"It's been sitting there all week -- the elephant in the corner of Rangers general manager Jon Daniels' winter meetings hotel suite.

Daniels isn't saying it. But all Cliff Lee negotiations aside, it's time for the Rangers to feed the elephant.

They need to round out the lineup card. They need to remember the World Series and how meekly (a .190 team batting average) they went into the November night.

It's time, alas, to rephrase the Ranger fan's perennial lament:

The Rangers need to spend some money and get some hitting in here.

And they need to do it soon, considering the swiftness at which stout bats and designated hitter candidates have been vanishing from the free-agent board.

Consider, for instance, the recent following signees:

Victor Martinez -- gone to the Detroit Tigers for four years, $50 million.

Adam Dunn -- signed by the Chicago White Sox, $56 million over four years.

Jayson Werth -- hit the lottery with the Washington Nationals at $126 million, seven years.

And the bad news on the Wednesday morning doorstep:

Paul Konerko, re-upped with the White Sox for three years and $37.5 million.

Konerko may or may not -- pick a Twitter rumor -- have been in the Rangers' possible plans.

Now peruse some of the free-agent names that are left:

Magglio Ordonez, Hideki Matsui, Derrek Lee, Jim Thome, Troy Glaus, Manny Ramirez, Mike Sweeney, Ty Wigginton, Brad Hawpe, Jeremy Hermida, Andruw Jones.

And, as of Wednesday morning, two others: Vladimir Guerrero and Carl Crawford, who reportedly agreed to a deal with the Red Sox later.

Or as Daniels himself described the situation Wednesday night:"