The biggest story of the off-season won't be the free agents the Rangers sign, re-sign or miss. It'll be who opens up his wallet and buys the club from Tom Hicks.

Hicks wants to stay. But all of the reports this season, especially since the club failed to sign first-round choice Matt Purke, suggest Hicks won't be able to keep control of the Rangers.

Some buyers have lined up with the understanding they will have to pay between $450 million and $525 million for full ownership. Major League Baseball wants to have the sale wrapped up by the end of the year, but a spring sale is more likely.

Several readers wanted answers about the sale. Among them, Chris from Denton wondered if the Rangers, with ownership in limbo, will be able to sign players. Jacob from Goldthwaite wanted to know if MLB is running the club.

The answers aren't clear. Hicks told our friend T.R. Sullivan at mlb.com that MLB is not running the club, but the Rangers were extended a $15 million line of credit toward future revenue to help the club function.

Otherwise, Hicks said, MLB is not involved in the operation of the club. Sources, though, have told the Star-Telegram that MLB was very active in deciding how far the Rangers could go in negotiations with Purke, who turned down $4 million and is enrolled at TCU.

The Rangers have areas to address during the off-season, but it's not like they have been wild spenders the last three years. Regardless of who owns the team, don't expect any major additions via free agency. The Rangers' biggest splashes are likely to come via trades.

But the biggest splash this off-season will be created by the sale of the club.

Q: What is the feasibility of moving the team to a new park in or near downtown Dallas that has a retractable roof? Are there issues with the current lease that would prevent that?

Brenk, Dallas

WILSON: A retractable roof would be pretty sweet, wouldn't it? No rain outs. Block out the sun in July and August. But this recent rain doesn't make a roof a must, nor does the heat.

Rangers fans who haven't been to, say, Oakland, don't realize how nice Rangers Ballpark is. It's as nice as any of the newer ballparks. The old TCU baseball field is nicer than Oakland's dump, McAfee Coliseum.

Whoever buys the club will have a jewel for a home ballpark. The lease doesn't expire until 2022. Maybe then the new owner can build a glorious ballpark that shows how much he cares about fans west of DFW Airport. But if Dallas wouldn't build the Cowboys a stadium, it's unlikely it would build the Rangers a park.

Q: Do Ron Washington and Jon Daniels not realize how important playing Hank Blalock every day is to the team's chemistry, or are they too stubborn to admit that they are wrong?

The Rangers went 11-15 in June with Chris Davis playing every day. Once Hank Blalock took over at first base, the team reeled off a 24-19 stretch, only to cool off and play .500 ball once Davis came back and Blalock went back to the bench.

Clearly, the guys in the clubhouse know that Davis can't hit, and their performance with Blalock playing every day, versus Davis playing and Blalock being buried on the end of the bench, reflects that. The team obviously feeds off the energy that Blalock provides, and sitting him every day isn't playing well in the clubhouse.

Jay, Grapevine

WILSON: Thanks to the Hank Blalock PR Company for the question. But your guy didn't have as much to do with the Rangers' wins as the question suggests. And Blalock is rarely mentioned as being an energy guy.

Over the stretch in question, Blalock hit .233 (40-for-172) with 19 RBIs while the pitching staff posted a 3.77 ERA. Entering Wednesday, since Davis' return, the Rangers had gone 11-10, and he had hit .257 (19-for-74) with 16 RBIs. Meanwhile, the team has posted a 5.28 ERA.

No doubt, Blalock had a great July (.290, 6 HR, 18 RBIs), but he was slumping by the time Davis came back. First base has been upgraded. The pitching has fallen apart.

Q: In Saturday night's game, Davis hit a ball that bounced off the top of the wall and came back into play. My question is why was that ruled a ground-rule double instead of a live ball when the ball never left the field of play? Is the top of the wall treated differently than the rest of the wall? My contention is Davis should have had a home run since he crossed the plate without being tagged out.{lt}/i{gt}

Bill, Jupiter, Fla.

WILSON: It would have been a live ball had umpire Fieldin Culbreath not first indicated home run. But since that signal stopped play, there was no choice but to award Davis a double after video replay indicated that the ball was not a home run. Davis could have run around the bases five times and never been tagged, but the ruling of a double was correct.

Q: Do you think Josh Hamilton is so injury-prone that he will seldom, if ever, play more than a couple of months in a season?

Joe, Weatherford

WILSON: Don't forget that Hamilton played 156 games only a year ago, so he can get through a season. But in the three he has played at the big-league level, two have been filled with injuries. Hamilton is a big dude in a position that puts a lot of demand on the body. Look for him to make the switch from center field to right to help him stay healthy.

Q: Is the team sold on Derek Holland's value to the team during this playoff race, or is the team allowing him to fail as part of the long-range plan?

David, Oklahoma City

WILSON: That question rates a seven on the cynicism scale. The Rangers seem to believe Holland hasn't hit a wall physically and that he has had quality stuff the past two outings. The results haven't been there, obviously, but his last start was a step in the right direction. The coaching staff believes Holland is one of their best five starters.

Q: With the way the team is hitting this season, is this the end of the Rudy Jaramillo era? If it is, who do you think will be the next hitting coach? My candidate is Rusty Greer.

Jacob, Goldthwaite

WILSON: I don't think one below-average season is cause to not bring Jaramillo back. Most players swear by him, including a guy named Michael Young, and Jaramillo has been behind many great offensive seasons. That said, Jaramillo's contract is up after this season. He was wooed by the Mets two years ago. There are likely to be suitors again in the off-season.

Q: It hit me the other night how attractive and useful amphetamines or other "uppers" would be to baseball players when I was watching an obviously exhausted Rangers team slog through another game. I considered that, arguably, Rangers players would probably be the ones affected most by the amphetamine ban compared to other clubs due to the combination of heat and frequent road trips out west. Do you think this is a legitimate argument?

Andrew, Plano

WILSON: Would some "greenies" have been popped over the weekend had they not been banned by major league baseball before the start of the 2006 season? Absolutely, in both clubhouses. Between energy drinks, shakes and good old coffee, the players try to find a way to get an extra jolt when needed.

Q: Regarding Kevin Millwood, would it be reasonable for Millwood to be used in a trade this off-season for Roy Halladay? How do you think that would affect the clubhouse?

Aaron, Austin

WILSON: Completely, 100 percent unreasonable. The problem isn't the Rangers, who would help Millwood pack for Toronto and maybe even buy him a parka. But why would the Blue Jays make that deal?

Q: 1. I hope the Rangers allow Millwood to start and earn his $12 million for next season, because that's what a class organization would do, and that's what I want my Rangers to be. Classless organizations that never go to the World Series wind up on players' no-trade lists, and the Rangers sure don't need more of that. What's your take?

2. In most other sports (football, basketball, hockey, polo, etc.), the field dimensions are completely defined and standardized, but baseball does so only for the infield. Why aren't the outfields standardized, too?

3. The Rangers have had a lot of very wet, wet games recently. From here on, if there are more rainouts, what are the Rangers' options to make them up?

Chip, Houston

WILSON: 1. Agreed. To do that to a player whose value this season goes beyond wins and losses would be really cheap, figuratively and literally.

2. The only rule governing outfield dimensions is Rule 1.04, which was amended in 1958. Any ballpark built after June 1, 1958, can't have distances less than 325 feet down the lines and 400 feet to center field. No existing park as of June 1, 1958, can go shorter. There are exceptions, like the new Yankee Stadium, but MLB must approve them.

Beyond that, though, the dimensions are unregulated. The parcels of land stadiums are built upon have some influence. Coors Field's outfield was designed with the effects of altitude in mind. The asymmetrical dimensions in Arlington were done with baseball tradition in mind.

3. A postponed game could be made up in a doubleheader the next day or it could be played after the season if the outcome would help decide a playoff spot.