Danny Bernstein has stated that the 6 man rotation used by Ozzie Guillen was a bad idea .the Sox rotation when Peavy was ready to come off the DL (when the 6 man rotation began) Ozzie had a starter in Phil Humber who was probably the teams best and most consistent starter at that point, but had never gone as many as 150 innings. There was also a starter (Peavy) who had just spent over a month on the DL for the 5th straight season and who was anything but certain to hold up after a lat surgery that had many wondering if he could hold up. In addition Mark Buehrle had struggled in August and September the past few seasons as he wore down. The added rest seemed to have a positive effect. Conversely, since the rotation reverted to a 5 man, it seems like Buehrle has not been as effective.

Lastly....Bernstein points out that by having a 6th pitcher involved in the rotation, it means giving fewer starts to the #! and #2 starters and that weakens the staff as a whole. Now if the Sox rotation was like the Phillies, with Halladay and Lee, in those spots of the rotation, it might be a valid argument. However, the Sox rotation has no Halladay, Lee, Lincicum, Verlander, Sabathia or Weaver. It is made up of a bunch of guys who while solid for the most part, are not exceptional. The quality of the guy in the #1 or 2 spot in the rotation is not vastly different than the guys at the end of the rotation. The only negative is that it leaves the bench a bit short. But given all the other factors that probably went into the decision making...I think it made a lot of sense.