Could the mutual love affair between Jacque Jones (above) and the denizens of Wrigley Field be coming to an end? The New York Daily News’ Sam Borden suggests as much .

It’s no secret the Yankees have several glaring needs, but they are finding it increasingly difficult to fill them on the trade market.
One source said GM Brian Cashman is running into the same wall on almost every call he makes, as other teams respond to his overtures for outfield or pitching help by immediately asking for either Robinson Cano, Chien-Ming Wang, or top prospect Phil Hughes.

While Kansas City’s Reggie Sanders seems to keep coming up as someone that would be a good fit with the Yankees – Melky Cabrera’s recent struggles have made the outfield issue more pressing – the Bombers actually have had recent internal discussions about the Cubs’ Jacque Jones, according to sources. Those talks came at the behest of George Steinbrenner, who apparently was told about Jones by one of his cronies and then asked his staff to look into what it might take to acquire the right fielder.

It’s likely that it wouldn’t take much in the way of prospects since Jones is in the first year of a three-year deal worth about $12 million and the Bombers would essentially be offering a salary dump, though it’s unclear if the Cubs would be willing to deal; Jones is hitting .288 with 13 homers and 35 RBI.

In the wake of Xavier Nady (above) reclaiming his RF job with an impressive display of power against the Reds last night (and Cliff Floyd emerging from a rehab stint shortly), Mets rookie OF Lastings Milledge tells Newsday’s Bob Herzog he’d rather ride the pine in Flushing than play every day in Norfolk if he had his druthers.

“I think I’ll get better as a player by learning on the big-league level,” he said before last night’s game. “It doesn’t matter to me if I come off the bench. I’ll be the same player. What you see is what you get.”

Milledge went 1-for-4 and is hitting .258 in 66 at-bats. “I haven’t had a hundred at-bats yet,” he said. “You have to be patient with your numbers until you get a lot of at-bats.

“In the end, I think I can learn more here, as far as my development goes. But for the organization, it’s a wise move for me to go down. You never know. I could go crazy up here and put the pressure on them to keep me.”

By “go crazy”, I’m assuming Lastings means perform so well the Mets would have no choice but to keep him on the major league roster. As opposed to turn up late at the ballpark, date a 13 year old girl, wear garish jewelry, loaf around the bases, show up the opposing pitcher after a home run or nearly run over a middle-aged journalist with his Hummer.

There you have it. What have you done for us lately, Lastings Milledge? I’m in a backlashy mood today!