"For somebody who didn't pitch his first major-league game this season until Aug. 12, Phillies righthander Pedro Martinez could have a profound influence on this World Series. Martinez was named to start Game 2 tomorrow at Yankee Stadium.

Even though Martinez turned 38 on Sunday, he has looked much younger, especially in the NLCS, when he threw seven shutout innings and received a no-decision in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Martinez would not be the oldest pitcher to win a World Series game. That distinction belongs to Dolf Luque, who was 43 when he captured the deciding Game 5 over the Washington Senators in relief for the New York Giants. That was 1933, well before even Martinez was born.

People around baseball say Martinez's success at this advanced pitching age has as much to do with his mind as his arm.

Other than two shutout appearances covering six innings for the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic in March, Martinez was out of baseball until signing with the Phillies on July 15. Now he's ready to resume his rivalry with the Yankees, a team he faced six times during American League Championship Series in 1999, 2003 and 2004.

So even though Martinez doesn't throw 96 m.p.h., the way he did during his heyday when he claimed three Cy Young Awards, he's still baffling hitters, frequently winning the mind games while making the requisite adjustments.

"He has tremendous wisdom, and it's almost like he is in every hitter's mind and understands what they are trying to do and what they are looking for," Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said before yesterday's workout at Yankee Stadium. "I don't know if it's just the experience he has gained or something he was born naturally with, but he has just tremendous vision of what is going on in the course of a game.""