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Phils' Rollins: We'll beat Yanks in 5 games

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Jon Paul Morosi

Jon Paul Morosi is a national MLB writer for FOXSports.com. He previously covered baseball for the Detroit Free Press and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He began his journalism career at the Bay City Times in his native Michigan. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Oct 28, 2009 2:42 AM ET
     
 

PHILADELPHIA

Jimmy Rollins has again predicted that his Phillies are going to beat a New York team.
But this is a little different than saying Philadelphia was the "team to beat" in the National League East two years ago. On Monday night, Rollins said on "The Jay Leno Show" that the defending champion Phillies would beat the Yankees in the World Series. In five games. "Of course we're gonna win," Rollins told Leno. As one would expect, Rollins hardly backed down from his statement on Tuesday, when players from both teams met with the media at Yankee Stadium. "The positive about confidence is it radiates throughout the clubhouse," he explained. "Being one of the leaders, if you go out there with a negative mindset, people pick up on that. I've always been a confident person, a happy person." The Yankees were not moved by Rollins' boast, dismissing the Philadelphia shortstop's comment Tuesday. "He's been Nostradamus, that's what I heard," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. "He's been (making) a lot of good predictions, so we've got to take that away from him." Rollins' boasts have drawn the ire of rival Mets fans in the past. He will likely encounter a similarly hostile reaction in the other New York ballpark on Wednesday night, when he digs in against CC Sabathia as the first batter of the World Series. "I can't wait to come out and hear what they want to say," Rollins said. "That's fine. They're supposed to get on me. This is their house. This is New York. This is Yankee Stadium. I look forward to the challenge." Rollins reminded reporters that he forecasted a Phillies-Yankees series in a spring edition of Playboy. So, why five games instead of four, six or seven? "I think it'd be very tough to take four (in a row)," Rollins said. "You figure one game, they're going to find a way to win. That's the way it is. We came here early this year. A-Rod (hit) a big home run in the ninth, and Melky (Cabrera) had us walking off the field rather slowly. "But no one's afraid. There's no doubt about that. Our job, as it's always been, is to make sure we get a split on the road, to go home knowing that's where we've played our best ball the second half of the season." Phillies slugger Ryan Howard wasn't bothered by the fact that Rollins made such a public prediction. "That's just Jimmy," Howard said. "That's his M.O. He believes in this team. We believe in ourselves. Sometimes it takes that person to step up and try to push your teammates to believe. A lot of guys wouldn't do that. He believes in us. We believe in ourselves. If that's what he said, then, hey, we're going to go out there and do the best we can to make it right. "He loves that spotlight. He loves putting that type of attention on himself and on our team. With those comments, here in Yankee Stadium, they're going to be all over him. "And you know what? He wants that. He relishes that moment. It allows the focus to be on him. Then maybe somebody else can slide in and get the big hit." Howard predicted that this could be "one of the rowdiest" World Series between the fan bases of two teams. The front page of Tuesday's New York Post included a photo illustration of Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino in which his baseball pants were replaced by a cheerleader's skirt. The caption read: "The Frillies are coming to town!" Victorino reacted angrily during Tuesday's media session when someone tried to arrange a photograph that would depict Victorino's face and the newspaper in the same shot. And on the day Phillies manager Charlie Manuel named Pedro Martinez as his Game 2 starter, many were speculating about the reception Martinez would receive from Yankees fans. Martinez is a former ace of the Red Sox and Mets who famously heard a chant of "Who's your daddy?" during the 2004 American League Championship Series. "Everywhere I go, I've heard bad words," Martinez said. "Sometimes, fans don't really understand the way to be a fan. You can't blame anybody for not understanding what their limits are. Some of the obscene words they say, I would never mention those publicly. I would never say what I hear sometimes. "People take it a little extra mile. If I was to throw (out) everybody that said some horrible words, probably half of the stadium would have to go out. That's the society we're living in. It's a shame, but I don't pay attention to those things. I just let it go, do a prayer for them every night and let God take care of them." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tagged: Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Red Sox, CC Sabathia, Yankees, Mets, Ryan Howard, Phillies

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