THERE would be no defense this time if Joe Torre emphasized offense down the stretch.

Torre decided to bow at the altar of big bats, big contracts and big egos late last season by shoehorning Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield into the lineup after lengthy injuries. He messed with the positive mojo his club had developed playing without those stars and certainly spit on defense by benching Melky Cabrera to play Matsui in left while actually finding a more incompetent first baseman than Jason Giambi by auditioning Sheffield during vital games.

He must avoid repeating that mistake. Through a couple of trades (for Jose Molina and Wilson Betemit) and a magical promotion (Shelley Duncan), the Yanks have eliminated a season-long depth problem. The choices should get even deeper this week when Giambi returns. But is that good news or bad?

If history is our guide, Torre has always favored clubhouse harmony, which means mollifying the big-money, big-ego veterans. In that case, he would either put Johnny Damon back in center at the expense of Cabrera and DH Giambi or put Giambi at first over Andy Phillips and DH Damon. That is how, for example, he ended up with the marvelous idea of Gary Sheffield, first baseman, last year.

Sheffield showed his character and gratitude by questioning how Torre handles African-American players. That should help Torre decide in 2007 that dismissing what is working to appease veterans is misguided. Torre is paid a record $7 million annually, mainly because his strength is believed to be communicating with players. Thus, if he needs to communicate uncomfortable information to Damon and Giambi, so be it. A person without Torre’s strengths as a diplomat – for example, the writer of this column – might just say, “Johnny, Jason, you allowed yourselves to deteriorate into one-way players, so we will let you share the only one-way job on the team, DH.”

Torre can do it with more tact. He knows already that it will be problematic considering Damon initially was perturbed when Duncan was given a DH start rather than him on Wednesday. But Torre also should know, based on last season, not to mess up the mojo or the defense.

The defense actually has been a pleasant surprise this season. Alex Rodriguez has played so much better at third than last year and Robinson Cano has been both steadier and more dynamic at second. Cabrera doesn’t always take the prettiest routes to flyballs, but he gets to at least everything Damon would, and his strong, accurate arm is a weapon, especially compared to Damon’s. Phillips’ defense also should not be undervalued.

Yankees pitchers have struck out the AL’s fewest hitters. Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina all have strikeout rates well below their career norms. So the ball is in play, and against Clemens, Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang, particularly, the ball is on the ground a lot. So defense, in general, and defense at first, in particular, should not be minimized. It would be helpful if Betemit, who had never played first before yesterday, could handle the position because that would provide another option should Phillips’ offense tank too far.

When should Giambi play first? Short of never, perhaps when Mussina starts or maybe when Molina is behind the plate to counter the loss of Jorge Posada’s bat. Damon could play a game in left and a game or two in center a week. But as the primary center fielder, Torre should stick with Cabrera, who had the most assists by an AL center fielder (nine). Again, that is a value when the ball is in play against this Yankees rotation.

Against a particularly tough righty such as Detroit’s Justin Verlander, Boston’s Josh Beckett or the Angels’ Kelvim Escobar, Torre could deploy the lefty bats of Damon, Giambi and Betemit. But, in general, the offense has not been a problem while Cabrera and Phillips have been playing. The Yanks do lead the majors in runs scored.

In recent years, Torre has not had much of a bench and he has shown no inclination to use what he does have. But he has a bench now and he should use it. He can be aggressive pinch-hitting late if he does not like a matchup against a Phillips or Cabrera. When Damon does not start, he is available to run, as is Miguel Cairo. If Duncan is kept around, he and Giambi could provide a righty-lefty power alternative late in games. It is not Torre’s style, but he needs to be a more activist manager during the nine innings by using this reserve of talent to its strengths.

Will he hurt feelings? You bet. But the idea is to win, and the Yanks’ best chance to win is not to worry about offending veterans, it is by defending as best as possible.

Joel Sherman’s e-mail address is joel.sherman@ nypost.com. “Birth of a Dynasty,” his 10-year retrospective examining how the Yankees soared to the 1996 championship, is available in paperback at bookstores and at amazon.com.