George Steinbrenner is growing impatient, a sign that changes are ahead for the New York Yankees. It took a dramatic ninth-inning comeback Sunday to avoid getting swept by the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees began Monday night's game at Baltimore 6? games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. Team executives are due in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday for meetings with the Boss that could be a prelude to trades aimed at improving poor pitching and disastrous defense. "My patience is a little short by the fact that the team is not performing up to its great capabilities," Steinbrenner said in a statement issued by spokesman Howard Rubenstein. "The players have to want to win as much as I do." Rubenstein said the Yankees owner dictated the statement to him while lifting weights. Steinbrenner wouldn't discuss the substance of the meetings. "He hasn't lost his fighting spirit," Rubenstein said. "He said, 'We'll never give up.' He wants this message to be conveyed." Manager Joe Torre got the message, and responded in the visitors' dugout at Camden Yards late Monday afternoon. "It's been a roller-coaster. The team is frustrated. I'm frustrated," Torre said. "We'd be concerned if he was happy at this point. The players certainly aren't happy. We want to win. "As the Boss, he can certainly say whatever he wants. We just have to play better baseball."