ESPN

All of the talk about dropping Alex Rodriguez in the Yankees' batting order resulted in an unexpected outcome Wednesday night, as Joe Girardi's decision to pinch hit for A-Rod with Raul Ibanez paid off in grand fashion. Rodriguez is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players of all time, but at this point in his career, he's not quite the player he once was. Should he expect to be replaced at critical junctures from now on, at least for the remainder of this postseason?

Which team will win Game 4 of the Yankees-Orioles AL Division Series? (Yankees lead 2-1)

•  
  47%
  Yankees (Phil Hughes, 16-13, 4.23 ERA)
•  
  53%
  Orioles (Joe Saunders, 9-13, 4.07 ERA)

(Total votes: 56,508)

• LMAXmd: "The way these games were heading to the bottom of the 9th, the O's should have swept the series last night. But that's the beauty of baseball: just takes one swing to change everything."
• Lapex004: "I don't see A-Rod playing through the next 5 years of his contract. If by chance he does, it's gonna get real ugly, he is already a shadow of his former self. "
• lofty133: "If Ibanez iddn't tie the game, the story would be 'A-Rod benched'. Even now, the talk is about Arod being benched, rather than talking about Ibanez bailing out the Yanks."
• godsent224: "Ibanez was great but Joe gets a lot of credit for the move"
• soundadvice2k7: "Ibanez is a great weapon off the bench but I think he needs to be in the lineup all the time. I wonder if he can play 3rd?"

Join the conversation or respond by signing in or creating a profile and blogging.

• Your Rankings: Who are the best players in the ALCS and NLCS?

Sid Bream, Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts will attest that it's not always the biggest names who make the plays that get teams to the World Series. But it doesn't hurt to have the big guns on your side. The bad news is SportsNation's picks for the NL MVP (Albert Pujols), AL MVP (Joe Mauer), NL Cy Young (Tim Lincecum) and AL CY Young (Zack Greinke) are all home watching on television. At least we've still got one of the Molina brothers.

Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle are looking for your rankings on the best remaining players for Thursday's "SportsNation" (ESPN2. 4 p.m. and midnight ET), but voters have already made it known who they would least want to face with the game on the line.

Sometimes we all need a little extra space to vent. ESPN profiles give fans space to post their own blog entries and go toe-to-toe with commenters.

• BakerMartini84: Good insights on Tim Tebow's eventual transition to the NFL, including the point that how Pat White fares with the Dolphins may be almost as important as what Tebow himself does with the Gators in the fall. But "cheesier than a Pizza Hut floor" is an early candidate for worst metaphor of 2009.
• periattM10: More analysis of Raul Ibanez and the blogger from someone who suggests it's a three-tiered fight that includes the media.
• Cheeseof4: The first chapter in a three-part preview of the Packers (Brett Favre-free since 2008!) looks at a defense the blogger feels will rule the NFC North.
• codywin25: A wide-ranging post that looks at a couple of sleepers for the NBA draft, as well as reporting in from a Cowboys offseason practice that saw Tony Romo struggling and a variation of the "Wildcat" taking shape.
• More blogs: Check out all the SportsNation blogs.

Manny Ramirez isn't interested in providing answers about his past, and Raul Ibanez isn't happy a blogger offered one potential answer for his strong start.

At the same time Ramirez made his first public comments since being suspended for 50 games following a positive test for a banned substance, and refused to address the circumstances of the result, Ibanez found himself unwilling collateral damage. Without specifically accusing him, a post on the Midwest Sports Fan blog brought up performance enhancers as one explanation for the outfielder's home run prowess.

Is Ibanez justified in his anger at the speculation? Does baseball's recent history make any player fair game? Could both be true? Join the conversation about Ibanez.