Might the Rockies' Garrett Atkins supply the offensive boost the Rangers need?Important note to self -- don't ever mistake Cowboys Stadium for a concert hall:

● The Rockies' Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe have emerged as non-tender/trade candidates (Troy E. Renck, Denver Post)

[Nothing like stirring the pot of boiling water on the hot stove. Hawpe's name has popped up around these parts before, albeit to an sometimes cold reception; he's one of the absolute worst defensive outfielders in baseball, amassing minus-42 runs in right field over the last three years according to the plus/minus defensive rating system, and that lack of defensive utility would render him a $7.5 million designated hitter in Texas -- albeit a rather good one, which might work out okay provided that Marlon Byrd was permitted to walk. Then again, can the Rangers really afford to blow that kind of money on a DH?

Atkins, who turns 30 on December 12th, seems to better align with the manager's insistence that the Rangers find a right-handed power hitter equipped to handle first base, and has indeed been murderous against southpaws in 792 career plate appearances, swatting 29 home runs and hitting .301/.384/.486 with a nearly 1:1 walks-to-strikeouts ratio. Yeah, the downwards career trajectory is of the utmost concern, but perhaps he's one of those change-of-scenery guys who, in the event of his non-tendering, will eye Texas as a prime locale to rehabilitate his value. Or not.]

If you've got your own off-the-wall ideas on how the 2010 offense can be augmented, throw them at the class.]

● Contrary to previous reports, if former baseball superagent Dennis Gilbert were to place the prevailing bid for the Rangers, it's believed that he would not make "wholesale changes" to the front office structure in the vein of installing Kevin Towers as a key executive (Jon Heyman, SI.com)

[Key assertion on Heyman's part: Chuck Greenberg has "all but locked up" team president Nolan Ryan's involvement in his prospective ownership group, lending more credence to the scuttlebutt that has been floating around.

As for the notion of a respected baseball executive such as Towers or Sandy Alderson becoming deeply involved with the Rangers ... well, I don't think there's anything inherently troubling about those guys to the extent that they're both very good at what they do and demonstrably prudent decision-makers, but if you do rearrange the team's management structure, you're talking about a lot of new people coming in and, in effect, heavily modifying an integrated baseball operations department that has already been subjected to quite enough upheaval. Change is often good, but this may not be the place or the time.

If the current push for a championship falters for one reason or another and general manager Jon Daniels -- along with most of "his people" -- is shown the door in a few years, that's one thing, but I'd like to see whether the baseball people responsible for spearheading the latest push can be the same baseball people who hoist a few pennants above the Ballpark.]

● The Rangers have informed three long-time team personnel that they will not be returning in 2010, including veteran equipment and home clubhouse manager Zach Minasian (and his son, Calvin, a clubhouse assistant), special adviser Mel Didier, and special assistant to the general manager Jay Robertson (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[Notice the very deliberate phrasing on Wilson's part: all four men "are among" the non-returning personnel, implying that there are more cutbacks that we don't know about in the pipeline. The really pertinent question we should be asking is, well, how many of those are on the baseball side? Strikes me as the wrong place to be trimming the fat, but it's pretty easy for an outsider not privy to the situation to pass judgment.

I don't know whether this is all resultant from the difficult economic times we live in, or if somebody like the 83-year-old Didier was preparing to enter retirement anyway, and we knew all along that operations "streamlining" was destined to take place with the club nearing its probable $500-plus million sale ... but just because something is rooted in rationality doesn't mean I have to like it. Meanwhile, John Hart will collect six-figure-a-year paychecks through the 2013 season. Figure that one out.]

● The Arizona Fall League's Surprise Rafters -- whose roster has been newly reinforced by TOS-beset left-hander Matt Harrison -- kicked off their 2009 season with a 17-4 walloping of the Peoria Javelinas on Tuesday (Wilson)

[Harrison joins right-handers Brennan Garr, Danny Gutierrez, Evan Reed and Tanner Scheppers in Surprise, as well as catcher Doug Hogan, infielder Marcus Lemon and outfielder Mitch Moreland. Garr, 25, was decidedly unremarkable in his AFL debut (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 HR), but the offense-inclined Arizona environment means that the numbers, by necessity, must be taken with a grain of salt.

Bonus tidbit: This year's AFL incarnation features Pitch f/x data. Something to keep in mind the first time you see "Scheppers" or "Gutierrez" pop up in the daily box scores.]

Quick Hits: Amateur Japanese right-hander Yusei Kikuchi will reportedly meet with 12 NPB teams and nine major league teams in the next 10 days; as reported previously, the Rangers are heavily involved ... Scout.com's Jason Cole has interviewed precocious right-hander Michael Main, who explained that his viral infection unconsciously impacted his performance throughout the first half of the 2009 season ...  The Brewers are reportedly nearing a contract with Rick Peterson to become their next pitching coach; Peterson, as you might recall, was manager Ron Washington's preference for the Rangers' then-vacant pitching coach job last fall, but Mike Maddux ultimately won out ... If you're an avid fan of The Roots, you'll know what song the title is referencing.