Needing a huge infusion of talent to stop a five-game skid and to give themselves a fighting chance to stay in the playoff race, the Rangers came out of the trade deadline with a run-of-the-mill middle-inning relief pitcher.

Adam Macko is a 25-year-old lefthanded rookie who came to Texas from Toronto for Josh Smith. Macko is 2-0 with a 4.01 ERA in 22 innings over 22 games, with a control problem that’s caused him to walk 13 batters in those 22 innings. His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) is a much-too-high 1.545.

In the category of doing the least they could do, this was the least they could do. Nothing against Adam Macko. He’s probably the best the Rangers could get for Josh Smith. But this has all the impact of throwing a handful of pennies at the national debt.

When the dust settled, the Rangers had their worst game of the season. They scored just one run. Committed five errors. Struckout ten times. Lost for the sixth straight time, their longest of the season.

It was just a bad day all around. On the field. And in the front office. 

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