Raise your hand if your keen and penetrating powers of foresight alerted you hours in advance of Wednesday evening's series finale that Dustin Nippert would supplant an influenza-ridden Vicente Padilla -- and that the enduring images of the evening would be (a) Nippert doffing his cap to a wildly applauding 39,778-person contingent at the conclusion of his excellent 5.2-inning start and (b) Doug Mathis excitedly punctuating his impeccable 3.1-inning relief performance with a fist pump as the Texas Rangers swept one of baseball's best teams straight out of Arlington.

Given the heavily attrited state of the Rangers' bullpen and the unfavorable Buchholz-Nippert pitching matchup (which did not bode well for Texas on paper), you might say that I never remotely saw that outcome coming. Stunning win. Stunning sweep. Hell, stunning season.

The dirty little-turned-not-so-little secret plaguing this offense right now is that Josh Hamilton is not only not hitting, but is also not looking particularly good not hitting, and that greatly undermines this ballclub's chances if his prolonged post-disabled list slump is indicative of a much larger fault in his plate mentality, swing mechanics or offensive approach (all of which Hamilton and hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo are proactively attempting to address), but it was downright uplifting to watch a hurting Nelson Cruz (2-for-2, two walks) and a potentially sickened David Murphy (2-for-4) and an unyieldingly aggressive basestealing unit (6-for-6 on the basepaths against Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek) prop up their struggling offensive lynchpin while he tries to figure it out.

The disappearance of Hamilton's bat is paramount among the issues currently afflicting the Rangers, but that was a sensational bailout by his teammates. And while it's a blatantly trite and clichéd thing to say, that entire game exemplified why you take a legitimate shot at getting to October if a trade possibility presents itself that (a) fits within your financial and talent parameters and (b) does not entail risk to such a degree that it surpasses your risk tolerance threshold.

Why? Because anything can happen in a single game (as evidenced by what most recently transpired in Arlington), or in a handful of games, or even in seven games, as Baseball Time in Arlington's David Brown wrote back on June 20th:

The sad truth is that opponent matchups, hot- and cold-streaks for key as well as bit players, weather, untimely errors, minor injuries, coaching and umpiring mistakes, media attention, family issues, and the baseball gods profoundly affect the outcomes of each playoff series. Because the eventual champion must win three such series, the selection of each year's post-season winner is essentially random.

Since establishing an internal July 28th deadline beyond which Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi will not deal highly sought-after ace Roy Halladay (primarily because a pre-July 29th trade would afford Toronto enough time to organize a quick fire sale and accumulate as much young talent as possible), we've learned that (a) Halladay has clearly indicated his disinterest in waiving his no-trade clause to join Texas, (b) the Rangers have "no money," per multiple sources, (c) Ricciardi is "unlikely" to deal Halladay due to the lack of manifestation of a viable trade offer and (d) if Halladay is to be traded, the Brewers might suddenly be in the driver's seat. It's probably about time to drop the entire Halladay-to-Texas notion once and for all, because it ain't happenin'.

Interestingly, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has yet again linked Texas with Indians left-hander Cliff Lee -- whose 2009 ($5.75 million) and 2010 ($9 million) salaries are not excessively prohibitive -- in reporting early Thursday morning that the Rangers have maintained "continued interest" in the American League's reigning Cy Young Award winner, speculating that the clearance of the remainder of Hank Blalock's $6.25 million salary from the books would help facilitate a deal; Blalock is enhancing his profile with sturdy glovework at first base and a resurgent, albeit inconsistent bat, but a trade doesn't seem terribly practicable right now given the already weakened state of the offense and the fact that dealing a perceived established middle-of-the-order hitter would not play well in the clubhouse.

As of the evening of June 24th, Cleveland was reportedly seeking a "potential top-of-the-rotation starter at the level of the Braves' Tommy Hanson or Red Sox's Clay Buchholz," with the Rangers equivalent obviously being Neftali Feliz or Derek Holland, but in spite of the high price tag in terms of talent, his potential impact as a six-win-caliber pitcher is understandably a source of great enticement to Texas. A one-two punch atop the Rangers' starting rotation comprising Lee and Kevin Millwood would be potent, particularly in a short playoff series, and with 10 more games looming on the horizon against the first-place Angels, Lee could play a consequential role in helping Texas overtake Anaheim.

A long shot? Assuredly. Yet, for some unexplainable reason, this one feels as thought it has some modicum of hope behind it. And I'm really not sure that the same could ever be said for the Halladay-to-Texas conjecture.

Minor League Notes: Since being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on the evening of July 5th, first baseman Chris Davis has battered Pacific Coast League hurlers to the tune of .356/.409/.661 and has reverted to the drills he utilized during his 2007-2008 breakout campaigns ... Double-A Frisco third baseman Johnny Whittleman (BBTiA's No. 25 prospect) has hit .273/.459/.745 with eight home runs in the month of July en route to compiling a monthly walks-to-strikeouts ratio of 19-to-15 ... Short-season Spokane southpaw Robbie Ross sports the best strikeout rate (34 percent) and presumably the best ground ball rate (70 percent) in the Northwest League.

As was first reported by D Magazine's Mike Hindman, the perplexing illness which has befallen Michael Main has prompted the Rangers to send the 20-year-old right-hander home to Florida, where he will reportedly remain until August ... Double-A Frisco right-hander Michael Schlact reportedly underwent surgery on Monday to repair a partially torn labrum and posterior cuff and will miss the remainder of the 2009 minor league season ... Industry publication Baseball America has tabbed Low-A Hickory left-hander Martin Perez -- whom was deemed the 46th-best prospect by the same publication two weeks ago, with slumping Oklahoma City first baseman Justin Smoak placing fourth and RedHawks right-hander Neftali Feliz placing 13th -- as one of a handful of "untouchable" prospects in the game right now while extolling the all-too-familiar virtues of his raw stuff, excellent delivery and outstanding competitiveness.

Quick Hits: Right-hander Vicente Padilla (influenza) is not currently slated to start any of the Rangers' three upcoming games in Kansas City ... Disabled left-hander Matt Harrison (left shoulder inflammation) logged two innings of three-hit baseball in his minor league rehab start with Double-A Frisco on Wednesday evening.