Eternal enigma Daniel Cabrera and the Baltimore Orioles may part ways this winter, according to MASN Online.

The 6’7″ righthander has had his picture next to the definition of “inconsistency” in the dictionary since coming up to the bigs in 2004. That rookie season is the only one in which he’s had a winning record; he’s 48-59 career in 145 starts. By late May of next season, Cabrera will be 28 years old, and the Orioles may already have lost their patience with him.

Despite Cabrera’s losing record and 5+ ERA, the arbitration process almost assuredly will reward him with a raise — something the Orioles will have a hard time accepting. According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, there is a possibility that they will refuse to offer him arbitration, which in turn would make him a free agent. Baltimore has until December 12 to make that decision.

Personally, I’d be surprised to to see the Orioles let him go for nothing, particularly with the dearth of starting pitching available. More likely, they include him in a trade — possibly with catcher Ramon Hernandez and/or outfielder Aubrey Huff.

Hmmm … you thinking what I’m thinking? The Mets certainly could use a RH bat such as Huff’s, and supposedly are in the market to upgrade their performance behind the dish. The Orioles, who have phenom Matt Wieters waiting in the wings, may like the idea of swapping the $9M owed to Hernandez for Brian Schneider’s $4.9M, while getting an ideal tutor for their young backstop of the future. I imagine the Mets would have to give up someone along the lines of Ryan Church and/or Jonathan Niese to get Cabrera and Huff as well — which might not be a bad idea.

Cabrera is the righthanded version of Oliver Perez, only taller and not as consistent (if you can believe that). One day, he looks like the most dominant pitcher in the American League. The next, he can’t get out of the fourth inning. Maybe leaving Baltimore is exactly what he needs to blossom. It worked with John Maine, after all.

Risky, yes, but so is going into 2009 with Niese penciled in as the Mets’ #5. We’ve been looking at the Orioles as ideal trade partners for a year now … will a deal ever happen? The teams seem destined to make some kind of trade, eventually.

Red Murff, the New York Mets scout who discovered Nolan Ryan, died at the age of 87 in a Tyler, Texas nursing home on Friday.

The former Milwaukee Braves pitcher had a brief Major League career in the 1950s — making his rookie debut at age 35 — before moving to coaching and scouting. He was mentioned during Ryan’s Hall of Fame induction speech:

“He thought when he saw me at 6-foot-2 and 140 pounds, he wasn’t discouraged by my build and by the way I threw the baseball as many other scouts were,” Ryan said. “And I appreciate the fact that Red spent so much time with me and worked to help me become a better pitcher. Thank you, Red.”

Murff was instrumental in creating the baseball program at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX, and was named to the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Texas Scouts Association Hall of Fame in 1999.

Said James Vilade, a family friend:

“He was an amazing person,” Vilade said. “He lived a long life and was a great ambassador to the game of baseball.

“He was an inspiration to all. Even after he retired he inspired kids to be great baseball players and great citizens.”

In addition to Nolan Ryan, Murff also signed Mets standout catcher Jerry Grote, and is credited for encouraging Phil Niekro to use the knuckleball in game situations.