Despite the result, John Danks did not have a good game. As those who were watching the game know, it didn't look like he was going to make it out of the third due to the return of the circulation problem Danks has been having with his left index finger. As is probably intuitive, it is essential for a pitcher to be able to feel the ball and be able to know how much pressure he is using with his fingers on his various pitches. Danks was obviously struggling with the "feel" on his pitches and it showed in the six walks he issued. As the game went on, both his feel and the Orioles' desire to swing increased, which permitted Danks to end up throwing 6.1 innings. Gordon Beckham also had a couple very nice plays on what should have been Brian Roberts hits. On another night, however, this game could have gotten ugly real quickly.
What is getting ugly slowly is Ozzie's need to have an outfield rotation. Prior to tonight's game, Scott Podsednik in the last month has a super line of .255/.284/.347. Is he that bad? No, probably not. However, he's also not as good as he was during those magic pixie dust halcyon days from mid-May to mid-July. Alex Rios did not need a day off. He had Thursday off. Rios is a better baseball player in just about every facet of the game - including, I might remind those who love speed, in stealing bases (20 for 23 v. 19 for 28).
I understand Ozzie's desire to rotate players in order to keep them fresh. However, now is the time for which you kept them fresh. A day off for players who just had a day off two days ago is not necessary. If the White Sox are going to win this division, they need to ride their best players.