"With Opening Day nine days down the road, most veterans have had enough of camp and are ready for the real deal.

White Sox center fielder Alex Rios is fine with hanging out in sunny Arizona for a while, though.

"The more you play and the more pitches you see, the better it is,'' Rios said Tuesday. "I don't mind being here for six or seven weeks. I just want to see plenty of pitches, as many as I can, so I can be as ready as I can be.''

It's not like Rios needs to find a groove. He hit his fourth home run of the spring Monday night against San Diego Padres right-hander Mat Latos, tying him with Lastings Milledge for the team lead. His 14 RBI rank among the leaders in the Cactus League. Rios is batting .295 with nine of his 13 hits going for extra bases (three doubles, two triples), and he has hit safely in his last six games (8-for-20) with two doubles, two triples, a homer and six RBI.

"I've hit the ball good a couple of times," Rios understated.

Rios is more of a see-it-hit-it guy than a scientific hitter who breaks down the mechanics of his swing. He holds his hands low by his back hip, which is highly unorthodox. For Rios, it's a matter of being comfortable at the plate.

"It's something I tried a couple of years ago in spring training [with the Toronto Blue Jays] and I liked it, so I stuck with it," he said. "I try not to think too much about any kind of mechanics. I don't know how it goes .??.??. I just swing.''

Whatever works.

The good spring bodes well for a second consecutive solid April, which Rios badly needed last season after he struggled (.199) in the 41 games he played with the Sox after they snagged him on waivers from the Jays."