Rios trying to finish strong, but Sox still lose

Even though he's been with the club for just six weeks, Alex Rios has already been deemed a major bust by many White Sox fans and followers.

Considering the 28-year-old outfielder is still owed $59.7 million over the next five seasons, Rios' first impression has been well short of impressive.

"It's been frustrating, when you try to do something and it doesn't happen the way you want it to," Rios said before the Sox lost to the Twins 8-6 at U.S. Cellular Field on Tuesday night. "The results are not the ones you want, and it gets on you a little bit."

Claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 10, Rios joined the White Sox shortly after they won home series against the New York Yankees and Los Angeles while playing like legitimate contenders.

But the Sox started a downward tumble soon after Rios came on board, and his own struggles helped fuel the flop.

Talking quietly in front of his locker Tuesday afternoon, the two-time all-star was down but not out.

"For me, this season has been a learning season," Rios said. "It hasn't been the greatest season, it hasn't been a good season, but it's been good because I've learned from it and I'm going to learn how to deal with situations like this next year and the years to come.

"It's been a learning experience, so at least I got something good out of a bad season."

Widely known as a streaky hitter during his seven seasons in Toronto, Rios has been stuck in park since coming over to the White Sox.

But the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder has been gradually reversing all of the negative momentum.

Rios had a pair of 2-hit games over the past week, and he hit a solo home run off Minnesota starter Jeff Manship in the third inning Tuesday.

It was Rios' 16th home run of the season but only his second in 32 games with the Sox.

"That's my thing right now," Rios said. "Try to get a good feeling so I can take it into spring training next year and carry it over into the season. I'm going to try to finish strong and get that feeling back."

Being uprooted from the Blue Jays in an unexpected waiver claim wasn't easy for Rios, but he's not using that as an excuse.

"I don't think it affected me because in Toronto, I was probably doing the same thing," said Rios, who batted .264 with 14 HRs, 62 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 108 games with the Jays. "Baseball is baseball, no matter where it is. You're going to see the same pitches in Toronto that you see over here. But like I said, I'm just trying to get that feeling back and carry it over to next season."

While he's not making any outlandish predictions, Rios, who has hit just .138 (8-for-58) in September, sounded like his worst days with the White Sox are over.

"I'm getting to know everybody now, and I feel more comfortable with the team," Rios said. "So next year, it's going to be like just another spring to me. I think it'll be a little easier. But you have to learn from experiences like this, and I think it'll make me stronger. Out of a bad season, I think I've got something good."