Rudy Still Getting Rave Reviews

His old players are behind him, maybe this guy is just the Mets are looking for.

"He's a Hall of Fame hitting coach," said Alex Rodriguez, who had Jaramillo as his hitting coach during his Rangers tenure. "Any capacity the Mets would use him in, he'd do a great job."

"Best hitting instructor in the business, bar none," raved Incaviglia, who's now the hitting instructor for the Tigers' Double-A affiliate. "He's head and heels over everybody else. He's really intelligent inside. Outside, he has the look of a grinder. He's one tough son of a [gun]."

Although any endorsement from Alex Rodriguez is not a good one in my book, he seems to be a truly viable and cheap candidate. That is just what the Mets are looking for.

Asked whether Jaramillo can manage, Incaviglia replied, "Absolutely. He will be a great manager. He has passion and intelligence for the game. He's one of the most organized people I've ever been around. Somebody will be getting a real good manager."

That fact alone that someone thinks he is intelligent is good enough for me. Howe was lacking that quality and that is a major trait I'd like in a manger of the Mets. On top of that, he seems to be a player’s kind of guy that people get behind. If he can bring cohesiveness to the clubhouse instead of unrest and players calling him grandpa, then I think that is a great step to motivating these Mets players. To manage in New York, you have to be a straight shooter and Rudy does not seem to have a problem there. I guess we will see soon enough to what extent he will be involved in the organization.

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Some actually hot stove stuff going on:

The Marlins are looking to deal Lowell.

The Marlins would prefer to trade Lowell but that would have to happen before Nov. 1, when he becomes eligible for free agency if the team has not yet reached a deal to build a new stadium.

The Marlins are $30 million short of the financing they want for a new ballpark. The four-year contract Lowell signed Dec. 3 will change drastically if the Marlins fail to get that final chunk of money by Nov. 1.

If the stadium financing is completed in the next 17 days — which seems unlikely — Lowell, 30, would be locked into the final three years of the contract.

But if the Marlins fail to reach a ballpark deal by Nov. 1, Lowell would hold a $7.5 million option to return to the Marlins in 2005 or become a free agent

I wonder if he has a first baseman's glove. He'd sure be welcome at first base in Shea.

The Marlins are prepared to move left fielder Miguel Cabrera to third base, where he is more comfortable, and use the baseball winter meetings in December to seek a left fielder, preferably one with power from the left side of the plate.

Since there is a shortage of them, I wonder if they would take back Cliffy with the Mets throwing in two million per year. It's just a thought, but is it really that unreasonable to think of that happening?

In some more Marlins personnel news:

Shapiro also debunked a recent report out of New York that said Pavano was not interested in pitching for either the Yankees or the Mets.

"Obviously, both New York teams are going to be strong possibilities for Carl," Shapiro said. "He's really looking at the totality of factors that would play in his decision. It's an unbelievably mature and sophisticated way to look at the process.

"Of course, paramount is going to be compensation, but Carl is exploring all the options to really take advantage of the position he's put himself in by winning 18 games [in 2004] and pitching at a high level of performance over the last several seasons."

At least he admitted that the most important factor is money and not the schools.

The woo-ing begins as Beltran showers Steinbrenner with some love.

"When I see an owner who cares about winning, I like it."

Carlos, he's demented too. That has to count for something.

Then he showers some love onto the Cubbies:

"Of course," he said before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, in which Houston trails St. Louis two games to none. "I feel good hitting in that ballpark. It's a great hitter's ballpark. You could see that from their lineup. Almost every one of those hitters hit more than 30 home runs.

"It's fun to play over there. The fans are good fans. The ballpark is sold out every day. I'd like to see what's going to happen in the off-season."

The guy's team is down 2-0 in the playoffs, let him concentrate on that.

Magglio Ordonez has just hired Scott Boras as his agent. Magglio apparently terminated his relationship with Tom Reich and Adam Katz to join forces with evil incarnate. The Mets have historically had little to no working relationship with Scott Boras, although I have no idea if Omar Minaya has any relationship with him whatsoever. Many people want Magglio no where near Shea in 2005, but I think he could play a vital role in this team's climb back to respectability. The obvious choice would be to reel in Carlos Beltran, who's agent is also Scott Boras, but I just do not think it is likely since he is hooked on the idea of playing for team that actually has a commitment to winning. Scott Boras is also the agent of JD Drew and officially has the market cornered on top tier outfielders this off season. That would certainly mean they are all due for a big payday. This is definitely not good news for the Mets and their free agent pursuit this off season.