Davidoff: Jeter's not wrong, only human

In the fall of 1994, Paul O'Neill huddled with his agent, Joe Bick, to discuss the upcoming negotiations with the Yankees for a long-term contract.

"How much should I get?" O'Neill asked Bick.

"Four years and $22 million," Bick - having crunched all of the numbers - told his client.

O'Neill thought for a moment, then ordered, "Keep it under 20." And from that came a four-year, $19.75-million contract that set O'Neill on his way toward four more World Series rings.

It's doubtful that the words "keep it under . . . " have been exchanged between Derek Jeter and Casey Close in the last month.

It's good, in a way. If these last few weeks of the "Jeter vs. the Yankees" saga have taught us anything, it's that the Yankees' captain is human.

Which, you know, runs contrary to much of the mythologizing we've absorbed in the last 15 or so years.

The Yankees intended to advance discussions with Jeter these past few days, introducing the parameters of a package that would last three years and pay the shortstop approximately $15 million per season. Whether it constitutes an official "offer" or not is a matter of semantics, as it isn't one Jeter will be accepting.

Jeter wants more, both in dollars and years, according to a friend of his. And why shouldn't he? Getting paid less than half of Alex Rodriguez (if A-Rod passes Barry Bonds as the all-time home run leader) and less than even A.J. Burnett can't feel very good for someone so integral to the franchise's history.

Jeter has fallen victim to bad timing. The Yankees are bearing down on him in a way they should have on A-Rod and Jorge Posada after the 2007 season.

If Jeter were to live up to his own myth, he'd shrug, say "I've been far more lucky than unlucky in my professional life" and sign what the Yankees offer him, which stands as much more than any other club appears prepared to give him.

But the pride and competitiveness that help make him such a great player? They don't take the winter off. After all, if Jeter really cared about absolutely nothing besides winning, he wouldn't have contributed to the tension with A-Rod that didn't dissipate until A-Rod's 2009 comeuppance.

And he wouldn't bristle about any questions concerning his future spot in the lineup or position. He may give you the "nothing matters besides winning" line, but good luck getting the "whatever is best for the team" line.

Now, standing as a free agent for the first time, Jeter can't hide. He can't have his sycophants point to A-Rod and point out the supposed moral disparity. It's just him, the Yankees and a pile of money in the arena.

He should fight for every penny he can get. He need not concede now. Even Bick, O'Neill's longtime agent and friend, laughed yesterday when recalling the tales of O'Neill's conservative approach, playfully calling him "stupid."

Tension between the two sides? That's been going on since last offseason, when Brian Cashman essentially told Close, "No thanks, we'll wait" in response to Jeter's request for an extension to avoid this very stare-down.

They'll get past this. Jeter desperately needs the Yankees in order to maintain his brand of loyalty and integrity. The Yankees don't need Jeter as badly, but Jeter still ranks as one of the better shortstops in the game. A great Plan B for shortstop doesn't seem to exist.

When they're finally having that celebratory news conference, however, there'll be a greater understanding of what and who Jeter is. He's a Hall of Fame baseball player and still a valued asset. He isn't a selfless automaton. Neither, for that matter, was O'Neill, who dealt with his own shortcomings.

Jeter has every right to battle the Yankees. But his advocates have lost the right to be high and mighty.