The Final 9

By Marty Noble / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The latest "Manny being Manny" episodes in Boston hardly increase the likelihood that the Mets' semi-vacant corner-outfield situation will be solved by a deal importing Manny Ramirez. Even if the Mets were armed with sufficient young talent to satisfy the Red Sox and acquire Ramirez -- even if they wanted to add to their payroll -- Ramirez's behavior might turn the Mets away.

"His bat would be a great addition," one Mets player said on Sunday. "He could help us win. And most of the time, If you're winning, nothing else really matters. But we've got something good going now. I'm not saying he'd screw it up, but you can't tell what he's going to do. ... He's not helping Boston right now."

Whether the Mets believe in such a better-safe-than-sorry manner remains an unknown. But the Mets appear to have neither the chips not the inclination to deal for Ramirez or any other high-profile corner outfielder.

"If there was a perfect fit out there, a guy who could help us now and next year who we didn't have to overpay for, we'd be pursuing it," one member of the Mets' hierarchy said over the weekend. "But there aren't any perfect fits, or even good fits."

Mets an unlikely destination for Manny....