Yankees Analysis: How Alex Rodgriguez Can Repeat As AL MVP

We all know that last year was magical for A-Rod. The name "Mr. Clutch" seemed to switch from shortstop to third base last year, but can Alex really repeat the type of season he had last year?

I think the main point that Rodriguez needs to maintain is his consistency. Although he did blast 54 home runs last season, Alex was far from consistent.

Everyone remembers what he did last April, belting 14 homers and hitting a red-hot .355. Look what happened in May: .235 with only 5 homers.

I won't bore you trying to come up with more sentences to present the information, so here it is: June, .402 9 HR; July, .206 7 HR; August, .330, 9 HR; September, .362, 10 HR.

You can plainly see that besides August into September, consistency was A-Rod's weakness.

Can you really "fix" consistency? It's either very simple or very complex, depending on how you think of it. The simple part is keeping his mechanics sorted out, making sure his leg kick is straight, and not too high.

In addition, he's got to make sure he doesn't "over-do" an at-bat, like sitting on every pitch like it's Game Seven of the World Series, bottom of the ninth, team down by three, two outs, full count and the bases loaded.

He's got to take it easy and let the at-bat "take care of itself." Alex is a great player and sometimes puts a little too much pressure on himself to perform other than just playing a good game of ball. 

The other aspects of the game are a bit more complex. I've covered simple parts of his mental state, but there are other factors that play in.

In the past two years, he's created much drama off the field, which is not good for his game. Although the controversy with the lady (other than his wife) didn't affect his game greatly, it's not the thing to do in the middle of a race for the AL East title.

Alex has to avoid anything that will distract him from the baseball field.

A large part of the game is a player's defense. Many coaches will argue that defense carries into the AB and offense carries out onto the field. If you don't believe me, check out A-Rod's statistics in 2005: 48 HR, .321, .971 fielding percentage.

Now look at 2006: 35 HR, .290, .931 fielding percentage, .40 lower than the previous year. Look at the trend last season, 2007: 54 HR, .314, .965 fielding percentage.

It's not as good as 2005, which was his best year as a third baseman, but it's good considering he's relatively inexperienced at the hot corner. 

Don't get me wrong, 2006 was much more mental than anything. He felt that he had to carry the team after Hideki Matsui and half the pitching staff was injured. Having the burden of carrying the team on your shoulders is no small feat, and the impact was evident on his offense and defense.

A-Rod is here to stay, and these are just a few of the things that he needs to do to remain an elite player in the game of baseball.

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