I know many Mets fans were hoping to get Nick Swisher under the Christmas tree, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Former Mets #1 draft pick and almost-superstar Lastings Milledge will be starring in a Japanese baseball reality show based on the movie “Mr. Baseball”, according to a source close to The Situation (hat tip to loyal MetsToday reader and commenter “Walnutz”).

After failing to fulfill his potential at several stops in MLB, the slick-rapping centerfielder and hip-hop mogul is taking his show to Japan – literally. Cameras will follow Milledge 24 hours a day, documenting every detail of his adventure in Asia.

“It’s a story people will want to see: an American assimilating himself to Asian culture, while also adjusting to the Japanese way of playing baseball,” said Wada “Bull” Shetter, one of the show’s producers.

Traditionally,

In the “Where They Are Now” files, we have an update on former Met phenom Lastings Milledge: he has been designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox.

Hat tip to loyal MetsToday reader and commenter “Walnutz”, who added this:

“Guess it’s just another minor blip on his road to Cooperstown.”

According to ESPN-NY’s Adam Rubin, the Mets are on the verge of announcing the signing of Willie Harris to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.

The 32-year-old Harris has been a thorn in the side of Mets fans for his dramatic outfield catches in late innings against the Mets over the past few years. Otherwise, though, there isn’t much to say about Harris, who hit .183 for the Nationals last year and is a career .239 hitter. He’s an average to slightly above-average corner outfielder, and average defensively in center. He can also play second base adequately, and fill in at short and third in a pinch. Once a speedster, he’s still faster than average and won’t make many mistakes on the basepaths.

It’s good to have him around for depth, particularly considering the injury histories of Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan, but I’m not sure Harris is any better overall than Jason Pridie. I suspect Harris’ MLB experience is valued by the Mets braintrust, as well as his ability to play second base. Similar to Harris is Russ Adams, who also hits from the left side but is primarily a middle infielder who can play some outfield when needed (whereas Harris is primarily an outfielder who can play some infield when needed).

I know this is strictly a depth acquisition, but if the Mets are going to be insistent upon having an experienced MLBer competing for the fourth outfielder spot, I’d be more excited about a return to New York by Lastings Milledge or Ryan Church, or the signing of Andruw Jones. Though, I’m sure none of those three make sense for one reason or another — even if all three can play centerfield as well or better than Harris and almost certainly will provide more offense. Most likely, it’s a money thing, in which case, I wonder if Delwyn Young is on the Mets radar? Young is a 28-year-old switch-hitter who, like Willie Harris, is an outfielder who can also play second base adequately. Young doesn’t have much (if any) experience in center field, but is pretty much the same player as Harris — except four years younger.

You may be wondering why I even care to quibble over the differences between Willie Harris and Delwyn Young but this is how the Mets fans’ winter is going … so, please, don’t shoot the messenger.

If nothing else, Harris has always been a fan favorite in his previous big league stops. You can read a very nice interview with him on MLBlogs. Harris may not be a tremendous performer, but he’s hard not to like. Nothing wrong with this signing, but nothing exciting about it, either.

Several sources are reporting that Matt Diaz has signed a two-year deal with the Pirates.

Though Diaz rakes LHPs it’s kind of a puzzling move in that the Bucs aren’t going anywhere in ’11 and Diaz will be 33 in March. Wouldn’t they have been better off holding on to Lastings Milledge, who is 7 years younger with a more complete skill set? Maybe the Pirates see Diaz as a more valuable piece of trade bait come July.

A sickening feeling came over me after again looking at this December, 2008 trade:

Mets trade Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp, Ezequiel Carrera, and Maikel Cleto in return for J.J. Putz, Jeremy Reed, and Sean Green.

Here’s part one of the analysis:

Where They Are Now: Lastings Milledge

After starting the season 4-for-24 (.167) with 10 strikeouts as the Nationals’ leadoff batter, former Met Lastings Milledge was optioned to AAA.

“He is still a work-in-progress as a leadoff man,” assistant general manager Mike Rizzo said during a conference call.

“This is certainly a message that we need for players to perform,” Rizzo said. “We need for players to adapt to the major leagues, and we need players to succeed.”

Elijah Dukes, hitting a blistering .381, will take over as the everyday centerfielder for the Nats.

For those who missed LMillz’s spring training comments, I provide some of them here again for your entertainment:

“You know, there’s always a thing where, Oh, rookies have to be here 2-1/2 or three hours before stretch. No. I’m not gonna be here three hours before stretch. If you’re here and you get your work in, it shouldn’t matter how early you’re at the field. You know what you need to do. That’s fine. You don’t have to be at the park three, four hours before the park if you don’t want. You don’t see nobody clocking in three or four hours before they have to show up to work. So, I mean, some people feel like they have to get here to read the newspaper or do crossword puzzles or get their mind ready. I feel like I come to the park, I have 45 minutes of stuff I have to do to get prepared for practice and get ready for the game. Five minutes might be watching videos. Fifteen minutes might be going in the cage. And then getting whatever other work I need.”

Be sure to read the entire article here.