rformances they have been linked to doping in the past, so naturally now were bearing the brunt of a lot of those

NEW YORK -- Watching a second straight loss to last-place Tampa Bay convinced the New York Yankees it was time to shift more fully into sell mode. So late Saturday night, owner Hal Steinbrenner gave the go-ahead.Six days after trading closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for four prospects, New York dealt reliever Andrew Miller to Cleveland for four more.Were trying to get back to a situation where we can build an uber team and a sustainable one, general manager Brian Cashman said. So well see where it takes us, but thats the effort that weve got going on here, and I think fans should be excited by that.New Yorks 5-3 defeat Sunday completed a weekend sweep that left the Yankees (52-52) seven games behind AL East-leading Baltimore and 5 1/2 games back for the ALs second wild card, with three other teams to overcome.Seeking its elusive 28th championship, New York hasnt won a postseason game since Derek Jeter shattered an ankle in the 2012 AL Championship Series, a night that looking back ended an era of greatness that included titles in 1996, `98, `99, `00 and `09.While the Yankees kept adding free agents around the core group of Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, amateur drafts yielded relatively little and Major League Baseball restricted the Yankees and other high-revenue teams with taxes on high payrolls and penalties for exceeding defined thresholds on amateur spending.Cashman all but admitted the Yankees were slow to adapt.The chessboard thats lined up that were playing is not the same chessboard that we were playing back when I just started in the late `80s, he said. Its a recognition of how the industrys completely different today and the operating standards are completely different today, and theres just a sounder recognition of that. And if you want to become a super team, theres certain ways to go about that that you have to strongly consider. And although they may be tough decisions, the one thing the Yankees have always stood for and do stand for is the effort in trying to become a super team.Convinced they are unlikely to reach the playoffs this year, the Yankees are pivoting to the future. New York hopes to get under the luxury tax threshold by no later than 2018, which would put the team in prime position to spend again after that season. Bryce Harper, Jose Fernandez, Manny Machado and Clayton Kershaw are among the stars who could be on the market that fall.With inconsistent starting pitching and among the American Leagues poorest offenses, the Yankees are in danger of their first losing season since 1992 and appear to be several years from assembling a dominating team. Carlos Beltran, Ivan Nova and Mark Teixeira are eligible for free agency at the end of the season, and CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, Brian McCann and Brett Gardner also could go free after 2018 (New York has 2019 options for McCann and Gardner).Theres no doubt that theyre trying to add good players to the organization for the future, Beltran said. Maybe theyre really serious about rebuilding.With his average at .205, 41-year-old A-Rod seems to have little future at New Yorks designated hitter in 2017. As the Yankees try to go young, their focus will be on trying to find productive, relatively inexpensive players to fill the big league roster while waiting for prospects to develop.Shortstop Jorge Mateo, catcher Gary Sanchez, outfielder Aaron Judge and pitcher Luis Severino were thought to be the best of their minor league system before the addition of shortstop Gleyber Torres from the Cubs and outfielder Clint Frazier from the Indians. New York views Frazier, the fifth overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft, as a Mike Trout-type player.An electric bat. His bat speed is already legendary, Cashman said. A very exciting high-energy guy that shows up for the national anthem in a dirty uniform.Left-hander Justus Sheffield -- Garys nephew -- and right-handers Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen also were part of Sundays trade. Cashman has brought back Adam Warren and Tyler Clippard to fill out the pitching staff, an attempt he said was to cushion the blow. Still, the Yankees are unaccustomed to dealing stars for prospects.Trust me, I didnt sleep a wink last night, and theres a lot of sleepless nights weve had, Cashman said,Manager Joe Girardi will have to make due until the kids grow up. For now, the Yankees are left to spin the present like other also-rans.I dont ever wave a white flag. This organization never waves a white flag, Girardi said. I dont view it as that, and they better not view it in that room as that.---AP freelance writer Mark Didtler in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report.Kendall Fuller Super Bowl Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Custom Chiefs Super Bowl Jerseys . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Eric-Fisher-Chiefs-Jersey/ . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Mitchell Schwartz Super Bowl Jersey . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Dustin Colquitt Super Bowl Jersey . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres.SAINT-NAZAIRE, France -- Chris Froomes Sky team manager vows the star rider will never be left exposed again in his bid to win the Tour de France for the first time. Froome successfully defended the yellow jersey on a ferociously tough mountain stage on Sunday and will wear it when the race resumes for Stage 10 on Tuesday following a rest day. The fact Froome had to defend the jersey alone on Sundays ninth stage -- because all of his teammates had been left behind -- offers hope to rivals like two-time champion Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck that Sky may be vulnerable. If they can isolate Froome again further on in the race, he will be more tired and may not be able to respond. "Weve learnt some lessons, valuable lessons, to take into the rest of the race," Sky manager Dave Brailsford said Monday. "But Im not going to spell it out. Im not going to go into the details of the changes were going to make." Froomes key teammate is Richie Porte, a 28-year-old Australian who won the Paris-Nice stage race in March. He was unable to help Froome on Stage 9 and badly wants to make amends. "It was absolute war," he said. "Am I going to have another bad day like that? I hope not." Contador, the Tour winner in 2007 and 09 who was stripped of his title the following year for doping, is already looking ahead to getting another crack at Froome in the mountains on Sunday. "I will try and do something," Contador said. "If you dont think you can succeed then you never will. So we have to take a few risks." Sundays 15th stage is the next big climbing trek and features a 20.8-kilometre (12.9-mile) ascent up to Mont Ventoux. A few days later, riders face three straight days of mountain torture in the high Alps. "Throughout my career Ive found my best form in the third week," the 30-year-old Contador said. The Spaniard takes heart from winning the Spanish Vuelta last year, a race in which Froome finished about 10 minutes behind in fourth overall. "People can speculate and look at my previous performances however they like, but I look at that Vuelta in that I was running on fumes. I was in survival mode," Froome said. "If people want to makke comparisons thats up to them, but I dont feel I was at my best.dddddddddddd" Rather than looking back, Contador should focus on the immediate future -- notably Wednesdays time trial. "Its a very flat time trial and that is a disadvantage for me," Contador said about the 33-kilometre (20.5-mile) circuit. Froome finished second to Tour winner Bradley Wiggins in the time trial last year and is considerably faster than Contador, who may be able to limit the time gaps this time because the dash from Avranches to Mont-Saint-Michel is relatively short. Given the dominant way Froome is riding, he can take a big step toward winning the Tour if he extends his overall advantage after the time trial. Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde is 1 minute, 25 seconds behind Froome. Contador is 1:51 behind in sixth, while Schleck is four minutes back in 15th place, and Evans is 4:36 adrift in 16th. None of them will want to look in the history books. Valverde but was a massive 7:20 slower than Froome in last years 53.5-kilometre (33.2-mile) time trial; Evans was 4:28 slower. They again face the prospect of losing significant time to Froome. This is the 100th edition of the Tour and also the first since Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven straight titles from 1999-2005 for serial doping. Froome has said twice so far during the race that he is riding clean. Contador again repeated that he has never doped, even though he tested positive for the banned drug clenbuterol. "Naturally people are going to ask questions in cycling," Froome said. "Whenever there are great performances they have been linked to doping in the past, so naturally now were bearing the brunt of a lot of those questions." Contador, who lost his 2010 title to Schleck, has always denied doping and said: "You can believe what you want. But the only thing that I can tell you is that I have always practiced cycling clean." Froome would not be drawn on Contadors comment, other than saying: "there definitely do need to be questions asked about performances in the past." Tuesdays stage is a 197-kilometre (122-mile) route from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo and is made for sprinters. ' ' '