NEW YORK — The next day's starting pitchers always speak to the media before a World Series game. So Philadelphia veteran Pedro Martinez sat at a table deep in the basement of Yankee Stadium to do his obligatory chat Wednesday afternoon.

But this was no run-of-the-mill session. It went for nearly 20 minutes and it was a doozy.

Martinez spent far more time reliving his checkered relationship with New York fans and

media than talking about Game Two tonight in the Bronx against A.J. Burnett. And for the first

time anyone could remember, Martinez delved deep into the throwdown of 73-year-old Yankees

coach Don Zimmer during the celebrated 2003 ALCS brawl between the Yankees and Boston.

That afternoon in Fenway Park, Martinez had come high and tight earlier in that inning to

Karim Garcia. When Roger Clemens got close to Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the frame, the

teams streamed onto the field. Zimmer bullrushed Martinez and the Boston pitcher entered

postseason infamy by throwing the beloved Yankees coach to the ground.

"When Zim came over to me, I thought he was going to just give me advice or something,

just, "Pedro, you need to slow down or something,' " Martinez said Wednesday. " ... I think

he's going to say something and his reaction was totally the opposite. He was trying to punch

my mouth and told me a couple bad words about my mom. I just had to react and defend myself.

... But it made me look like a monster when I came back [for Game Seven] to play in Yankee

Stadium.

"I remember getting back to my dugout and seeing middle fingers. My mom, my poor mom. I'm

glad she's blessed by God because all these curses were unbelievable."

Martinez said he regretted the incident, said he thought of his father when he saw Zimmer

on the ground.

"I had no choice but to respond," he said. "I've never had any incident and I'm going to

knock on wood because it's been like that my whole life. I never had any incidents in the

streets, not here and not in the Dominican. When I was a kid, yes. I lot of punching. But when

I was a kid."

By 2004, Martinez became known for his famous "Who's Your Daddy" chat at Fenway Park, when

he said the Yankees were his daddy for constantly giving him trouble on the mound.

"I don't know if you realize this but because of you guys in some ways, I might be at times

the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium," he said. "I can honestly say

that. ... Because I played for the Red Sox is probably why you guys made it such a big deal

every time I came in but I have a good bond with the people.

"New York fans are passionate and very aggressive. But after you take the uniform off and

deal with the people, they're real human beings. It's all just being fans. I have all the

respect in the world for the way they enjoy being fans."

Martinez made peace with the fans when he played for the Mets from 2005-08. But as for the

media? He had something to get off his chest Wednesday.

"I remember quotes in the paper, "Here comes the man that New York loves to hate.' Man? None

of you have probably ever eaten steak with me or rice and beans with me to understand what the

man is about," he said. "You might say the player, the competitor, but the man? You guys have

abused my name. You guys have said so many things, written so many things.

"I was a free agent and there was talk I might meet with Steinbrenner. One of your

colleagues had me in the papers with horns and a tail. Red horns and a tail, that's a sign of

the devil. I'm a Christian man. I don't like those things. I take those things very serious."

As for tonight's game? Martinez is coming off a knockout performance in Game Three of the

NLCS against the Dodgers (seven shutout innings but a no-decision). He hasn't pitched in the

Bronx since a 2005 win for the Mets.

Martinez, who turned 38 Sunday, went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts after signing with

the Phillies down the stretch. He doesn't throw 95 mph anymore but he can deal with hostile

crowds and that's a big reason the Phillies went with him in the Bronx rather than 2008 Series

MVP Cole Hamels.

"[Getting to the Series] was something I had in my mind while I was playing for the Mets but

we can't really choose our destiny," he said. "Only God knows why I didn't make it with the

Mets but in a short period of time I got the opportunity with the Phillies. This will be a

special day."

. . .

Wednesday's game was the Yankees' 220th in World Series play — more than double

anyone else. The Cardinals and Dodgers have both played 105. The Yankees have won 130. The

Cardinals are next with 52.

The Oct. 28 opener was the latest in Series history. The 2001 Series between the Yankees

and Arizona, pushed back a week by the 9/11 attacks, opened on Oct. 27.

. . .

Yankees utility man Eric Hinske was added to the roster Wednesday in place of third catcher

Francisco Cervelli. Hinske played in the '07 Series for Boston and last year for Tampa Bay,

making him just the second player in history to go to three straight Fall Classics with three

different teams.

Don Baylor is the other, playing for Boston in 1986, Minnesota in 1987 and Oakland in 1988.