Danny

Richar

Starter Miguel Batista suddenly lost his command in the seventh inning and walked three straight batters with one out in the inning. George Sherrill was then called upon to face the left-handed Richar, but the rookie second basemen took the southpaw deep for his first career home run. Although he was off to a slow start befoer tonight, Richar is worth continuing to stick with in AL-only leagues.

All 11 runs scored off Kyle Davies and Brandon Duckworth in the fifth inning. Richar, who also homered Sunday, is batting .240/.306/.445 in 146 at-bats. He needs to keep it up to help his chances of entering 2008 as the White Sox’s primary second baseman.

Alex Cintron played second base tonight, but he’ll be taking a backseat to Richar most of the time.

The White Sox were without any interesting middle-infield prospects and wanted to add some depth with neither Juan Uribe nor Tadahito Iguchi playing very well. Richar, who turned 24 a week ago, was hitting .284/.348/.471 in 261 at-bats for Tucson. He doesn’t project as a regular, but he might not be bad as a stopgap at second base and he could also fit as a decent bench player. We don’t like the price, but the White Sox did have outfield depth to spare. Richar will likely be assigned to Triple-A for now, but he could soon be up to act as a reserve.

Richar is a left-handed hitter who struggles versus southpaws, so Alex Cintron could start over him against lefties. Still, he’ll probably bave some value in AL-only leagues.

Richar will get most of the playing time at second base the rest of the way and should be worth using in AL-only leagues. Alex Cintron will likely play over him against tough left-handers.

Richar’s .227 batting average is limiting the value he provies to both the White Sox and fantasy leaguers, and that his defense isn’t especially good means he hasn’t been even an average second basemen. However, the rookie has shown some promise with five homers and eight doubles in 141 at-bats this season. He’s also not averse to drawing walks, so if Richar can get his average up to around .270 he could be a solid regular. The White Sox will still likely look to upgrade this winter, however.

Both GM Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen had something to say about it, suggesting that it’s at least partly Richar’s fault the matter hasn’t been cleared up. Richar was the favorite to start at second base, but that could change soon. The alternatives are Juan Uribe and Alexei Ramirez.

He’ll be battling Danny Richar, Pablo Ozuna and Alexei Ramirez for the gig now that Orlando Cabrera has replaced him as the team’s shortstop. “I have no control over who the starter is,’' Uribe said. ''I’m going to do everything in my power to be the starting second baseman. That’s what I like to do. I like to start and be a difference maker.’'

“It will be tough. The motivation will be tough,” said manager Ozzie Guillen. “I don’t blame Juan for this, but I think as long as he shows up with the right attitude, we are going to give him a shot to play.” The White Sox would still prefer to trade him, but if nothing gets done, they’ll let him battle Danny Richar and maybe Alexei Ramirez for the starting job at second.