Before I continue, let it be known that I was perfectly happy with having either Daniel Hudson or Edwin Jackson. I did NOT want Kenny Williams to trade pitching for hitting - and folks, if you were on the other side of that argument, and wanted to see that trade, you got a glimpse of what might have happened regularly had the Sox been able to pull the trigger on the Jackson-Adam Dunn trade.

On the surface, Carlos Torres did not have a terrible outing. It wasn't great, but his line was palatable for someone who is virtually a rookie. 6 IP-9 H-5 R-5 ER-5 BB-4 K is something to improve on. However, diving deeper into the numbers, I've found a couple of things that give me pause.

Torres threw 110 pitches, 65 for strikes. Now, a 1.4 strike/ball ratio is never a good thing, for ANY pitcher. It's even worse for a pitcher that pitches to contact, as Torres appears to do - last night's performance of 35 contact strikes vs. 30 swinging/looking strikes is representative of Torres' usual modus operandi. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, and will not strike out a large percentage of the batters he faces. This makes throwing a large percentage of strikes (65+%) a necessity. I don't think he has the control and command to throw strikes consistently at the MLB level. I could be wrong, but from the 9 appearances I've seen in two seasons with the White Sox, he hasn't inspired me.

Had KW traded Jackson for Dunn, it is likely that Torres would have become the fifth starter. Lucas Harrell, who had a slightly better debut last week, would have made a case as well. For the Sox to make a run at the postseason this year, however, they need a 5th starter with MLB experience - which Edwin Jackson brings. For all the criticism Jackson has brought this year, he has a sub-1.5 WHIP, has 7 Ks per 9 IP, and can likely chalk up his high ERA to difficulty with command, which almost certainly can be fixed.

I'll take my chances with Jackson this fall.