Steve Serby talked to the Yankees captain leading up to his eighth All-Star appearance.

Q: When a runner reaches or passes second base, can you tell if he’s wearing your cologne (Driven)?

A: (Laugh) I don’t get that close to ’em.

Q: Do guys in here (Yankees clubhouse) wear it?

A: If they do, they wouldn’t tell me; guys in here have asked for it.

Q: Have you hooked them up with it?

A: [Larry] Bowa was the first one.

Q: Who else asked for it?

A: Trainers … Jorge [Posada] … a couple of guys.

Q: Jorge told me recently that you asked his wife, Laura, to fix you up?

A: She’s always telling me that she hopes I find someone soon, so I told her, “Don’t be afraid to hook me up.”

Q: Has she yet?

A: No, not yet; still waiting.

Q: Does your cologne help you with the ladies?

A: (Laugh) Apparently not … ’cause I’m going to Jorge’s wife, right?

Q: Your ideal mate?

A: Independent; intelligent; driven; happy.

Q: Why is happy so important?

A: Because I don’t agree with … you have to find someone that’s gonna make you happy.

Q: Odds you’ll be married by the age of 40 (Jeter is 33)?

A: I would like the odds to be really, really high; that’s something that I look forward to.

Q: You want to quote some odds for me?

A: I’ll leave that up to you. I don’t want to jinx myself.

Q: Odds you’ll be married by 35?

A: (Smile) I’m 30 right now …

Q: Pardon me?

A: (Still smiling) I’m 30, so … by 35, it’d be tough; I hope to have met the person, but actually to be married, that’d be kinda hard. It takes a little while to get to know people.

Q: Is there a chance you’ll be married while you’re still playing?

A: Yup.

Q: Some guys would say they don’t have time to juggle both.

A: That’s not the case, no.

Q: Do you cook for yourself?

A: (Straight face) Yeah, I’m a great chef … went to culinary school in the offseason a couple of times a couple of years ago and, uh …

Q: You’re kidding, right?

A: I’m just playing. No, I can’t cook.

Q: You have a cook?

A: Yes.

Q: Male, female, what does he or she cook?

A: Female. She cooks everything. The older you get, the healthier you try to be, and she does an outstanding job.

Q: Best breakfast place in New York?

A: My house.

Q: What do you usually have for breakfast?

A: She mixes it up; pancakes, waffles, things like that, omelets … fruit.

Q: And what time is breakfast?

A: 10.

Q: Same time every day?

A: Pretty much … if we have a night game, yeah.

Q: How about lunch?

A: 2.

Q: What does she make for lunch?

A: I pretty much try anything.

Q: Today for instance; what did you have for breakfast and lunch?

A: Today I had waffles, omelets, fruit … for lunch I had steak, pasta, vegetables.

Q: Your definition of what a Yankees captain should be?

A: You have to be accountable … you have to be available, to guys like you, Steve … you have to play hard, you have to represent the organization … represent the tradition, the winning tradition that has been here, and the tradition of excellence that has been here over the years.

Q: Do you think you’ve been a good captain?

A: I like to think so, but I never sit down and grade myself.

Q: Are they gonna have to rip the jersey off of you?

A: I’m gonna play this game as long as I’m having fun. I think it’s impossible to go out there every day, especially in this environment, not have fun and be successful.

Q: Are you still as driven as you were when you were a rookie (1995)?

A: No question. If I wasn’t, if that ever wavered, I wouldn’t play.

Q: Other than winning, what drives you?

A: That’s it. People have told me there’s something wrong with me, but regardless, I enjoy competing, and when you compete, I want to win.

Q: One trait you got from your mother, one trait you got from your father?

A: My mom’s always positive; my dad … respectful.

Q: Will you watch ESPN’s “The Bronx Is Burning?”

A: I probably will; you talk to a lot of the ex-players, you hear stories.

Q: Players you would pay to watch?

A: Jose Reyes; Chone Figgins; Grady Sizemore … those are guys that play the game hard, they play it the right way, and they seem to enjoy themselves while they’re playing.

Q: Why did it take you so long to pass [Joe] DiMaggio on the Yankees’ hit list?

A: (Laugh) I don’t know how to answer that.

Q: Think of something.

A: Out of respect … for him (smile).

Q: The perfect off day for you?

A: Sleepin’ in … go out to eat with friends … I love going to the movies.

Q: You plan on seeing “Transformers?”

A: It’s tough to go during the season; but in the offseason I’m pretty much at the movie theater almost every day.

Q: The last great movie you saw?

A: “Freedom Writers” on DVD.

Q: Do you fear the day that Joe Torre one day will no longer be in that manager’s office?

A: Do I fear the day?

Q: Or dread the day?

A: I wouldn’t say I fear the day or dread the day; I can’t imagine the day … that’s a better way to put it. It’s never crossed my mind … by far, I think he’s the perfect manager.

Q: Why will it be so difficult for the man who replaces him?

A: 1) His success; 2) how he deals with not only players but, as you know, dealing with the media can be pretty difficult here. I think he does an outstanding job with that. It’s a tough act to follow.

Q: If the Yankees were in a rebuilding mode, would you want to stay?

A: I can’t picture the Yankees in rebuilding mode, so (chuckle) I really couldn’t even answer that question.

Q: How concerned are you about the Yankee futures of Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada?

A: I’m not.

Q: Why?

A: I’m just not. Those are guys I just can’t picture playing anywhere else.

Q: The old-timers you look forward to seeing every year?

A: You get spoiled here, they’re around all the time. Yogi’s in here all the time … Whitey [Ford] comes around, not as much as he used to. I always got a kick out of seeing [Phil] Rizzuto when he used to come; obviously his health isn’t as good now, so you don’t see him as often.

Q: If you were MLB commissioner, would you be there when Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron’s record?

A: That’s tough because 1) you don’t know exactly what he has to do; 2) with a home run, you never know when someone’s gonna hit it. It could take a real, real long time in order to do that. I think it should be celebrated when he does it.

Q: Why is that?

A: It’s quite an accomplishment, to say the least.

Q: Were you saddened by the end of Bernie Williams’ Yankee days?

A: Yeah, I mean for personal reasons, biased reasons, I would love Bernie to be here ’cause he’s been a teammate for a long time; more importantly, he’s a good friend of mine. So, yeah, I wish maybe it could have been a little bit different, but unfortunately it wasn’t.

Q: What amazes you most about Roger Clemens?

A: Longevity. What people don’t realize is it’s very, very difficult to be a great player for one season, let alone do it consistently year after year.

Q: What has enabled Alex Rodriguez to have the season he’s had?

A: He’s got as much talent as anyone in the game, and he seems to be relaxed, enjoying himself. … He got off to a great start and he’s been riding that wave, and hopefully he’ll continue.

Q: One recent poll ranked you the second-most popular athlete to Tiger Woods, with Michael Jordan third.

A: Kinda mind-boggling, I guess, ’cause I don’t really look at myself that way. I’ve played with this team for so long, so I think people associate me with the New York Yankees.

Q: On the other hand, you’ve fallen to second on the Steiner Sports Web site to “The Sopranos” for most hits.

A: That’s all right. Hopefully I can … with a lot of hard work, get back up there (smile).

Q: Your first All-Star Game?

A: It was in Colorado in ’98. You’re in awe, really. There with guys that you pretty much grew up watching, now you’re there, you’re on the same field with them.

Q: Did you get any autographs?

A: Nah; I always was afraid to ask people to sign stuff.

Q: That’s why you haven’t asked for mine, I guess.

A: You’d be the first.

Q: Who were some of the All-Stars there?

A: Cal Ripken … he’s probably one of the main ones, ’cause being a shortstop growing up, he was one of the taller shortstops … and one of the first offensive shortstops, so I think he was probably one of the guys that I really looked forward to playing with.

Q: Favorite show on Broadway?

A: I haven’t been to too many Broadway plays … I don’t take advantage of New York like I should. I need to get out to a Broadway play.

Q: What song relaxes you most?

A: I don’t know if there’s one particular song that relaxes me; I like listening to old-school R&B.