According to baseball insiders, the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies have discussed a trade involving Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard.

It's not known if the Phillies have presented the hypothetical swap, which would knock the world of off its axis, to the Cardinals.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro says the blockbuster-trade rumors are nothing but nonesense.

"Lies," he said. "That's a lie. I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie."

That would rate pretty high on the denial scale, right?

So, how do whispers about the Cardinals parting ways with Pujols, generally regarded as baseball's best position player, begin?

The 30-year-old slugger will be a free agent after the 2011 season and will surely command an Alex Rodriguez-like deal, ESPN's Buster Olney explains. If the Cardinals couldn't pony up, some sort of superswap would be the next logical step.

Howard, a St. Louis-born left-handed version of Pujols, would be attractive.

Again, this doesn't look to be very far along in the real world. But, a trade ripped straight out a fantasy baseball league would be pretty cool. And, hey, who doesn't love a little Monday morning rumor-mongering?