Thanks to David Brown for the much-appreciated pinch-hitting duties the last few days ... and no thanks to Joe Torre for leaving Clayton Kershaw hanging out to dry and decreasing the chances of that ratings-hogging Yankees-Dodgers World Series showdown that we all secretly want to see:

● Michael Young on Rudy Jaramillo's departure: "It's not Rudy's fault somebody goes up and swings at the first pitch in the dirt and gets out. Rudy can't make a hitter stop doing that. At some point, a hitter has to take responsibility and find a way to be better. It's a shame that Rudy's name gets brought up when there's a lack of production for one year. I'd prefer to praise him for the previous years." (Richard Durrett, ESPN.com)

[That may be so, but as David so eloquently pointed out on Thursday morning, Jaramillo-supervised offenses have historically eschewed the base on balls -- something that the current management regime clearly wants to embrace. Look, we can fervently argue about this from one side of the aisle or the other until we're unconscious on the floor, but at the end of the day this was a mutual parting of ways; Texas presumably knew that the chances of Jaramillo inking a one-year deal were slim to none, and Jaramillo doesn't seem too terribly heartbroken at the thought of not reprising his role. The time was right to move on.

Allow me to tune out the continued lament of Jaramillo's departure from players and columnists alike and concentrate on a far more relevant question: now that he's gone, can Texas find a successor that better aligns with the organization's offensive philosophy and commands the respect of his pupils? If the team's more outspoken veterans -- e.g. Young, Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton -- end up harboring some degree of resentment towards that unidentified individual, that legendary "clubhouse chemistry" is going to quickly become an afterthought. Given some of the quotes that have been flying around, I daresay this issue can't be ignored.]

● All three prospective ownership consortiums -- headed by the all-too-familar names of Chuck Greenberg, Jim Crane and Dennis Gilbert -- will meet with general manager Jon Daniels and an array of "team attorneys, accountants and other front-office employees" next week; the goal is to have a winning bidder identified by late November and, one would imagine, the sale completed by the end of the calendar year (Barry Schlacter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[Hooray for accelerated timetables, I guess? As we've known all along, Tom Hicks wants to retain a financial stake in the Rangers, but it seems that he's now also proactively indicating this desire to the Greenberg-Crane-Gilbert triumvirate; Mark Ganis, a Chicago-based sports consultant, stated that "procedurally, [Hicks] could hold up a sale for a period of time."

From the standpoint of wanting to crystallize the off-season budget and evaporate this cloud of uncertainty, I can hardly think of anything worse than the sale of the Rangers being shoved into a prolonged state of limbo. You want Hicks gone? Fine, I can understand that viewpoint. You want Hicks to stay? Fine, I can understand that viewpoint as well. But this whole thing demands closure, and the sooner it comes about the better for all parties involved. Perhaps Hicks' stonewalling tactics would buy him enough time to enable him to retain a majority stake in the ballclub, but that seems dubious at this point.]

● Angels right-hander John Lackey was spotted at the Dallas Cowboys' home opener earlier this month and has a strong love for his home state, "increasing speculation that he might consider jumping to the rival Rangers if given the chance (Jon Heyman, SI.com)

[Later in the same article: "Word has been going around that Lackey will seek "A.J. Burnett money,'' which means $82.5 million over five years. "He'll get Burnett's deal,'' one competing GM said flat out. But unless the market is soft again, he could actually exceed that figure."

Never mind whether it's a good idea or not -- before we even scrape that surface, (a) Lackey would have to sign sometime during January/February, (b) the Rangers would have to be sold and the transaction approved well in advance and (c) the new ownership would have to be willing to commit high eight-digit money right out of the chutes. Just stop right there.]

Quick Hits: Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News claims that Rangers ALDS playoff ticket refunds will not be dispensed until sometime in mid-to-late November, with the apparent reason being that "the money is tied up with MLB" ... Rangers right-hander Danny Gutierrez logged three pristine shutout innings for the Arizona Fall League's Surprise Rafters on Thursday, averaging 94.0 mph with his fastball and 74.4 mph with his curveball during a 46-pitch effort.