Sunday Insider: Central Intelligence

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire stared daggers at anyone who asked him about going to a six-man rotation to fit Kevin Slowey into the mix (before he was injured). White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has used a six-man rotation for about a month and might stick with it through the All-Star break.

The move has worked. Chicago wants John Danks to work through his 0-8 start. Mark Buehrle endorses the arrangement. And former Twin Phil Humber has bailed out the rotation. Boy, Don Cooper must be one heck of a pitching coach.

The White Sox went to a six-man rotation when Jake Peavy was activated from the DL, and since then, the starters were 9-6 with a 3.73 ERA entering the weekend.

"If something goes wrong, then we'll change it," Guillen said. "But for right now, it's working pretty well. We're pitching pretty well, and that's the main reason we're going to keep it."

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What a May for Cleveland, which went 14-12 and bumped its lead in the AL Central to five games. The Indians did this despite Fausto Carmona and Justin Masterson combining to go 1-6. Grady Sizemore hit .143 and was injured, and Jack Hannahan (.184), Orlando Cabrera (.230), Shelley Duncan (.190) and Lou Marson (.167) also had crummy months. How long will it last?

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Tigers outfielder Brennan Boesch was 2-for-15 during a four-game stretch (all Detroit victories) last week. In a three-game sweep of the Twins, Boesch drove in three runs from third with less than two outs; drew a walk in front of a Miguel Cabrera home run; and made a diving catch of Delmon Young's sinking liner. Boxscores don't tell everything.