NATIONAL LEAGUE UPDATE: MARLINS' ATMOSPHERE TURNING SOUR.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

It went virtually unnoticed amid the wreckage of the final days of this lost season for the Florida Marlins, but there were hints coming out of Miami last week that first baseman Carlos Delgado might be on the trading block.

That was a concession to the fact the club still has no stadium deal in sight and probably is about to revert to its former cost-cutting ways.

But before you get too excited trying to picture Delgado filling the Dodgers' need for a power-hitting corner infielder, consider this: because he is one season into a four-year contract, if Delgado is traded this winter, he has the right to demand another trade next winter, and the remainder of the deal carries a $48 million guarantee, including salaries of at least $13.5 million each season.

Delgado told South Florida reporters that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had told him he wouldn't be traded. But club president David Samson wasn't so reassuring when pressed on the issue by the media, saying there are ``no untouchable players'' on the Marlins' current roster.

``(That) is just not how we have operated,'' Samson said. ``Carlos is a valuable member of this team. (But) everyone gets evaluated at the end of the year.''

That, of course, was a proverbial drop in the bucket compared to all the other issues surrounding the Marlins, most notably the controversial behavior of pitcher A.J. Burnett and outfielder Miguel Cabrera.

Burnett, a free-agent-to-be, was effectively kicked off the team by general manager Larry Beinfest and manager Jack McKeon for a public postgame outburst last Sunday in which he seemed to rip McKeon and third-base coach Jeff Cox - with whom Burnett had engaged in an in-game confrontation after he failed to hustle on the basepaths.

``We play scared, we manage scared, we coach scared, and I'm sick of it,'' Burnett said. ``It's depressing around here. It's like they expect us to mess up, and when we do, they chew us out. There is no positive nothing around here for anybody.''

Cabrera, meanwhile, was called out by several teammates during a closed-door meeting Wednesday when they didn't like his response to a reporter's question suggesting he should seek the advice of veteran players more.

``(Expletive) the veterans,'' Cabrera had said. ``They haven't told me anything, and they better not tell me anything, either. I don't want to hear anything else. I want to play baseball, give what I have to give on the field of play and win. That's all I want ... Everyone here is a grown man. Everyone knows what he is doing.''

Cabrera's outburst came on the heels of at least two recent late arrivals to the ballpark, a failure to show up for medical treatment, a refusal for a while to shag fly balls during batting practice and one episode in which he came out for pregame stretching kicking a soccer ball.

Finally, there was a report that McKeon probably will move to a front-office position after the season that would allow him to work out of his home in North Carolina.

It's tough to figure out why a man who will turn 75 in the fall wouldn't want to come back and manage this harmonious group for another year.

--Red dawn: One week after Cincinnati general manager Dan O'Brien learned he won't be fired after the season, O'Brien removed the interim tag from the title of manager Jerry Narron, signing Narron to a one-year extension on Thursday with a mutual option for 2007.

With aging owner Carl Lindner on the verge of selling the club, all O'Brien and Narron really have is the financial security of knowing they will be paid through next season. But if the club gets off to its usual sputtering start, especially with new ownership expected to be in place by then, both O'Brien and Narron could be relieved of their duties.

``I have enjoyed the last couple of months,'' Narron said. ``I think the guys have played hard, and that has made it very easy. Being a baseball person (and) having an idea about how the game works, anytime there is an impending sale, (a one-year contract) is about what to expect. (It) does not bother me.''

O'Brien hand-picked Narron two winters ago as Dave Miley's bench coach, which left little doubt Miley eventually would be replaced by Narron. The Reds got around Major League Baseball's requirement that clubs interview minority candidates for high-profile openings, partly because Narron had been in place for three months already and partly because the Reds were so sure Narron was the right choice.

``I think it was the strength of our commitment that Jerry was the absolute best person for the job,'' O'Brien said.

--Patsy or not? Don't count the National League West champion San Diego Padres out of the playoffs just yet, even though many experts were doing that even as the champagne was flowing after Wednesday night's clinching victory over San Francisco.

First, there is a precedent for a team finishing right around .500 going far in the postseason. The New York Mets went 82-79 in 1973, then beat the Reds in the National League Championship Series before pushing Oakland to seven games in the World Series.

Second, staff ace Jake Peavy has had a much better September than either St. Louis' Chris Carpenter (9.14 ERA in his past four games) or Atlanta's John Smoltz (shut down with shoulder pain), one of whom is almost certain to oppose Peavy in the playoff opener.

``We had a few hiccups along the way,'' Padres reliever Scott Linebrink said. ``But we're going to keep the foot on the gas all the way through the playoffs.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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Box:

(1) AROUND THE HORN

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE WEEK IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 

- Rich Hammond

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Matt McHale