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• Your Rankings: Who is MLB's best player? | Chat: Jerry Crasnick on World Series, 2 ET

A lot of Yankees won their first World Series Wednesday night. CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are first-time champions. Robinson Cano hadn't won a ring. And you don't hear people making a fuss over Brett Gardner. But, yes, Alex Rodriguez is a little different.

Criticized for years as a failure in the clutch, Rodriguez seemed to hit bottom with February's admission that he had used performance-enhancing drugs while with the Rangers. A quick refresher on how SportsNation felt about him at the time.

• 71 percent of SN said the revelation diminished their opinion of A-Rod.
• 67 percent of SN said the revelation put A-Rod's Hall of Fame chances in doubt.
• 48 percent of SN didn't believe A-Rod had been steroid free since 2004.
• 40 percent of SN though the controversy would impact A-Rod's on-field play.

And now? Well, 78 percent of voters think winning the World Series changes Rodriguez's legacy -- and almost a third of voters think it changes it significantly. But which part of 2009 will ultimately have more to do with his place in history?

• "As a Red Sox fan, I have respect for Jeter, Mussina, Rivera, Mattingly, Girardi as they are and were great Yankees players who just do the talking with their bats and their gloves. Those are guys who go out, play, and don't cheat. But A-Rod? I'll never have respect for A-Rod. He is a cheater both on and off the field." -- GeoffCalver
• "I'm glad we don't have to hear that he's a choker anymore, but I can't bring myself to be happy for him. He cheated and ultimately did more harm than good to the game of baseball." -- FearVladimir

• Your Rankings: 2009 World Series MVP | Recent World Series Champions
• World Series Vote: Will the New York Yankees win again in 2010?

There is no debate that the Yankees, love them or hate them, are baseball's signature franchise over the history of the sport. There is some debate about whether the Bronx Bombers are the team of the decade after winning their first World Series since 2000. But the 2009 Yankees as the best single-season baseball team in recent memory?

Now that's an argument.

Yankees fans were online in force after last night's win (presumably with a designated typist), so it's understandable that SportsNation's rankings of the last 25 World Series winners have the distinct flavor of Big Apple. But compare those fresh rankings with how voters sized up recent champions after the 2005, 2006 and 2008 World Series.

So would you take CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera over Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley? Were Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter part of a batting order more potent than David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez? Even with the latest World Series on record, it's going to be a long winter, so fire up the stoves and start the arguments.

• Rank: How do you rank the World Series MVP candidates?

On Tuesday (when Phillies fans and Yankees haters could still picture the Bronx Bombers without a 2009 World Series title), a majority of SportsNation overwhelmingly picked Chase Utley as MVP of the World Series.

Yet with the Yankees taking home the title of world champs, was it only fitting that a New York player (Hideki Matsui) win the award? Or should Utley's numbers (most notably, his five home runs this series) have made him the 2009 World Series MVP? Discuss and vote below!

“

Matsui is the MVP. He single-handily [won] today's game and finished the series with 3 homers, 8 RBIs, .615 average. Sorry Mariano not this year.

” -- Jake-Macauley

• World Series Vote: Big questions for Game 6.

Cole Hamels stands accused of looking forward to next season. Phillies fans are wondering who their team should pitch in Game 7. And Yankees manager Joe Girardi is hearing the hounding of hindsight when it comes to pitching A.J. Burnett on short rest in Game 5. It's almost enough to make you forget there is a Game 6 to be played.

• 59 percent of SportsNation considers Andy Pettitte a future Hall of Famer.
• 60 percent of SportsNation would rather have Pedro Martinez than Pettitte.
• 83 percent of SportsNation thinks Ryan Howard is at least an average clutch hitter.

“

Second guessing managerial decisions, or trying to act like the manager and guess the best way to go, are a big part of why we're here. Without doing things like "be the GM" or "be the manager", then we'd veg in front of the TV or actually DO WORK instead. ;)

” -- BryanV21

“

As much as CC is literally an Ace in the hole the Yanks want to make sure to wrap it up tonight. I am impressed with what Pedro did this year in re-inventing himself but he is not good enough to deny the Yankees a home field celebration tonight..

” -- blueliner2k3

“

All the talk about Pettitte, but I think it comes down the Yanks offense. If we hit like we're capable, we don't need a stellar start from Pettitte.

” -- yankeedandy66

• Vote: Is hating the Yankees good for baseball?

The Yankees are one win away from winning their 27th championship, or the same number collectively won by the Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Indians, Marlins, Mets, Orioles, Phillies, Royals, Twins and White Sox. Wow, no wonder so many people hate them.

We can get to the intricacies of pitching Andy Pettitte on short rest and all that good stuff later today, but with nearly 70 percent of SportsNation planning to watch to Game 6 -- and almost the same percentage rooting for the Phillies -- we're wondering how much of the interest in the Fall Classic comes from people rooting against the Bronx Bombers?

A Cubs fan, SportsNation blogger drmockdreamy went the other way, happily catching a ride on the Yankees' bandwagon once his team was (yet again) rendered useless.

• "I found it impossible for me not to pick this bandwagon as the one that I latched on to much earlier in this season than I would have liked. They made the big moves in the offseason that no other franchise was willing to make. They finally played to the potential of their talent during the regular season. They have Derek Jeter. ... So sit back, grab a cold beverage, and watch the most entertaining franchise in American sports (neck and neck with the Cowboys) make a bid at a return to glory." -- Read the full post.

• Vote: Did Joe Girardi make a mistake pitching A.J. Burnett on short rest?
• Chats: Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, 11 ET | SweetSpot blogger Rob Neyer, 12 ET

It's going to be chilly Wednesday night in the Bronx (with potentially dangerous wind chills when Ryan Howard is at the plate), but that's a small price to pay for the first Game 6 in a World Series since 2003. As SportsNation expected with Cliff Lee on the mound, the Phillies earned their way back to Yankee Stadium with an 8-6 win at home in Game 5. A majority of voters are still picking the Yankees to finish off championship No. 27, but as you can see, it doesn't take much to swing popular support in a series that opened close to 50-50.

“

It's not a coincidence that the 2 games you won were with Lee. The games have been close, but that is were the Phillies are vulnerable. Pedro,Hammel, and Blanton were good but they can't go late into the game. Pettite won't go more than six or Gaudin for that matter, but you don't have anybody to close the door. I wouldn't want Lidge in a game if I were a Philly fan in any situation.

” -- YankeeHeel21

“

girardi definitly lost the gamble of pitching burnett on short rest. even though most expected a loss..... burnett should have lasted into the 7th or at least the 6th. if we were gonna lose like this it should have been with gaudin on the mound (he probably would have given better effort).

” -- whatsdoing

• Rank: Which team is the best champion of the past 26 years?

Not this year, Philly fans. Despite a majority of SportsNation foreseeing (or perhaps just wishing for) a Phillies win in Game 6 to tie up the series, the Yankees proved all of SN wrong and won the World Series on Wednesday night.

Does this World Series win seal the deal for the Yankees as the team of the decade? Or does that award go to other top '00-'09 teams such as the Cardinals, Phillies or Red Sox?

Vote and discuss below!

“

Cue the Empire Strikes Back Theme music.....

” -- yanksgmen84

Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd considered renaming "SportsNation" TV the "Fall Classic."

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results are as of this afternoon (ET).

• 

  Who was more impressive Sunday?

  Brett Favre threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Percy Harvin had five returns for 175 yards to go with 84 yards receiving.

• 

  Is Kate Hudson partially responsible for Alex Rodriguez's postseason success?

  After a slow start in the World Series, A-Rod has batted in three runs in the past two games and the Yankees lead the Series 3-1.

• 

  What do you think of Florida suspending Brandon Spikes for one half?

  Was his punishment for apparently attempting to eye-gouge a Georgia player too lenient, too harsh or fair?

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

When it comes to the World Series, SportsNation is of one mind -- the Yankees will win but it won't come against Cliff Lee. (In fact, voters think if Lee had started Game 4 on short rest, we'd be waking up to a 2-2 series today). So with that settled, we move on to something else that happened Sunday. Namely, Derek Jeter winning the Hank Aaron Award as the American League's best offensive player, as voted by the fans.

The only problem? Jeter didn't lead the AL in batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, stolen bases or much of anything, really. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, one SportsNation resident, commenter MazGonzoBeckett, offered an explanation for Jeter's win.

• "It's true, Jeter deserves it. There were only two better hitters on his team, and you can't count ARod because he was out for the first month, and you can't count Teixeira because I keep hearing he's mostly there for his defense. Jeter was the second-best-hitting shortstop in the league, but you can't count Bartlett because the Rays lost a bunch of games in September. And you can't count Mauer because he's left-handed. And you can't count Zobrist or Youkilis or Morales or Cabrera or Morneau or Abreu or Bay because ... ok, I give up." -- Join the conversation
• Vote on the World Series: Should the Phillies have pitched Cliff Lee on short rest?
• Chat: Buster Olney talks World Series and more, 1 ET

A-Rod might not have put up "Mr. October" numbers in the World Series like he did in the ALDS or ALCS, but he was able to get the big hit when it mattered. Just when the Phillies looked like they had a shot at evening up the series in a crucial Game 4, the Yankees scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to dash all hopes.

Are the Phillies completely out of contention? Or with Cliff Lee pitching Game 5, could the Phillies come back and win? Discuss and vote below.

“

This is a particularly devastating loss for the Phillies, because especially at home, this is the type of game they pride themselves on winning. this is 3 games in a row that the Yankees have held them off in the late innings; they thought they were the "comeback kids" after they put a couple runs up on a rookie from LA.

” -- CryinlionR