In 2004 the Braves were the first team to give me the chance to play every day, and I’m man enough to admit that I wasn’t ready. Mentally, from an offensive standpoint, I was not ready to be productive every day.

It wasn’t until I went to Texas and began working with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo that I was able to iron things out. I had always had the tools, but I wasn’t there yet. Rudy helped me come up with a plan.

When I first came up with the Braves there were just guys better than me at my position. I didn’t have a leg to stand on to force my way into the lineup. I just waited for my time, and with the Rangers Rudy changed my entire stance, my approach … I started over again from Square 1 like I was back in Little League.

Rudy was able to show me on video how I was not putting myself in position to be successful at the big-league level. It was a struggle at first; after 29 years it’s tough to break bad habits, but I was willing to make the change to further my career. There were untapped resources that I was not taking advantage of.

One of the big differences between guys who play every day in the big leagues and guys who don’t is being consistent, having a game plan and doing things the right way. There are a lot of guys in Triple A who are very talented and should be in the bigs, but it’s all about when you get that chance you have to make the most of your opportunity and be consistent.

I can’t explain why you go through a whole bad month and then have a great month right after that. I batted .195 with one homer in July and .378 with seven homers and 24 RBI in August. I always say that in this game, you are who you are. If you’re a 30-homer guy, at the end of the season you’re probably going to be right around 30 homers. Ultimately, I’ve been a streaky hitter all through my career. I kept telling myself that at the end of the month things would turn around for me. Maybe I talked myself into a bad month, then into having a good one.

A lot of my success this season has come just from playing more, getting familiar with who I’m playing against, knowing strengths and weaknesses and having a game plan when I go up to hit. This is just my third year of playing every day. When I go up to the plate I’m not trying to do too much, just accomplish the task in front of me.

Mark DeRosa is the starting second baseman for the Chicago Cubs. His blog for playerpress.com runs regularly at www.markderosa7.com