wednesday night at Detroit.
Considering he threw a no-hitter earlier this season and was an all-star with the Tigers last year, Jackson's impending arrival should be generating more positive vibes.
Instead, the 26-year-old right-hander is viewed more as an enigma, considering he was 6-10 with a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts with Arizona while allowing 13 home runs and 60 walks in 1341/3 innings.
"Well heck, we know about him," Cooper said. "He's a good solid arm, an experienced guy. He's done good in our division. You know, a veteran. There are some things right there we all have to like."
And the dislikes?
"If I had to look at numbers and I took a quick glance at numbers, career numbers, groundball, flyball, where he's pitched well, where he hasn't, some video, it looks like the two columns we've got to try to get better control of are the walk and the home run columns," Cooper said. "Obviously, pitching in this park (U.S. Cellular Field), compared to where he pitched last year in Detroit, this park plays a lot smaller.
"So it looks like we've got to be down with the first three pitches to get ahead. To simplify it. He's an experienced guy. Heck, he threw a no-hitter this year so that means his stuff is there. We just have to continue to help him command it better and better."
Konerko on Jackson: Paul Konerko is a career 1-for-12 against Edwin Jackson.
"I've never really preferred facing him," Konerko said. "He's got an above-average arm, good fastball, he's got as plus slider, a real downer-type slider, not so much right to left but more straight down. It's not a recipe I like. Hopefully, he finds his stuff here and we'll do everything we can to make him feel comfortable, and hopefully he'll be a shot in the arm for us."
Torres time? If the Sox do wind up moving Edwin Jackson to the Nationals for Adam Dunn, they'd likely give Carlos Torres the fifth spot in the rotation.
Torres, who threw 5 shutout innings for Class AAA Charlotte Thursday night, is 7-7 with a 3.41 ERA.
"I think the lost part of all of this is we always had confidence in Carlos Torres," GM Kenny Williams said. "We saw him a little bit last year. We've got tremendous confidence in this young man, and it's just a matter of giving him the opportunity."