Sox look for Rios to regain 'quality' as a hitter

Posted March 01, 2010 10:00 pm

Scot Gregor

GLENDALE, Ariz. - In retrospect, Greg Walker realizes he probably should have toned down his enthusiasm after traveling to Miami in mid-January to check in on Alex Rios.

Walker said he only needed to see "five swings" to feel better about the 6-foot-5 center fielder, who was a shade or two below awful with the White Sox last season after being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in an Aug. 10 waiver claim.

"That probably made it sound like Alex is completely back to where he needs to be and he's not going to hit any rough patches this year," Walker said at the Sox' Camelback Ranch training camp.

"That's not realistic. He's going to struggle just like everybody else, but now he'll be able to come out of it quicker. That's the one thing the quality hitters are able to do."

Believe it or not, Rios is - or was - in that category.

A two-time all-star with the Jays, Rios ranks fourth in the American League behind Brian Roberts, Michael Young and David Ortiz with 201 doubles over the last six seasons.

He hit .291 with 47 doubles, 15 home runs, 79 RBI and 32 stolen bases in 2008 and .297 with 43 doubles, 24 HRs, 85 RBI and 17 steals the year before.

Add in his defensive prowess - Rios has the fourth-highest assist total (55) in the major leagues since 2004 - and it's a little easier to understand why White Sox general manager Kenny Williams made that $59.7 million gamble last summer.

But when Rios joined the Sox smack dab in the middle of a playoff race, he didn't come close to handling the heat.

"I had too many things on mind and I was worried about too many things," Rios said. "But this is a new year."

Indeed it is, but it's still difficult to ignore how bad Rios was in 41 games with the White Sox last season.

The 29-year-old outfielder batted just .199 and had 3 home runs and 9 RBI while incurring the wrath of Sox fans at U.S. Cellular Field. Clearly, Rios was rattled by the rarity of a waiver claim, and he quickly lost his confidence and "feel for hitting," according to Walker.

Returning home to Puerto Rico for the winter, Rios had some critical work to do before he even thought about picking up a bat again.

"For me, it was a time to clear my mind and come back with a positive mind," Rios said. "There are no negative thoughts in my head; it's a fresh start."

Does that mean Rios is going to get back to putting up big numbers across the board like he did with the Blue Jays?

"I don't think I have to prove myself," he said. "I just want to perform and do my stuff the right way, achieve my goals. I want to win as many games as I can and make it to the playoffs. If I can help to do that, that would be my greatest achievement.

"I don't have any goals. I don't set any numbers, but I want to do good. I want to make the team better. If I have that in mind, that would be my goal."

With the offense struggling when Rios joined the White Sox, manager Ozzie Guillen thinks his new outfielder tried to do too much. He already has addressed that issue with Rios.

"When I talked to him (over the winter), I asked him, 'Why were you so bad?' " Guillen said. "Coming to Chicago, he thought he would be the savior. He said he felt the pressure and couldn't perform.

"I said, 'You're not the man, you're just another piece.' As long as he remembers that, I think he's going to be able to perform."

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