PHOENIX -- It was late Sunday night in the desert, the atmosphere in the Yankees clubhouse dry with shock and disappointment, when general manager Brian Cashman walked over to right fielder Paul O'Neill's locker for what was a very quiet, very poignant moment.

Nearly everyone was gone, headed toward their most empty offseason in four years. O'Neill has all but officially confirmed his retirement, but the Yankees have been so busy over these past few weeks that they've never really had the chance to talk about it.

There was always another game, another bus, another flight, another championship to chase.

Paul O'Neill's remarkable run with the Yankees ends with a tough Game 7 loss to the Diamondbacks.(AP)

Now, there wasn't.

"I just asked him if it was true, and he said, 'Yeah,'" Cashman said quietly after the two shook hands for the last time -- at least with O'Neill as an active player -- in a clubhouse. "He's irreplaceable.

"I don't know how many pinstripes the Yankee uniform has, but he deserves one with his name on it, like our Hall of Famers."

Of all the outward signs of a dynasty halted, the departure of O'Neill will be the most noticeable. A winner in New York since the Yankees stole him from Cincinnati for Roberto Kelly in 1992, O'Neill has been one of a handful of constants in the Yankees' four World Series titles since 1996.

But just as they've replaced other parts and moved on to more trophies and baubles, the Yankees must believe that they can replace O'Neill, too, and make another strong run in 2002.

One of the things that is most overlooked about the Yankees during their recent dynasty is that, while they looked the same on the field -- pinstripes and victories -- much changed off of it.

And with O'Neill, first baseman Tino Martinez, third baseman Scott Brosius and outfielder Chuck Knoblauch each at the end of their contracts, the Yankees expect more retooling during what Cashman calls their "winter program" this year.

"I can't say whether there will be a lot of changes or not," Cashman said. "Obviously, we have to evaluate what needs to be improved."

It's nothing new. One reason for all of New York's success is that the Yankees never take a breath and enjoy their accomplishments. Instead, as soon as they've added another title to their resume -- their 26 world championships is the most of any team in any sport -- they immediately begin plotting for the future.

"I'm not a good loser," owner George Steinbrenner proclaimed in the clubhouse Sunday night, and any of his dozens of ex-employees who have received pink slips over the years certainly could testify to that. "I believe in what Ernest Hemingway said, 'The way you get to be a good loser is to practice.'

"I ain't gonna be practicing."

If anyone in the current Yankees organizational structure knows that, it's Cashman.

On the Bank One Ballpark field before Game 7 Sunday afternoon, Cashman spoke with optimism about the challenge that soon lay ahead -- and as he did, it didn't take much to figure out who he was alluding to.

"For the Yankees, I feel like we do Game 7 every day," Cashman said. "It's Game 7 when we play the Devil Rays in spring training. We play the Mets during the regular season. We play the Red Sox 19 times during the regular season.

"If any organization is prepared for Game 7, it's us, because we have Game 7 every day. Game 7 is every day from the first day of spring training on."

For Cashman, especially, Game 7 is every day during the winter, too. He saw it when he was an assistant to then-GMs Gene Michael and Bob Watson, and he has felt it since replacing Watson before the 1998 season when he was just 31.

"Every winter has been extremely difficult," Cashman said. "I remember in '95 at the playoffs, I was behind Gene Michael and the issues with Gene then were (pitcher) Jack McDowell, (first baseman) Don Mattingly, (infielder) Randy Velarde and (manager) Buck Showalter. All of those guys got us there (to the playoffs) after a tremendous drought.

"In '96, we lost (closer) John Wetteland, and (pitcher) Jimmy Key went to Baltimore. That was a tough winter.

"In '97, we lost a number of guys -- (third baseman) Wade Boggs, (designated hitter) Cecil Fielder and (third baseman) Charlie Hayes ... In '99, we made the big decision on the Roger Clemens-David Wells swap. We've been transitioning so much."

During their four championships since 1996, the Yankees have had three regular third basemen: Hayes, Boggs and Brosius. They've had two closers: Wetteland and Mariano Rivera. They've had two catchers: Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada. They've had several different starting pitchers, including Key, Wells, Clemens, David Cone and Mike Mussina.

And, including this year's near miss, they've employed four different regular second basemen: Mariano Duncan, Luis Sojo, Knoblauch and the promising new kid, Alfonso Soriano.

"We've had a lot of difficult decisions, really," Cashman said. "In that way, this winter is not going to be any different. Our mission statement from The Boss is we try to get to the World Series and win it.

"We've got to try to rebuild, retool, regroup just to get back. You work 11 months to get to that one month, October. Obviously, our winter program is the biggest part of that process."

The Yankees obviously will be very strong again going into 2002, given their up-the-middle core of Posada, Soriano, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams, the meat of the rotation in Clemens, Mussina and Andy Pettitte and Rivera, their all-world closer.

They still could bring Martinez back, but they are expected to make a strong bid for Oakland first baseman Jason Giambi, who will be available on the free-agent market.

Brosius might come back, but Knoblauch is almost certainly a goner.

There is some question whether pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez will return as well, given his injury-riddled season and his advanced age (the native of Cuba is listed as being 32, though most folks figure he's at least into his mid-30s).

If the Yankees don't land Giambi, whose first choice still appears to be Oakland, they could make a run at outfielder Barry Bonds, the other marquee free agent in this year's class. Scott Boras, Bonds' agent, was in Arizona on the first weekend of the World Series and immediately listed the Yankees as a team Bonds will be interested in.

Whether that interest is reciprocal depends on a few decisions the Yankees make over the next several days, what happens with Giambi and, of course, which other clubs decide to pursue Bonds.

Another factor in the Martinez decision will be Nick Johnson, 23, the young Yankees first base prospect who many think is ready to take the job now.

"I think Nick would have been starting for most clubs prior to this year, to be honest," Cashman said. "Teams have been after him the last two years. We've had Tino, and it was always nice to have him in the background.

"Nick will be a prominent major-league player for years to come. It's just when will that start, that remains to be seen."

One key ingredient to the Yankees' success over the past several seasons is that, not only have they assembled elite talent, but they've also brought together elite personalities. When the Yankees escape from bad situations like some of history's greatest magicians, as they did in those ninth-inning comebacks against Arizona in Games 4 and 5, it's no accident.

The thing that has separated the Yankees from everybody else is, not only are they talented, they are winners and unselfish at the same time.

Sometimes, that's a lethal combination.

"I think that has to do a lot with the quality of people we have in here," O'Neill said at 1:30 a.m. last Friday morning in the Yankees' clubhouse, immediately following the Yanks' Game 5 escape. "I couldn't have been happier when Tino hit the home run last night, because I know how hard he works.

"Scotty (Brosius) couldn't hold back the smile as he crossed the plate (after his ninth-inning Game 5 homer). You generally like these guys. It's not, 'Good game, see ya tomorrow.' You want to stay and talk to them."

It is, undoubtedly, part of the reason the Yankees have risen to such stunning heights since the mid-1990s. And it is part of the reason why, after their heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Diamondbacks on Sunday, the retiring O'Neill was one of the last players to leave the clubhouse.

As for Cashman and those in the Yankees' front office, though, it's already time to turn the page.

"I never smell the roses," Cashman said during one of the most memorable World Series in years. "I never stop to appreciate where we are. It's almost like you're trained not to, because somebody might be sneaking up on you.

"He (Steinbrenner) calls me sometimes with suggestions, and I'm amazed. The guy never shuts it down making sure the fans of New York have something special to see on a daily basis. My battery sometimes gets low. His is never low."

Cashman refers to Steinbrenner as the "Vince Lombardi of owners. He demands excellence."

So long as Steinbrenner doesn't practice what Hemingway once said, they will all rest a little easier around Yankee Stadium.