My former “boss” Rob Neyer relayed a completely fabricated and untrue rumor about a David Wright trade to the Phillies.

In the proposed deal, Wright would go to the Phillies in return for Domonic Brown, Vance Worley, and Phillippe Aumont. Personally, I’m not sure I’d do that deal, but all things considered — i.e., Wright’s contract situation and his coming off the worst season of his career — it wouldn’t be a terrible trade for the Mets.

What’s scary, though, is that Neyer termed the deal as

With hours to go until the New Year, 2011 is taking its final bows, and 2012 is ready for its debut.  Most people look upon the New Year as chance for a fresh start, a chance to evaluate their lives and set new goals – maybe look for a new job, find a new hobby, or reconnect with family and friends.

For the Mets, it’s definitely time for a change.  This is a baseball team in a shambles.  They are millions of dollars in debt, and have taken loans from Major League Baseball in order to stay afloat.  They lost their star shortstop in free agency to a division rival, and traded two key players during the season.  They’ve done little to build the team during the offseason, except adding a mediocre outfielder and three pretty good relief pitchers.  And if the 2012 season goes as poorly as most predict,

What to do with Dan Murphy? That’s the burning question in Metsville.

After posting a .320 AVG, .360 OBP, and .809 OPS, Dan Murphy has convinced many that he can hit. But can he field? The jury is out, as there are differences in opinion. Some point to his sparkling UZR as evidence of his ability to play first base. Others insist that his sample size at the position is not large enough to rely on UZR, and still others who have no idea what UZR is saw an awkward first baseman who often looked confused and made frequent mental lapses that overshadowed any positive aspects of his defense.

And then there is the matter of Murphy at second base, a position he seems unable to play without hurting himself. For the second year in a row, Murphy sustained a serious injury due to improper footwork around the bag. We’ve already seen that the outfield is a similarly dangerous place for Murphy to be; although he never hurt himself out there, we saw enough to think he might. He’s probably safest at

This is the part of evaluations where I’d really like to be discussing Jose Reyes. Unfortunately, Reyes has moved on to greener pastures, so we won’t go through the pain and torture of analyzing his 2011 season — the first in which a New York Met won a batting title. Instead, we’ll skip to Reyes’ replacement at shortstop, Ruben Tejada.

The Chicago Cubs have signed free agent pitchers Andy Sonnanstine and Manny Corpas to minor league contracts, inviting both to spring training.

While I don’t believe either of them would have turned the Mets into a contender, I’m mildly surprised that

As you probably know, the Mets are in severe financial straits and in dire need of cash. Toward that end, they’re trying to raise about $200M by convincing 10 investors to pony up $20M each, in return for the following:

– 4% interest in the ballclub
– “access” to Mr. Met (but not Mrs. Met)
– free parking space at Citi Field
– access to a luxury box that can’t be otherwise sold
– some kind of a fantasy camp type of “workout”
– chance to throw out first pitch of a ballgame
– discount on Mets merchandise
– an assigned gopher / executive assistant
– one free trip with the team during the season
– a business card that states “owner”
– one free weekend stay in Port St. Lucie during spring training
– unspecified luncheons with unspecified former Mets players
– an offseason luncheon with the Mets GM and manager
– option to cash out your share after 6 years with 3% interest

Does this sound like a good deal?

The biggest competition in Port St. Lucie last March was at second base, where Luis Castillo, Dan Murphy, and Brad Emaus auditioned for the starting position. Oh, there was mention of Justin Turner, but the scrappy utilityman was written off fairly early; even the names Luis Hernandez and Chin-lung Hu were ahead of Turner on the depth chart. Mainly because he still held an option, it was a foregone conclusion that Turner would start the season in AAA and be summoned only if some kind of catastrophe occurred at the keystone.

In fact, the Mets were so certain of how things would turn out in the middle of the infield, Emaus was listed as their second baseman on the MLB All-Star ballot.

Funny how the best laid plans of mice and Mets often fall astray …

It’s somewhat ironic that someone who was always stealing things was born on a day that’s all about giving, but Rickey Henderson was born on this day, December 25, 1958. Happy Birthday, Rickey!

Other former Mets celebrating their birthday today include Ruben Gotay, Jack Hamilton, Al Jackson, Dennis Musgraves, and Orange, NJ native Tom O’Malley. Best birthday wishes to them, and Happy Holidays to you!