Alex Rodriguez has just over a month to find that once-limitless reservoir of talent, wherever it’s gone. The countdown hereby begins: By Game 1 of the AL Division Series, the clock will have run out on the summer of swings and misses and all those incomprehensible errors. If not, A-Rod’s Yankee legacy will come crashing down, powerful enough to make him finally look for the door.

For now, friends say Rodriguez isn’t considering asking for a trade; the topic isn’t raised in even the most private conversations. The Yankee hierarchy treads lightly as well, pointing out there’s still time for A-Rod to regain that graceful stroke. And that’s true. But the Bombers cannot wait forever, not while they go into their sixth consecutive postseason without a championship.

Say the Bombers go out in the first round, as they did against the Angels last year. Or even more damaging, imagine them losing to the Mets in the World Series while Rodriguez struggles with Pedro Martinez’s change-up or is unable to catch up to Billy Wagner’s fastball. Fair or not, it’ll be a debt he’ll never repay.

Not after going 2-for-his-last-17 in 2004 while the Yankees blew a 3-0 series lead to the Red Sox in the ALCS. Not after failing to drive in a single run in the Yankees’ five-game loss to the Angels in 2005. One more disappointing October, and A-Rod can forget about ever winning over the fans, many of whom have already given up on this seemingly futuristic robot.

A-Rod has the skills and strength that exceed any mortal’s, and there’s no denying he’s on his way to an 800-home run career. Rodriguez’s swing is still the one you’d teach to a Little Leaguer. But at this point, most Yankee loyalists will take Derek Jeter’s heart, any day.

The shortstop’s ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike single off Jon Papelbon at Fenway Park on Aug. 20 did more than send the Yankees and Sox into extra innings and an eventual 8-5 Bombers victory. It all but ended the Red Sox’s dream of a first-place finish in the East.

Jeter (again) emerged from the blood wars with his legacy intact, if not enhanced. A-Rod, meanwhile, sank into the worst possible slump on the West Coast, going 1-for-15 with 10 strikeouts. Even a low-system farmhand would have likely fared better, prompting speculation that Rodriguez was either still sick with a virus when he returned to the lineup Saturday, or he’s playing despite a serious injury.

Either that, or else A-Rod is suffering from the kind of confidence drought that’s beyond the collective therapies of Joe Torre and Don Mattingly. Even legendary basketball coach John Wooden offered to help over the weekend, handing A-Rod an autographed copy of his famed book, “Pyramid of Success.”

A-Rod was more than happy to listen to the greatest motivator in the history of college sports. Say this about Rodriguez: The beast of failure hasn’t changed him. He’s still a respectful, polite guy, no trace of punk or attitude. Rodriguez plays hard, doesn’t use steroids and will never embarrass the Yankees in some police scandal. In that respect, A-Rod is the anti-David Wells, and that counts for something when you’re playing for a franchise as big as Microsoft.

That’s one reason why Yankee executives continue to give Rodriguez a wide berth.