I'm sure you're correct about those things, but I think the point is that the original poster had a starting pitcher in the #3 starter's spot who wasn't being used, with the AI was bringing someone in out of the bullpen to take his start. It doesn't seem to be a matter of pitch counts etc. as much as it does the AI deciding that the #3 starter wouldn't be allowed to pitch for some reason. It would be nice if Strict Rotation provided just that, with the specified starters being used in order, rather than the AI tinkering with the manager's intentions. As seen in this thread
AI simply won't use a pitcher there does appear to be some sort of problem with the AI simply deciding that certain pitchers aren't going to start no matter what.