Chase Utley "rumor": Dodgers "buy-curious"

Because it's trade season, no idea is a bad idea. (Apparently.) Because it's trade season, and no idea is a bad idea, sometimes we get "rumors" like this:

Word going around the game is that the Dodgers could have interest in Chase Utley, the longtime Phillies star who in his younger days starred at UCLA and before that at Long Beach (Calif.) Polytechnic High.

Is it a possibility that Chase Utley's "hometown team" (i.e. the team that exists in the same town he's from) would want him? Of course it is. It's also a possibility that any other team might want him. How about the Kansas City Royals? Sure! What about the Oakland As? Why not! Line up! Take a number!

But I'm not sure the statement "word going around the game" tells us more than "I've talked to some of my friends, and while this is certainly possible, no one has heard anything about it in any way, shape, or form, but since I've talked to my friends about it, I can now say that word is going around." For example (emphasis mine):

It isn't known if the Dodgers have gone so far as to contact the Phillies regarding Utley, and if they do, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro doesn't seem anxious to trade Utley despite the fact Utley's contract expires after the year. Amaro told Danny Knobler earlier this week, "I view Chase Utley as a Phillie for life."

Listen, I'll be the first to admit that even the idea of trading Chase Utley is painful. Imagining him in another uniform is nearly impossible for me to do without starting to twitch and then bursting into tears. But I know it's a possibility. I'm not unwilling to accept that. And hypotheticals are perfectly fine, and they're fun to do this time of year. (Example: What could the Phillies get for Michael Martinez? Could they pay other teams to take him? How much would they want?) But just because you're talking about a player's "hometown team" doesn't make it more than conjecture. Utley's personal ties to the area don't make it more likely to happen. Remember the Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols ridiculousness? Or Jimmy Rollins and the Giants? How about Cole Hamels and the Padres?

We have another 29 days of this insanity. Stay vigilant.