Sox to adjust rotation after all-star break

ARLINGTON, Texas - The White Sox' starting rotation, a strong suit over much of the first half of the season, has been slipping a bit heading into the all-star break.

When the second half picks up on Friday with a home game against the Kansas City Royals, the Sox' starting five will have an altered look.

Mark Buehrle, who stumbled through the first two months but has been his old, reliable self since June 1, gets the ball first.

Gavin Floyd, who leads the White Sox with 10 wins, starts the second game ahead of John Danks, Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras.

"We looked at a lot of different things,'' said Sox pitching coach Don Cooper. "Not one thing made our decision. A little bit of matchups, a little bit of who do we think is throwing the ball better, a little bit of who do we want to get more starts, all of that. Who has the most days? Who will be comfortable there? But we're comfortable with it.''

Vazquez and Contreras are established veterans, but they've both been struggling and that's why they've been dropped to the bottom of the rotation.

Vazquez, who will have an 11-day break between starts, has labored in 6 of his last 7 starts, and Contreras has also been slipping backward.

"If someone gets upset, believe me, you can't please everybody,'' said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "If you think about pleasing people and don't think about the club, it's going to be a hard job. I expect someone to be upset, disappointed.

"But it doesn't matter who we put up, everybody is going to have a lot of days off before pitching. It's a tough situation, but we're not the only ones going through it. We're not the only ones to deal with it. If somebody is upset, that's the way it is and that's the way we put it together."