Getty Images

The Yankees have decided the best way to get Alex Rodriguez right is to sit him from time to time.

By Eric Young, ESPN

We're seeing two former MVPs (the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez and the Phillies' Jimmy Rollins) dealing with slumps, and their teams are dealing with these slumps by giving their superstars time off.

The New York Yankees have already given A-Rod a couple of days off to deal with mental fatigue, and the Phillies recently decided to do the same thing with the struggling Rollins, who is hitting .211 this season.

Giving both players time off was and is a good idea because sometimes players keep slumps going by continuing to press; they just try so hard to break out of that slump. We're definitely seeing that out of two guys who have a lot of pride and who see themselves as the leaders of their teams. There is no doubt in my mind that these two are pressing because they know what they are capable of and want to get back on track.

In A-Rod's case, it's especially a good idea because he very well may have come back too soon from his hip surgery. This guy is a great player who had an extremely turbulent offseason. I'm sure he wanted to be back in the comfort zone of his clubhouse, playing with his teammates and manning third base instead of dealing with all the extracurricular stuff he's had to deal with nonstop since before spring training.

I personally would rather have seen A-Rod take another couple of weeks off so that he could get completely back on track. Since that didn't happen, the Yankees now have to deal with the situation of A-Rod still playing himself back into All-Star mode. For him, that's going to require more than just time in the cages and time watching video. He needs to get his body back to 100 percent for us to start seeing the A-Rod we're used to seeing. He has shown good signs this past week, with solid at-bats against the Braves and Mets.

Rollins is a totally different case, and it reminds me of some of the times when I wasn't fundamentally sound at the plate. When that happens, I don't subscribe to looking at video of the bad at-bats. There is no need to continue to reinforce those bad habits. When I went through these periods, I'd study video of my good at-bats. That way I was looking at myself in different situations and was able to study what I was doing right. Then I'd take that knowledge into the cages and start with some soft toss to start to get some positive thinking going.

Once I'd start dominating the soft toss, I'd start speeding up the pitching I was seeing until I got to a level that was more reflective of game situations. At that point, I would be in pretty good shape and ready to take it onto the field.

I have no doubt that A-Rod and Rollins will get back on the right track and start hitting again and soon; for A-Rod it might have already started happening. These two guys are major talents. Pair that talent with the hard work and smarts necessary to be great players. Watch for them to go in and make the adjustments necessary and for each to have a big second half.

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: June 25 | June 24 | June 23 | June 22 | June 21

WEB GEMS SCOREBOARD

This season, "Baseball Tonight" will be tracking Web Gems. We'll publish a leaderboard on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page each Monday. In addition to listing the leaders in appearances (both players and teams) on "Baseball Tonight," we'll offer up the leaders in Web Gem points.

Web Gem points will be calculated by awarding five points for the night's top defensive play, four points for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Scoring will be based on the Web Gems from the last "Baseball Tonight" show to air on a given night.

Web Gem points leaderboard
Brandon Inge	24
Carlos Gomez	22
Ryan Zimmerman	20
Ryan Sweeney	19
Jack Wilson	19
Michael Bourn	18

Web Gem appearances leaderboard (players)
David Wright	New York Mets	Third base	8
Brandon Inge	Detroit	Third base	8
Ryan Zimmerman	Washington	Third base	7
Carlos Gomez	Minnesota	Center field	6

Web Gem appearances leaderboard (teams)
Washington	21
Pittsburgh	19
Philadelphia	18
New York Mets	18
Chicago White Sox	17
Boston	17

ON DECK: MONDAY'S MATCHUPS

Rays at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET

Toronto gets its ace back, with Roy Halladay scheduled to return from a stint on the disabled list. Halladay has won his past seven decisions, not having suffered a loss since April 21 at home against Texas.

Angels at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. ET

The Angels have taken over first place in the AL West, but the Rangers will get a chance to take back the top spot in the division. The Angels have won five in a row, and though they rely heavily on pitching, it has been the bats doing the job lately. Three times during the five-game winning streak they have scored in double digits.

Giants at Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. ET

Tim Lincecum takes the mound, the same mound he could be starting the All-Star Game from a few weeks from now. Lincecum is coming off a complete-game, 12-strikeout performance against the A's, which was good for his third win in four starts.

For the rest of Monday's schedule, click here.