Yes, they’re the defending champions. Yes, they have an excellent team. Yes, Ryan Howard is big. But there are ways to deflate their confidence.

In other words, they can be beaten and they must be beaten. While it’s true that my tarot card reader already declared in the pages of The New York Times that the Yankees would win the 2009 World Series, I figured I’d better do a little scouting as backup. Here’s what I’ve unearthed about certain players in the Phillies lineup. (Full disclosure: I went to grad school at the University of Pennsylvania, lived in downtown Philly and loved it. But there’s no conflicting loyalty going on. None. I swear.)

Last year he led all NL shortstops in fielding percentage (.988) and he finished the season with 295 career stolen bases – the most by any Philly in the modern era.

So he’s fast and he can play short. What’s more, he’s a switch-hitter who’s had three postseason leadoff homers. But here’s the good news: he only batted .250 this season. And another thing: he’s single. Tip to Yankees: Put some good looking women near the Phillies dugout and try to distract him.

Another switch-hitter, the “Flyin’ Hawaiian,” as he’s affectionately known in Philly because he hails from Wailuka, Hawaii, is batting .361 in the postseason. And how about this little tidbit to tie my Yankee fan stomach in a knot: He hit the first grand slam in Phillies playoff history in Game 2 of the NLDS last year against – guess who – CC Sabathia. Scary, right?

But he only hit 10 homers all year with 62 RBIs. Not scary. And his bio lists his favorite hobbies as fishing and diving. Tip to Yankees: Pitch him low and outside and make him fish and dive.

Chase Cameron Utley had 31 homers this season, and he’s batting .303 in the postseason. He can steal a base and he’s patient at the plate. (Last year he became the third player in NLCS history to walk four times in a game.) His other claim to fame in ’08 was that he led the NL in HBP; the guy was plunked 27 times!

But he made two errors in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers. Tip to Yankees: Pitch him away, away, away. He can’t get hit by a pitch if the ball is outside. And hope he makes more errors at second.

OK, so he has 45 home runs and 141 RBIs this season. And he already has a couple of dingers in the postseason, not to mention 14 RBIs. He’s a beast with the happy-go-lucky personality of a puppy.

But he’s struck out over 190 times in ’09. That’s a lot. Tip to Yankees: Forget about the intentional walks and just let him swing and miss.

The right fielder has 41 homers this season. And he has quite the pedigree. His grandfather, Dick “Ducky” Schofield, played in the majors for 19 years. His uncle, Dick Schofield, played for 14 years. And his mother, Kim Schofield Werth, competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the long jump.

But despite all that athleticism in the family, he only batted .268 this year. Tip to Yankees: Don’t sweat it. He’s good but not that good.

He’ll be DH-ing for the games at Yankee Stadium, and although he’s 37 years old he can still hit – 34 homers in the regular season and another one in the postseason. He was a Yankee killer when he was with the Mariners.

But nobody remembers him from his three years with Kansas City. Tip to Yankees: Pitch to him the way you did when he was a Royal.

The Dominican born former Giant had the second best fielding percentage among NL third basemen in ’08. Oh, and he drove in the winning run in the seventh inning of the Phillies’ World Series clincher against the Rays.

But he had back surgery in November. Tip to Yankees: Bunt the ball in his general direction and make him bend over.

The Phillies catcher made his major league debut in 2006. His biggest hit to date was his walk-off infield single in the bottom of the ninth in Game 3 of last year’s World Series against the Rays. He’s from Panama, the land of Mo, so he must be good.

But he only threw out 14 of 79 potential base stealers in ’08 for 17.7 %. Tip to Yankees: Run! Run! Run!

I don’t know anything about him except he’ll probably be playing left field instead of Ibanez. Oh, and he was with the Indians in ’07 and ’08.

Like Rollins, he’s single. Tip to Yankees: Try the distraction tactic as discussed in #1.

The Phillies’ Game 1 starter is the reigning Cy Young Award winner. And his full name is the intimidating Clifton Phifer Lee. In 2002 he was named the Hog Nation Minor League Player of the Year.