Sure, it was the worst loss in franchise history. Sure, George Steinbrenner showed up 4½ hours before first pitch and watched batting practice like a hawk.

Nevertheless, the Yankees tried to go about yesterday insisting it was business as usual – with one exception.

Derek Jeter, like many of his teammates, dismissed Tuesday night’s 22-0 drubbing by Cleveland as just one game. And yet the Yankee captain acknowledged his team needs to play with a hunger and a desperation that matches the Red Sox.

Otherwise, their incredibly shrinking AL East lead, 3½ games before last night, will seem comfy.

“We had the luxury of a big lead,” Jeter said. “The teams we’ve been playing the past few weeks, they’ve all been in the race. And their intensity level has been pretty high when we played them.

“Now we’re in a race. So we have to pick up our intensity level as well.”

The Yanks led Boston by 10½ games on Aug. 15 but have seen the Red Sox surge within striking distance. Fans are fearing this is the reverse of 1978, when Boston blew a 14-game lead.

“We can’t worry about what’s happened,” Jeter said. “Now you’ve got one month.

“We have to play well this last month.”

If there was any doubt that the Yankees would be scrutinized from now until the end of the season, that evaporated when Steinbrenner was seen in the owner’s box watching batting practice for about 45 minutes.

During batting practice, the scoreboards read, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Steinbrenner arrived at around 2:30 p.m. and said, “We’ll straighten it out tonight.” There’s no other choice, of course.

He also issued a statement that read, “Sure, we got punished badly last night, but winners never quit and quitters never win. New Yorkers never quit, and we reflect the spirit of New York.”

He also spoke with Joe Torre.

“Support, keep your chin up type of stuff,” Torre said. “There is that side of him.

“I’ve been here nine years and you see all sides. Normally when you get beat up like that, he’s usually supportive.”

Gary Sheffield, another full-throttle Yankee, backed up Jeter but wasn’t quite as adamant.

“You always want to play with the same intensity on an everyday basis,” he said. “You have to elevate your game against certain opponents and things like that – because those are big series or big games.

“Every team you play is a professional baseball team. And it says professional for a reason.

“It ain’t because they can’t play. Just because you have more talent than most people doesn’t mean you can just line up and beat them.”

Torre and Jorge Posada didn’t think the Yankees’ intensity was a problem although they had lost nine of their last 15 entering last night.

Both acknowledged the lopsided loss could provide a gut-check.

Late Tuesday, Posada told reporters, “You’ve got to look in the mirror and ask some questions.

“How good are we? We’ve got to look inside. We are a good team. We are still in first place. We’ve just got to do it. We’ve got to come out here and play good ball and just turn it around.”

Torre said getting no-hit by Houston in 2003 was the low point of his Yankee tenure, not Tuesday night.

“Nobody’s taking any time off here – that I see,” Torre said.