Does six-man rotation make sense for Sox?

In these modern, wired times, less is not more.

Check with employees in just about any profession and you are bound to hear complaints of more work for equal or less compensation.

The White Sox are apparently ready to reverse that trend, and Phil Humber is to blame.

Entering the season as Jake Peavy's temporary understudy, Humber was expected to take his $500,000 contract and bow out quietly upon Peavy's return.

It hasn't played out that way, which is a good thing for Humber and the Sox.

Humber, best known for being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 draft, proceeded to have Tommy John surgery and bounced from the Mets to the Twins to the Royals to the A's before the White Sox claimed the 6-foot-3 Texan off waivers on Jan. 18.

Just six weeks into the season, Humber has pitched like the second coming off Esteban Loaiza.

It's always nice to have depth, but now that Peavy is back off the disabled list the Sox have an interesting problem on their hands.

With proven — and highly paid — starters named Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, John Danks and Gavin Floyd on the payroll, Humber has always been viewed as the eventual odd-man out.

That would likely be the case, but the White Sox are apparently going to become the first known team in major-league history to go with a six-man rotation for an extended run.

Record-wise, Humber is a mediocre 2-3. But the 28-year-old pitcher leads the Sox with a 2.97 ERA and he's limited right-handed hitters to a .094 batting average, the best in baseball heading into Thursday.

Manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters it would be unfair to remove Humber from the rotation and dump him in the bullpen.

Of course, that could change if Humber starts getting raked, but for now it looks like the White Sox are going with a crowded rotation.

“It's not fair for us, for (Humber), to say, ‘OK, you are pitching good, thank you for coming and good-bye,'” Guillen said Monday. “I'm not that type of person. I'm not that type of manager. This kid earned it. He throws the ball well. We aren't going to cut loose if someone is doing well.”

Humber gets the start in Friday night's series opener at Oakland, and he should be followed by Floyd and Buehrle, with all three going on six days rest.

There would be an extra day off on each starter's turn, at minimum, if the six-man rotation sticks.

How it plays out remains to be seen, but Guillen told reporters he'll try to make it work.

“I have never managed a team with a six-man rotation,” Guillen said. “I've never managed how we're going to handle the bullpen.”

One reader, Carol Bachar of Arlington Heights, wonders if Sox starters will be able to use the extra rest to go deeper in their starts, thus bailing out the short-handed bullpen.

“Would this mean that Oz may let the starter go 130 pitches or even complete a game if he's going good?” Bachar asked in an email. “After all, he will have an extra day of rest. Personally, I say go with your strengths right now and go with 6 starters and don't put Humber in the pen. Maybe even send (Chris) Sale down to find his control while you ride with 6 horses.”

That is just one of many interesting angles out there as the White Sox press forward with a six-man rotation that could either be duplicated by other major-league teams or become a complete disaster.