HispanicBusiness

If Pedro Martinez can captivate the crowd with his pitching the way he did at yesterday's news conference, then the Phillies' righthander should have some start against the New York Yankees in tonight's second game of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.

Martinez will oppose righthander A.J. Burnett, who is making his first World Series appearance. This will be Martinez's second postseason appearance this year. He pitched seven shutout innings and received no decision during the Phillies' 2-1 loss Oct. 16 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS.

Martinez delved into a number of subjects, including the Yankees fans and his famous skirmish with former Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer.

While pitching for the Boston Red Sox from 1998 through 2004, Martinez was a favorite target of the Yankees' boo birds.

"Because of you guys [the media] I might be at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium," Martinez said. "Maybe because I played for the Red Sox is probably why you guys made it such a big deal every time I came in."

Then Martinez talked about the respect he had for some New York fans who have never been shy about trying to get under a player's skin.

"Sometimes they [the fans] might be giving you the middle finger, just like they will be cursing you and telling you what color underwear you're wearing," Martinez said. "But at the end of the day, they're just great fans that want to see the team win. I don't have a problem with that."

When asked about the incident in 2003, in which he had a scuffle with the then- 72-year-old Zimmer, Martinez said it was the last time he would be discussing the incident.

The tensions began when Martinez threw a ball behind Karim Garcia's head in the fourth inning of a game the Yankees would win, 4-3. The umpire ruled Garcia was hit in the back.

In the bottom of the fourth, after the Yankees' Roger Clemens threw a ball up and in to Manny Ramirez, both benches emptied and Zimmer charged Martinez, who threw the coach to the ground.

"He was trying to punch my mouth and told me a couple of bad words about my mom," Martinez said. "I just had to react and defend myself."

Martinez said he regretted the incident.

"It's something I'm not happy about, something I don't condone, and it's something that I don't want to see in baseball," Martinez said.

Meanwhile, Burnett will be making his fourth postseason start, all of them this year. He is 0-0 with a 4.42 ERA. Possessing some of the best stuff of any pitcher in baseball, Burnett last pitched Oct. 22, when allowed six runs in six innings during a 7-6 loss in Game 5 of the ALCS to the Los Angeles Angels. He didn't get the decision.

Burnett got himself in trouble by surrendering four first-inning runs, allowing the first five batters to reach base.

During his career, Burnett is 5-8 with a 4.75 ERA against the Phillies in 17 career games, including 16 starts.

In his only start this year against the Phillies, Burnett was the losing pitcher in a 7-3 defeat, allowing five earned runs in six innings.

Burnett said he was impressed by all Martinez has accomplished, signing with the Phillies on July 15 and going 5-1 in the regular season while putting on a dominating performance in the NLCS. Martinez is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 14 career postseason appearances, including 12 starts.

"Pedro is going to bring a lot of excitement here, and I think everybody knows what he can do in the postseason, this year or in the past, or whenever he takes the ball," Burnett said. "It's going to be something I will remember for a long time."