"Could Manny be Manny in South Florida?

Or is this latest batch of trade rumors just the Marlins being the Marlins?

With today's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching, the upstart Marlins were making a strong bid to acquire disgruntled Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez, industry sources said.

Ramirez, a two-time World Series champion in Boston, has a home in Pembroke Pines and would have to approve any trade. At 36, Ramirez has 510 career home runs and a non-refundable ticket for Cooperstown, but he also has a reputation for flaky behavior, poor outfield defense and ill-timed outbursts.

Marlins President David Samson neither confirmed nor denied the Ramirez talks Wednesday during his weekly radio segment on 790-AM.

"Our players and everyone else thinks we are a playoff team," Samson said. "No one thought we'd be here. We're trying everything. We're not going to be stupid, though. We're not going to make a trade that hurts us in the coming years terribly."

Under one scenario first reported by the Beaver County (Pa.) Times, Marlins right fielder Jeremy Hermida would end up in Pittsburgh with the Pirates sending All-Star outfielder Jason Bay to Boston.

XM Satellite Radio reported the Marlins could wind up with Pirates lefty reliever John Grabow in the deal as well as $6 million in cash from the Red Sox. That money would help offset the roughly $7 million Ramirez is still owed for the rest of this year.

Ramirez's current contract includes a pair of club options at $20 million a season for the next two years, but the Marlins could waive those options in exchange for the 11-time All-Star promising to reject an offseason offer of salary arbitration.

That would allow Ramirez to hit the free-agent market this winter while giving the Marlins two high draft picks as compensation. Ramirez hired Scott Boras as his agent early this year and reportedly has told friends he wants a four-year, $100 million extension."