Struggling Swisher takes his .220 average to bench

NEW YORK - The energy and enthusiasm are still there, but Nick Swisher has lost his offensive edge.

Mired in an 0-for-12 slump and held to just 7 hits in his last 64 at-bats, Swisher (.220) was held out of the starting lineup Tuesday night.

Swisher played first base the past week, but now that Paul Konerko has returned from a knee injury, he could be facing some extended bench time.

"I think he's struggling real bad at the plate," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Right now, not having (Carlos) Quentin and (Joe) Crede in the lineup, everybody's got to step it up a notch. Right now, he's really, really struggling."

Jerry Owens got the start in left field Tuesday against the Yankees. In addition to Swisher, Dewayne Wise and Brian Anderson can also play left.

"We're going to see the matchups," Guillen said. "We're going to see how Wise and Anderson and Owens play and see what happens. I'm not saying (Swisher's) not going to play, but I want to see how those guys perform and I'm going to take it from there."

With so much at stake for the Sox and so little time remaining in the regular season, Guillen said he can't afford to wait for Swisher to emerge from his latest slump.

"I don't have any choice," Guillen said. "We don't have too much room and we don't have that many games to just hope somebody gets hot. We've got to get hot, and I'm going to put the best guys out there."

When Swisher was struggling earlier in the season, he was able to contribute by drawing walks. In 42 September at-bats, the switch-hitter has drawn just 4 walks while striking out 15 times.

"I don't see good at-bats," Guillen said. "He strikes out a lot, and it's something where he has to get better. I think everything's mental. He's changing too many stances; he's trying too many things. He should go back to the basics; that's my opinion. Hopefully, that helps him."

Richard to start: Despite making 2 starts this month and allowing 8 earned runs on 12 hits in 8 innings while losing both games, Clayton Richard is scheduled to start against New York tonight.

Manager Ozzie Guillen said he also considered giving the ball to Lance Broadway or reliever Horacio Ramirez.