"This is the way it has to be for the Yankees. They will get the chance to win the World Series at home. They can spear the frog.

Pedro Martinez is that frog.

Before his Game 2 start, Pedro was waxing poetically about his career and what it means to pitch in Yankee Stadium.

"Coming to Yankee Stadium for somebody like me who has, as we say, frog's blood, it doesn't mean much more than 27 outs and nine innings," Martinez said in Spanish, indicating that he was one cold-blooded Pedro, unfazed by pitching in the new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium.

"When I was younger, you could have expected a more volatile reaction, but now, I'm like a war veteran who's not fazed by bullets whistling by his ears."The baseball bullets will be whistling come tomorrow night at the Stadium in Game 6. So will the "Who's Your Daddy" chants.

This isn't about 27 outs; it's about the Yankees' 27th World Championship. This is the road they must travel.

You didn't really expect A.J. Burnett to step it up big time last night on three days' rest, now did you? Burnett and the Yankees were beaten 8-6 at Citizens Bank Park by Pedro's Phillies.

Pedro already is in a playful mood. Last night he waved off reporters in the clubhouse after the game and then as we all stood by the exit he ducked out, then opened the door and said, "I'll be back." He looked at me, smiled and said, "It's like waiting for Manny, you remember what that was like."

That meant goodbye.

The Yankees know they have to come out strong against Pedro. Their legacy is on the line. Nick Swisher gave the perfect one word description of what Yankee Stadium will be like at first pitch: "Rocking.""