New York ? If history has taught us anything about Derek Jeter, it’s that reading him is like monitoring the Kremlin. In other words, good luck discerning how the captain feels about Gary Sheffield or the Yankees’ relentless march toward mediocrity or Alex Rodriguez’s inevitable escape from New York.

Jeter has opinions on all these mini-controversies, but that’s not to say he’ll tell you. Not now, not after a decade of being the Bronx’s most elusive superstar. Jeter talks, he just doesn’t confess, which is the recipe for longevity in this gossip-obsessed town.

Take, for instance, Jeter’s take on A-Rod’s opt-out. It would have been easy (and logical) for Jeter to say the Yankees are better off with Rodriguez’s offense than without, and that both sides hopefully will work out a deal that brings the third baseman back in 2008.

That’s what Jeter should have said. Instead, he couldn’t have been more uninvolved.

“I’m not even thinking about next year. Talking about (Rodriguez’s) contract would be a distraction,” Jeter said. “Honestly, it hasn’t come up between us because it’s not my place to bring it up.”

Jeter was quick to point out he hasn’t pestered Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada about their contracts, either, which is Jeter’s way of saying real Yankees don’t do anxiety, even for their friends.

So if Jeter seems disinterested in A-Rod’s future, well, that’s just him even if we suspect he wouldn’t mind if Rodriguez packed up and left. The captain has had enough probing about A-Rod this year to be on permanent auto pilot. The mere mention of Alex’s name affects a thick, glassy look in Jeter’s eyes. That’s when the “No Trespassing” sign goes up.

But Jeter’s ultra-cool exterior can also be his flaw, evidenced by a refusal to take on Sheffield. When Jeter’s says “no comment” to Sheffield’s assertion that Torre is a racist, he left the door open to Kenny Lofton one of the game’s angriest, most isolated players adding credibility to a ludicrous accusation.

Torre the bigot? All Jeter had to do was repeat what he’d told Sheffield so many times over the years: that Torre is a good man who doesn’t judge his players by the color of their skin.

Darryl Strawberry did it, telling the New York Post over the weekend that Torre always treated him fairly. Jim Leyritz did it, too, saying, “Joe hated me and I’m white.”

So what stopped Jeter from a one-sentence rebuttal?

A Yankee insider offered this theory.

“Everyone’s afraid of Shef,” said the higher-up. “Maybe not physically afraid of him, but no one wants Gary mad at him next, because who knows what he’ll say next? No one wants to be his target, because he’ll obviously say anything. It’s better to let it go, let it die.”

It’s hard to imagine Jeter being afraid of anyone; at least that’s the image he’s manicured after years of late-inning clutch hitting.

If A-Rod does opt out, his Yankee legacy will be forever tarnished for piling up stats without ever winning a championship. Jeter will forever be the face of the golden era, even if the Yankees don’t make the playoffs in 2007. The question, of course, is how long it’ll take to start another renaissance, an issue that should concern Jeter, now in his 12th year in the big leagues.

At age 33, he likes to say, “I’m getting old.” Of course, with a .333 average, this is Jeter’s way of telling a joke. He’s anything but old. Still, it’s worth asking if the possibility of watching the playoffs on TV makes Jeter appreciate those four championships in a different way.

Did you ever take winning for granted as a 20-something, Jeter was asked.

His eyebrows shot up, as if to say: Are you kidding?

“It was never easy; that’s the misconception about those teams,” Jeter said. “People think we didn’t have to work at it, but we did. We struggled at times.”

It was about then that Yogi Berra wandered over to Jeter’s locker, in the middle of one of his many midsummer visits to the Yankee clubhouse. Berra is like Gandhi to the Bombers, loved by everyone (even the surly security guards), welcome wherever he goes.

Yogi wanted face time with Jeter, which was just fine with the captain, especially since the conversation had morphed from the late-’90s Yankees to the 2007 edition.

Someone told Jeter the Yankees have to play over .600 to catch the Red Sox – and that’s only if Boston plays .500 the rest of the way.

Jeter shook his head.

“If. That’s the word I hate,” he said. “You know the worst expression in baseball? ‘On a pace for.’ There is no on-a-pace-for in baseball because you can’t predict anything. Stats don’t tell you what’s really going on out there.

“People say we can’t come back this year, but I’m saying why not? People never thought the Twins could do it last year, and look at what happened. They did it. We can, too.

“Right, Yogi?”

Berra, who had been listening intently to Jeter’s rant, nodded sagely. Then he flashed that big, lovable, toothy grin.

“Hey, it ain’t over ’til it’s over, Jeet,” Berra said.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Jeter said, dropping the ultra-cool pose just long enough to smile so broadly his eyes had turned to slits.