Where’s the Manny Rumor?

With the news that Manny Ramirez is unhappy in Boston (ho-hum, what else is new?), we’d expect to hear at least some speculation regarding the Mets’ interest in the sour star.

But nothing — not a whisper.

Strange, isn’t it?

After all, Manny has been unhappy in Boston every year for the past, oh, six years. But this time, boy, oh THIS TIME, he’s serious. No, really. Really, he’s serious. Really.

For at least five of those six years, the Mets seemed at the center of any trade rumors. Lastings Milledge was traded for Manny about a dozen times in the rumor mills, before finally being dealt to Washington. This time, though, we’re hearing nothing — zilch — from the Mets and from the moles.

According to one of the most informed moles in the business, Jon Heyman:

“While Mets GM Omar Minaya is a longtime admirer, it appears the Mets have little or no interest.”

Hmm … that tells me that Minaya is working feverishly to find a way to get Manny to Queens. Because although Heyman is one of the better journalists at digging up dirt, for some reason, the Mets manage to keep all their trades a secret. We’ve beat this drum before, but I’ll refresh the subject briefly: who knew about any of the Mets trades and signings before they became a reality? The Johan deal was the first in Minaya’s tenure that was leaked, but even that one was kept a secret until the deal was pretty much done. No one saw the Milledge-Church-Schneider deal coming. The Guillermo Mota – Johnny Estrada deal came out of nowhere. The pattern continues as you back over nearly every transaction. Ironically, one of the only acquisitions that was leaked, ended up being revoked — the “signing” of Yorvit Torrealba.

So my theory is this: because there is NO talk of the Mets going after Manny, the Mets MUST be going after Manny. I have no sources backing this theory; it came from the thin air. Further, it makes no sense, since the Mets have no expendable goods that would be valuable to the Red Sox in return for Manny. Ramirez, after all, is one of the top three hitters in all of MLB — how could the Bosox possibly fill his spot in the lineup with someone from the Mets’ organization?

Ah, but perhaps they won’t have to. Perhaps there is a third team involved — say, the Colorado Rockies, who have Matt Holliday. Maybe the Mets can put together a package of players to send to Colorado, which will send Holliday to Boston and in turn Manny home to New York. Or maybe the third team is the Rangers, who have Milton Bradley and Hank Blalock, among others, to offer.

Don’t bet on it … but crazier things have happened at the deadline.