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« Donald To Have Surgery, Phils Lose A Trade Chip | Main | Odd & Ends: Penny, Reds, Nationals, Buchholz »
Nationals To Fire Manny Acta
7:31pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman has confirmed that Rosenthal's report is indeed true. Acta will be let go, perhaps as soon as Monday.
5:17pm: Ben Goessling of The Washington Times spoke to team president Stan Kasten about Rosenthal's report. Kasten addressed the report but did not refute it, giving Acta the dreaded vote of confidence:
"We always support everyone here, and we always will. We're all in this together, trying to win everyday, trying to turn it around, and we're going to continue to try it. We know the future is bright, but we're not going to wait for the future to get here. We're going to do everything we can to speed it up. We've done that with kind of a frenetic movement of personnel pieces in the early part of the season. We're going to keep searching for the solution until we find it."
3:23pm: As a couple of commenters have pointed out, Acta is not actually the "youngest active manager in the majors." The Diamondbacks' A.J. Hinch is 35. Our readers are the best.
3:07pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Nationals are expected to fire manager Manny Acta as soon as Monday. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will replace him. As Rosenthal reports,
Acta, who at 40 is the youngest active manager in the majors, was hired by the Nats in November of 2006. He's gone 147-231 in two and a half seasons. The Nats have the league's worst record this season at 15-42.
Riggleman has managed for the Padres, Cubs and Mariners, and carries a 522-652 career managerial record. He worked as the interim skipper for the M's last season after John McLaren was dumped.
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This is no surprise, I knew that this was going to happen sometime this season. But why did they hire Acta as manager in the first place. Before going to the Nationals, he had no managerial experience at all, and when he was managing this team, they were probably worse than before hiring him!
Posted by: Baseball4ever | June 13, 2009 at 03:15 PM
Next to go Ozzie Guillen o please God let it be true
Posted by: kcatlantis | June 13, 2009 at 03:18 PM
"""Acta, who at 40 is the youngest active manager in the majors"""
AJ Hinch is 34.
Whatever.
Posted by: qudjy1 | June 13, 2009 at 03:20 PM
"AJ Hinch is 34."
He's actually 35.
Posted by: BravesRed | June 13, 2009 at 03:24 PM
@BravesRed, @qudjy1. Good eyes, boys.
Posted by: Drew Silva | June 13, 2009 at 03:25 PM
Wasn't he mention a few years back as manager of the year? Anyways who is going to win with that pitching staff
Posted by: DominicanYanks | June 13, 2009 at 03:26 PM
I agree with kcatlantis that Ozzie Gullien should go next, because he is a pain in the a** right now.
DominicanYanks, you might be right that he was manager before, so I apologize because I thought he never managed at all.
Posted by: Baseball4ever | June 13, 2009 at 03:29 PM
YES! Now the nationals will still suck!
Posted by: joel | June 13, 2009 at 03:33 PM
does anyone really blame the manager in that situation? Maybe if the Nats made a concerted offer to sign some starting pitching, then they wouldn't suck so bad.
Posted by: jza1218 | June 13, 2009 at 03:36 PM
Lesson here is if Jim Riggleman is on your staff, you better watch it cause the axe is comin'.
Posted by: thr33niL | June 13, 2009 at 03:36 PM
Acta managed a team in the Dominican Winter League, and the Dominican Republic in the WBC in 2006. He was the third base coach of the Mets, and the third base coach under the Nationals when they were the Expos.
Posted by: BravesRed | June 13, 2009 at 03:37 PM
My question is what has he NOT done that has caused him to be fired? It seems that their past GM has done a horrible job providing him with the proper talent to succeed. Seems like Acta is just being thrown underneath the bus. I just hope that whoever is brought in has a cohesive plan along with the GM and scouts to carve out th best talent on this team, to help that talent develop and to supplement their needs from the farm and thru the trade market/FA. Otherwise who manages would be the least of their problems.
Posted by: YanksFanSince78 | June 13, 2009 at 03:38 PM
Acta was the youngest coming into the 2009 season. Hinch was 34 when he took over for Arizona.
Posted by: BravesRed | June 13, 2009 at 03:39 PM
Long story short, Acta does not stick up for his players, rarely goes out to argue (or even ask for an explanation by the umpire) and is a poor in-game manager. His encouragement is valuable, but the Nats need a good manager rather than Matt Foley.
Posted by: thehoagster07 | June 13, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Good. Fire him, and then trade the vets. And get some defense up in the house.
"Next to go Ozzie Guillen o please God let it be true"
Seriously now? Ozzie Guillen is a good manager.
If I'm thinking worst manager in the game right now, I'm thinking Geren, Wedge, or Jerry Manuel.
Posted by: melonis rex | June 13, 2009 at 03:49 PM
I agree with some things that he does but this team has too munch potential and he isn't making it come into.
Posted by: kcatlantis | June 13, 2009 at 03:53 PM
Eric Wedge must have some compromising pics of the owner or Shapiro commiting indecent acts with farm animals because I can't understand why he gets a free pass for this long? He has a .500+ winning percentage but I've seen better managers get fired for not winning the big ones.
Posted by: YanksFanSince78 | June 13, 2009 at 04:03 PM
melonis
how can you say that jerry manual is one of the worst managers in the league? its not like he is working with a full deck here. you have the right to your opinion, because as a met fan, i know he makes some questionable decisions, but if you are going to mention jerry, joe girardi has to be on that list too
Posted by: wright is my boy | June 13, 2009 at 04:23 PM
agreed bballrox4717
Posted by: kcatlantis | June 13, 2009 at 04:34 PM
wright is my boy-
I'm not a Mets fan. I have close friends who are Mets fans, and have watched quite a few Mets games this season because of this. It's not the injuries as much as it is in-game decisions.
1- Omir Santos doesn't belong on an MLB roster. It is pretty much known that Manuel was a major influence as to why Castro was traded (which did NOT free up any salary) so Omir gets more PT.
2- F-Mart is not playing every day. Umm, you do NOT call up super-talented prospects and put them on the bench. If he's not getting the lion's share of PT, send him back to AAA.
3- He doesn't exactly have a good grasp of when to bunt and not to bunt, and pinch hitting situations.
4- Quite a few awful bullpen gaffes and poor bullpen management.
5- And with all the injuries, why does Wright bat 5th? Ever. The lowest in the order he should bat is 4th.
Posted by: melonis rex | June 13, 2009 at 04:51 PM
This sucks for Manny. Is it his fault that the Nationals just flat out suck? Is it his fault they have zero closers....or bullpen for that matter? No. If anything, he called out his players and said that changes will be made and there were changes. Hopefully this guy gets a job with a better team becuase he deserves better.
Posted by: ChiSoxKilla23 | June 13, 2009 at 05:16 PM
"1- Omir Santos doesn't belong on an MLB roster."
The guy is only batting .284 with 21 RBIs in 110 ABs and making adjustments every time I see him play. Some guys just need a shot. Oh and he's clutch.
"2- F-Mart is not playing every day."
Guys were hurt and they are back. Are you going to bench a veteran that makes money in Church that plays excellent defense or bench our best power threat in Sheff? I'd find the guy 200 ABs and let him get a feel up here since he will prob. be starting next year. I'll take 200 Abs against MLB pitching as opposed to mashing AAA scrubs. Sometimes the experience of being on an MLB squad especially in a playoff environment is invaluable.
"3- He doesn't exactly have a good grasp of when to bunt and not to bunt, and pinch hitting situations."
I don't really have a problem with this but Danny Murph can't bunt and Castillo apparently forgot how to.
"4- Quite a few awful bullpen gaffes and poor bullpen management."
Now this I can't argue. He uses Parnell in spots sometimes when he should use Stokes. Go Figure.
"5- And with all the injuries, why does Wright bat 5th? Ever. The lowest in the order he should bat is 4th."
They tried him 3rd and it didn't work. Sheff is out best power bat and he fits the traditional number 4 hitter. Where else do you bat Wright? He is comfortable in that spot.
Posted by: TheWrightStuff | June 13, 2009 at 05:22 PM
Then again he pitched Jon Switzer yesterday but it was only fair since Brett Tomko pitched before him, lol. I'm sorry you can't say Manuel is a bad manager when the team was surging before key injuries. I only really question some bullpen management for the most part.
Anyway, to stay on topic. I always like Manny Acta as a coach and manager and I really think this is just a BS scapegoat job they are pulling on him. That pitching rotation and pen are horrendous. I actually think they overachieved with him since he's been there.
Posted by: TheWrightStuff | June 13, 2009 at 05:36 PM
Hmmmm. 15-42
I guess we suck!
Dump bad players? Yeah, right!
Dump manager? Yeah..Lets do it
Hmmmm.
Now we no longer suck!
Go figure...
Posted by: hawkny | June 13, 2009 at 05:42 PM
Ozzie Guillen won't get fired. Reinsdorf and Williams are blindly loyal to him and his contract runs to 2012.
Posted by: icedrake523 | June 13, 2009 at 06:48 PM
Manny will get the ax because of the garbage team that ex-GM Captain Insano, Jim Bowden, assembled.
You have to feel for the Nationals' fans. MLB really screwed you guys with the leadership team you bought.
Posted by: northbeach Scott | June 13, 2009 at 07:46 PM
my whole problem with acta is he's been to laid back about the whole situation with the team
get animated every once in a while you have 2 let tour players know this act is not ok
if you ever watch his press conferences after the games where they lose you know what im talkin about
Posted by: theguy9 | June 13, 2009 at 08:30 PM
Allow me to chime in with theguy9. Manny Acta's main problem is that he never seemed concerned about how bad the team was. Typical reaction to a Nationals loss: "I thought we played well today. The opposing pitcher was really good. Too bad we lost."
Washington needs a manager that can motivate its players and honestly say, flat-out, what's broken and what needs fixing. Manny's babying mannerisms and "I don't know what the problem is" just will not cut it anymore. The fact that this squad is not motivated to win should be obvious from the fact that, although D.C.'s pitching has gotten way better lately, the offense has gotten way worse. In fact, the entire lineup is in a collective slump. Why? They've stopped caring.
Posted by: brianrein | June 14, 2009 at 12:15 AM
I am a Mets fan and I'm gonna have to agree with Melonis...
Manuel has no concept of NL managing. Gary Sheffield should NEVER be playing regularly in the OF IMO. And if he's their best power threat (which I don't agree with) then your team has problems.
Saying that Wright was tried at third and is thriving in the fifth spot is a dumb argument IMO. It's a limited sample size and you should always be getting your best hitters the most plate appearances as possible. Batting him third with Beltran fourth would be optimal IMO.
F-Mart should be starting everyday in RF and Church/Sheffield should be a lefty-righty platoon in LF. And I hope to NEVER see an OF where Tatis and Sheff are playing at the same time. That is just a horror show.
And Manuel's bullpen practices are atrocious. "Lemme see...tie game...bases load...I'm gonna call up Sean Green". That is the stupidest crap I've ever seen.
Posted by: jza1218 | June 14, 2009 at 08:16 AM
"You have to feel for the Nationals' fans. MLB really screwed you guys with the leadership team you bought."
Washington should have never gotten another team to begin with. Never had any fan support to begin with even when the Senators were there and speaking of the Senators.. The only good team I recall them EVER having was the '69 Senators managed by Ted Williams.. Maybe they can get Teddy Ball Game's frozen head out of cryogenics and get it to manage this new sick team..
Posted by: johns | June 14, 2009 at 08:38 AM
"Manuel has no concept of NL managing. Gary Sheffield should NEVER be playing regularly in the OF IMO. And if he's their best power threat (which I don't agree with) then your team has problems."
Sheffield has not been bad in the OF. You should know the team DOES have problems. Delgado and Reyes are both injured. No one else on the team has the power potential that Sheffield does. BTW, Sheffield has the 2nd most HRs on the team (7) behind Beltran (8).
"F-Mart should be starting everyday in RF and Church/Sheffield should be a lefty-righty platoon in LF. And I hope to NEVER see an OF where Tatis and Sheff are playing at the same time. That is just a horror show."
Church should be in a platoon? He should play everyday and is their best defensive RF. Against tough lefties, Tatis and Sheffield are the best offensive options and aren't as bad defensively as you're making them out to be. Sheff deserves to play a majority of the time. Tatis has been playing 1B most since Delgado went down anyway.
"And Manuel's bullpen practices are atrocious. "Lemme see...tie game...bases load...I'm gonna call up Sean Green". That is the stupidest crap I've ever seen."
Sean Green has been pitching better in his last dozen outings or so. The only legitimate gripe with Manuel's bullpen management is him underusing Stokes.
Posted by: icedrake523 | June 14, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Manny Acta's main problem is that he never seemed concerned about how bad the team was. Typical reaction to a Nationals loss: "I thought we played well today. The opposing pitcher was really good. Too bad we lost."
Washington needs a manager that can motivate its players and honestly say, flat-out, what's broken and what needs fixing. Manny's babying mannerisms and "I don't know what the problem is" just will not cut it anymore.
Posted by: brianrein | June 14, 2009 at 12:15 AM
this is absolutely correct. His postgame pressers after yet another embarassing loss always amounts to basically him shrugging his shoulders a couple times and and performing verbal fellatio on the opposing team.
There's "laid back", and then there is "Manny Acta". he's laid back to the point of apathy. not to mention that he's really not that good of a Manager to begin with, baseball-wise.
oh, and Mets fans, don't worry so much about Jerry Manuel. You KNOW that Manny will be next in line for the Mets job once Washington dumps him.
Posted by: MrMadison | June 14, 2009 at 11:02 PM