PHILADELPHIA – George Steinbrenner fancies himself a student of history – both baseball and military. You can see his fascination with both in the hallways of Yankee Stadium, where famous quotations from Joe DiMaggio and Gen. Douglas MacArthur are painted in prominent places.

Curt Schilling might as well be Steinbrenner’s long-lost son, because he shares with the Boss a passion for history – both baseball and military.

How deep do Schilling’s passions run?

Well, his first-born son is named Gehrig, and the family dog is named Patton.

Enough said.

All this is why Steinbrenner, the maniacal, winning-is-second-only-to-breathing owner of the New York Yankees, must have been a little nuttier than usual on Tuesday.

As Steinbrenner and his cabinet members assembled in Tampa, Fla., to try to figure out how to break a “three-year drought without winning a World Series, representatives from the Boston Red Sox were flying to Arizona, where they were scheduled to begin wooing Schilling on Tuesday night.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to deal Schilling to Boston for a package headlined by Casey Fossum, a pitcher of some potential, but hardly someone who strikes fear into hitters. Schilling has until 5 p.m. EST on Friday to decide whether he will waive his no-trade clause.

Steinbrenner is obsessed with being better than two teams. One is the crosstown Mets. Lately, they’ve been irrelevant, and that pleases Steinbrenner to no end.

The other team on Steinbrenner’s List of the Loathed is the Red Sox. He can’t be taking it well that the Sox have an exclusive window to speak with Schilling, especially not after Schilling initially said that the Yankees and the Phillies were the only two teams to which he would accept a trade.

The Phils seemed only lukewarm on reacquiring the 37-year-old Schilling. The Diamondbacks threw around big names like Brett Myers and Cole Hamels. The Phillies, according to baseball sources, countered with names like Carlos Silva and Nick Punto. Clearly, the Phils had reservations about giving up top talent. They know they need a proven pitcher and they must sincerely believe they can get somebody – Kevin Millwood? Bartolo Colon? Javier Vazquez? – younger than Schilling, who dearly wanted to come back to Philadelphia.

The Phillies had better be correct in their thinking, because a big arm might be the only thing missing from their taking control of the National League East in 2004.

In talks with the Yankees, Arizona asked for two mainstays in first baseman Nick Johnson and second baseman Alfonso Soriano.

Several baseball people have confirmed that Steinbrenner wanted Schilling, and that his baseball advisers were leery of giving up Johnson for an aging pitcher who would require at least a two-year extension possibly for as much as $30 million.

Steinbrenner equates Schilling to Roger Clemens, who was the Boss’ Perfect Yankee. Schilling throws hard, talks big, and shines in big games. He has a kid named Gehrig and a dog named Patton. You can almost hear Steinbrenner barking, “Get him – or else.”

Once upon a time, Steinbrenner ordered the trade of a young, slow-blossoming outfielder named Bernie Williams. The Yanks’ front-office people believed Williams eventually would blossom, so they fibbed to Steinbrenner, telling him there was no interest in Williams.

Williams stayed and became a star.

The current crew of Yankees front-office people had better hope Schilling doesn’t end up in Boston. If he does, heads may roll. If Schilling nixes Boston, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Yankees jump right in and deal for him, at whatever cost. Steinbrenner would see that as one-upping the enemy Red Sox.

The two teams have been down this road before. Last year, they sparred over Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras. The Yankees won and the Red Sox cried foul. Boston club president Larry Lucchino called the Yankees “the Evil Empire,” and bad blood followed the two teams through the regular season and playoffs. Steinbrenner puffed his chest when his Yanks beat the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.

This latest joust between the Yankees and Red Sox is good for baseball. What other sport gets the off-season attention that baseball does? The Red Sox, who also are pursuing a top closer (Keith Foulke), are trying to beat the Yankees at their own game – scooping up all the talent. Before the winter is over, the Sox may also make a play for disgruntled Texas superstar Alex Rodriguez. Getting him would really set Steinbrenner off.

If Steinbrenner can’t have Schilling, he’s likely to try to gobble up everything else. Andy Pettitte? You’re going nowhere, young man. Gary Sheffield? Come on down. Vazquez? Whatever it takes. Colon? Try on these pinstripes. Kazuo Matsui? This locker is yours. Millwood? The hunting is great in the Bronx.

During the summer, Curt Schilling holds a baseball in his right hand. Right now, he holds the key to this baseball winter, and don’t think for one second he isn’t enjoying the heck out of that.

The hot stove is heating up. Or is that just George Steinbrenner’s blood boiling?