NEWS » njoyed its most productive half of the season,

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. wholesale nfl jerseys . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. cheap nike nfl jerseys .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. http://www.wholesalejerseysnflauthentic.com/ . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. official nfl jerseys cheap .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. soccer jerseys wholesale . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A veteran team that sees the big picture, the Los Angeles Clippers were a bit subdued following their latest victory.Blake Griffin had 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Clippers built a large lead and then held off the Sacramento Kings 121-115 on Friday night.The Clippers (11-2) have won eight of nine and own the NBAs best record. They led by 26 points in the opening half and are unbeaten in six road games this season. But no one in the Los Angeles locker room felt good about letting the struggling Kings back in the game.A win is a win, but its kind of frustrating, Chris Paul said. We expect more from each other.Trailing by 19 points entering the fourth quarter, the Kings cut the margin to 117-115 on Matt Barnes free throw with 2:03 remaining. Los Angeles responded with a dunk by DeAndre Jordan before Paul made two free throws to push the lead back to six.Sacramento never scored again.They went small and it felt like they scored every time down, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. It felt like we were in the North Carolina four-corner offense. Its great to win, but we want to be better than that.DeMarcus Cousins helped fuel the comeback with 38 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings.Barnes had 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, when Sacramento outscored Los Angeles 30-17.Once again, were just waiting at the last minute to play with energy, Cousins said. Its all fun and exciting in the end, but these games are going to continue to get harder for us if we wait until the last quarter.Ty Lawson added 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Kings, and Darren Collison scored 16. Barnes had 10 fourth-quarter points and made four of Sacramentos 10 3-pointers to finish with 15.J.J. Redick hit six 3s and scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half for the Clippers. Jordan had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Austin Rivers finished with 12 points and Paul added 11 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.Redick, who connected on his first six 3-point attempts, has made a 3 in 69 consecutive gammes, the longest active streak in the NBA.ddddddddddddJ.J. got it going (in the first quarter) and we did whatever we could to get it back to him, Rivers said.It was the fourth straight loss for the Kings. They are 2-4 at home, where they face Toronto, Oklahoma City and Houston the next three games.Kings coach Dave Joerger experimented with a smaller lineup that featured Lawson and Collison in the backcourt.Im going to play small going forward. Ive seen enough, Joerger said. DeMarcus is going to play center. I dont know who else is going to play with him, but it gives us more zip.TIP-INSClippers: Los Angeles shot 5 of 18 in the fourth quarter, yet still wound up shooting 52.6 percent overall. ... Playing his first game of the season, Paul Pierce made his first two shots, a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter. ... Paul missed his first five shots and didnt have a basket until late in the third.Kings: Lawson hit a 3 and converted a free throw for a four-point play in the first quarter. ... Taking turns guarding Griffin in the first quarter, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein combined for five fouls. Griffin made seven of eight free throws. ... Cousins made a shot from near halfcourt to end the first half.HOT STARTLos Angeles enjoyed its most productive half of the season, shooting 70 percent and leading 73-54 at the break. The Clippers had 17 assists and went 10 of 13 from 3-point range. They got superior play from their starters -- and the reserves were productive as well, contributing 23 points.That first half was beautiful. I dont know if we can play any better than that, Rivers said.MAIN MANGriffin was too much for the Kings, shooting 7 of 15 from the field and making 15 of 16 free throws. He also had two steals and a block in just under 37 minutes.UP NEXTClippers: Los Angeles hosts Chicago on Saturday night.Kings: NBA scoring leader DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors visit Sacramento on Sunday night. ' ' '