Jeter became an easy target because he hit only .297 instead of the .311 he had the previous year or the .339, .349 and .324 the years before that.

Yankees manager Joe Torre thinks Jeter was slowed by shoulder and groin injuries in 2001 and by an injured right shoulder last year.

"He was just a shell of himself the year before, but he wouldn't give in ever to saying anything about it,'' Torre said.

Steinbrenner implied that Jeter's 14 errors stemmed from his lifestyle off the field. But Jeter had 15 errors the year before, and 24 in 2000, when he was MVP of the All-Star game and the World Series.

"I think last year was my best defensive year," said Jeter, whose offense likely suffered because of a lingering right shoulder injury that prevented him from doing upper body workouts. This year, he said, he's coming in as healthy as he's ever been.

When they met recently in Tampa, Jeter said he told The Boss how he felt and how he handles his time and commitments off the field.

"He said, 'OK, if that's what you say, then that's it,' " Jeter said.

Steinbrenner offered no apologies.

"No way am I trying to get into a verbal match with the boss," Jeter said. "I'm just trying to make it known that I care about one thing and that's winning."

Jeter's image as a playboy on the town surely has been promoted by New York's gossip columns, where he's been romantically linked to models, singers and actresses.

"I'm not a hermit," Jeter said. "It's not like I'm locked up in my house. But it's amazing the things that are in the gossip pages that aren't true. They've got me dating everyone imaginable. A lot of it I wish I would have."

The real downside of that, he said, is that some fans will say, "there he is again, out partying. He doesn't care."

That's the kind of false image that Jeter worries Steinbrenner is fostering with his complaints and that tabloids are spreading. Last week Jeter was asked if he was going to change his approach to this season after losing in the playoffs.

"My response was, no, not at all," Jeter said. "Next thing you know, the back page of the Daily News had a picture of me saying, 'Party On.' Like I was saying, that I refused to change my ways for the boss or to be the captain of the Yankees.

"If you're a fan looking at that, you'd think I don't care whether they win or lose. That couldn't be farther from the truth."

Torre said Jeter was doing nothing to hurt the team, and when asked whether he had a problem with the hours Jeter keeps, Torre quipped:

"No, I envy them. I can't do that."

The Yankees were still talking about it as they took the field for the first time since October's first-round failure against Anaheim.

Jeter, of course, wasn't Steinbrenner's only target following the 3-1 loss to the Angels, which ended a run of four straight AL pennants. The owner said Torre and his staff must do better, too.

"At least I'm not going down myself,'' Jeter joked.

To him, this is his first controversy since he became a starter in 1996.

"My eighth year -- not bad,'' Jeter said.

And while Torre has many former greats in spring training to give guidance on how to handle Steinbrenner, he doesn't intend to unleash them on Jeter, a player he adores.

"I think Jeter would really be offended if I felt he needed special attention to have somebody talk to him,'' Torre said.

As if on cue, Reggie Jackson arrived at camp on Thursday. What better person than Mr. October to opine on Steinbrenner, the Yankees, celebrity and controversy?

"It's tough to handle,'' Jackson said. "It's not easy when you're a target. This guy is a big guy, Jeter, a big target. He's in a class of the great athletes of our day -- Ronaldo, A-Rod, Michael Jordan, Tiger."

"This guy is pretty conscientious. He's basically the unnamed captain, the voice of the club. If you want to target someone for not having a good season last year, and this is what you want to do, then he's the guy.''

The notion that Jeter spends too much time going out during the season seems ludicrous to Reggie -- who closed a saloon or two during his time as a player. Jackson thinks Steinbrenner's comments were meant to motive Jeter.

Unlike Jackson and Billy Martin, the Yankees of Torre and Jeter pretty much refuse to get drawn into public bickering with Steinbrenner. They attribute comments like these to the desire of the Boss to win.

The early controversy isn't going to disrupt Torre's spring training.

"My family's here. I'm going to sleep in the same bed for seven weeks,'' he said. "You can't say that at any other time of the year.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.