Jimmy Rollins took out the Mets with a prediction. Now he’s taking on the Yankees.
The brash Phillies shortstop predicted his Phillies would win the World Series in five games on “The Jay Leno Show” Monday night. Yesterday at Yankee Stadium, he stood by his prediction.
“If we play our game, we can beat everybody,” Rollins said. “We’ve beaten everyone they’ve put in front of us so far. That’s our plan. We didn’t come this far to not win.”
So why five games?
“I think it would be very tough to take four,” he said. “You figure one game they’re going to find a way to win. That’s the way it is.”
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Rollins knows he will have the bull’s-eye on him tonight with the Yankee Stadium crowd eager to see him falter. He’s used to being the villain in Queens. Now he gets to see what the Bronx crowd can bring.
“If they’re not on you then you’re probably not an important piece of the puzzle,” Rollins said.
Rollins said he dreamed of playing at Yankee Stadium as a child but made it clear he doesn’t think the new building across 161st Street is the same as the historic stadium that is now dark.
“They have to build a legacy at this ballpark,” he said.
In 2007, Rollins got into the prediction business. He called the Phillies the “team to beat” in the NL East, despite the Mets winning 97 games the year before. The Phillies trailed the Mets all summer, but caught them on the last day of the season to win the division.
This spring, Rollins predicted the Phillies would face the Yankees in the World Series.
“The Fall Classic?” Rollins told Playboy. “I see our boys vs. the Yankees. They spent all that money. They’ve got to be there. We’ve got a title to defend, so we’re going to be there.”
Now he’s at it again. Rollins made his prediction to Leno after answering a series of questions. The prediction came at the end.
“Of course we’re gonna win,” Rollins said. “If we’re nice, we’ll let it go six. But I’m thinking five, close it out at home.”
brian.costello@nypost.com