Jackson, then stonewall

With only half a day until the deadline, this is where we stand. There may have been miscommunication, but Kenny Williams isn't happy right now. Combining some Brett Ballantini tweets:

What's interesting is pregame KW didn't just point out the irascibility of the new-school GMs, but mentioned he'd talked to several "old-school" GMs who all agreed w/him: "I talked to a # of guys who share my feelings." Real old vs. new school tension in air. Then consider his borderline derision: "I'm not a guy to play games with," mocking the "cloak & dagger" behavior ... "This is baseball, not espionage. We're not sharing military secrets...gimme a break."

This probably won't end well.
Lest I waste words on Edwin Jackson only to see him get traded, I'm going to hold off on any deep diving on his potential until the deadline. Rizzo may feel some pressure to get a deal done; he's been conducting this whole Dunn thing like a stooge, telling the Rays he would want Matt Garza in initial talks. The Sun-Times reports Rizzo wanted Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham and two pitching prospects for Dunn at first.
However, if the Sox are truly stuck with Jackson, it's not exactly awful. If they made a mistake, well, the Twins made the same one the day before.
The Twins dealt catcher Wilson Ramos -- their most expendable quality prospect with Joe Mauer blocking him for the forseeable future -- to Washington for closer Matt Capps. Capps is having a nice year, but he's also had a not-nice year in his recent past, and he's never pitched in the AL. That sounds a lot like the guy he's replacing in the Twins' closer role, Jon Rauch.
Capps is making $3.5 million, and will probably make more than $5 million in his final year of arbitration. That gives Minnesota two big salaries in the back end of their bullpen, with a couple of hard decisions to make on Matt Guerrier and Rauch in ther finals years (Rauch could accept arbitration if the year doesn't end well).
Acquiring Capps does likely improve Minnesota's chances for this year and the next, and that's what Twins fans have going for them.
We can probably regard Jackson in the same way. He's likely an improvement over Daniel Hudson, and he's also Freddy Garcia insurance.  It's a high price to pay, as it'll push the 2011 rotation's total cost to the neighborhood of $50 million, but something has been accomplished.
There's one fatal flaw with Jackson, though. He could very well be the next Matt Thornton or Gavin Floyd, because Williams has mentioned a delivery correction as a way to improve his performance, and not the wishcasty "change of scenery." It's not unreasonable, considering the season he put together for Detroit in 2009.
But let's say Jackson sticks with the Sox, dusts himself off and finishes 2011 with 14 wins, 210 innings and an ERA+ of 110 or better.
His agent is Scott Boras.
This probably won't end well.
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At South Side Sox, thecip summed it up beautifully:

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Congratulations to Lucas Harrell, who picked up his first major-league win in between departing and joining the Charlotte Knights.
It gives me another reason to link to an article I wrote in 2004 while at Mizzou, when Harrell led his team to the Missouri state baseball championship. He was drafted by the Sox two days later.
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Minor league roundup:

• Louisville 5, Charlotte 2
  • Tyler Flowers singled twice and walked once over four PAs.
  • Brent Morel went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Jordan Danks doubled and struck out twice; Alejandro De Aza also went 1-for-4.
  • Stefan Gartrell hit a solo shot, his 21st.
  • Clevelan Santeliz allowed a run (solo shot) on two hits over two innings in his return from injury. He struck out one.
• Birmingham 15, Chattanooga 4
  • Eduardo Escobar hit his first Double-A homer during a 3-for-5 night.
  • Christian Marrero went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI.
  • Justin Greene was 0-for-3 with a walk.
• Myrtle Beach 9, Winston-Salem 6 (Game 1, 7 innings)
  • Josh Phegley went 1-for-2 with a walk in his first game since July 5.
  • Brandon Short singled and doubled over three ABs.
  • Jon Gilmore went 1-for-4 with an RBI; Jose Martinez 0-for-3 with a K.
  • Stephen Sauer allowed six runs on nine hits over five innings, walking two and striking out three.
• Myrtle Beach 11, Winston-Salem 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
  • Terry Doyle: 5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.
  • Short singled, walked and struck out twice. He was caught stealing, too.
  • Jon Gilmore went 1-for-4 again.
• Hickory 3, Kannapolis 2
  • Andre Rienzo had another successful start: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.
  • Miguel Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a double.
  • Kyle Colligan drew a walk over four PAs.
  • Tyler Saladino went 0-for-4 with a K; Nick Ciolli 1-for-4.
• Greeneville 5, Bristol 4
  • Rangel Ravelo went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. He also laid down a sac bunt.
  • Daniel Black was 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
• Great Falls 5, Helena 3
  • Andy Wilkins singled, walked three times and struck out.
  • Ross Wilson was 0-for-3 with a walk.
  • Thomas Royse pitched just one inning, allowing a walk and a hit but no runs.
  • Addison Reed struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning.