Could it be that Alex Rodriguez is just really, really good at baseball?

PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE

Alex Rodriguez is batting .407 (11 for 27) with five homers, 11 RBIs and 9 runs scored in just seven playoff games. AP

For those of you who know what's going on inside Alex Rodriguez's head, can you please give me an update? Is he envisioning home runs? How much time -- rounded to the nearest hour -- does he spend looking in the mirror each morning? And can you give me his AmEx number?

Rodriguez is hitting baseballs like he is the best player in the world again. He has hit five home runs in the Yankees' last six games. He is batting .407 in the postseason. He is on one of those rare baseball tears where it seems like he hits the ball hard in every at-bat, and the more you watch the sport, the more you appreciate how special that is.

Many theories have been floated to explain this hot streak. A-Rod is at peace with himself. He feels unburdened after his spring training steroids revelation. His girlfriend, Kate Hudson, sings Take Me Out to the Ballgame in the shower.

I won't dismiss any of that. But it is also possible that Alex Rodriguez is just really, really good at baseball.

We love to believe we know what these guys are thinking, don't we? We're fluent in body language and experts at how a man's life is affecting his work. I'm sure that somewhere, some baseball fans are sure Alex Rodriguez is thriving because he admitted he used steroids and that Manny Ramirez is struggling because he got busted using steroids, and they never make the connection between the two.

When Ramirez took a shower in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS the other day, it was considered a problem. But that was the essence of Manny Being Manny; if I were a Dodger and saw Manny standing on the top step of the dugout, clapping and shouting words of encouragement, I'd check my meds.

Remember, this is the same guy who said it wasn't a big deal if the Red Sox lost to the Indians in the 2007 ALCS. But the Red Sox won, and Ramirez hit .409 in the series.

Not caring, after all, may have its merits. Rodriguez has been criticized for caring too much -- about his image and about the stakes. He was supposed to just play ball. At least, that was the theory.

Maybe there is some merit to the psychoanalysis. Maybe. But the fact is that every player has ups and downs; they are just magnified in the postseason, because when a player is down, he usually doesn't have time to go back up.

Rodriguez's career postseason numbers (.299 batting average, .388 on-base percentage, .563 slugging percentage) are very similar to his career regular-season numbers (.305/.390/.576).

Now, consider that the overall quality of pitching is higher in the postseason (Rodriguez doesn't get to feast on the Orioles' staff -- or on anybody's fifth starter) and the weather is colder. If you think that Rodriguez struggled in his last few playoff series because he was choking, then what you are ultimately saying is this: the rest of the time, Alex Rodriguez has been one of the most clutch athletes of the last 20 years.

More likely, he is just hot at the right time now, and he was cold at the wrong time two years ago.

Again: Rodriguez is not the only athlete who gets this kind of psychological treatment. He was an easy patient for us the last few years because he fidgeted in the batter's box and adjusted his equipment between every pitch. He looked nervous.

But if you watch, he does that in May, too. He's a fidgety dude.

A-Rod's image changed in the 2004 American League Championship Series against Boston. It was his first year in New York, the Red Sox had that unprecedented comeback, he wasn't a true Yankee, etc. But Rodriguez actually hit pretty well in that series -- far better than, for example, Derek Jeter.

After one of his great performances this week, Rodriguez told Fox there was no "profound" reason for the sudden change in his postseason fortunes. He also said he is happy now. I suspect most people focused on the second comment and ignored the first.