By James Bailey
Count me among the crowd that doesn’t understand the bidding war between the Indians and Astros for the services of Manny Acta. The ex-Nationals skipper interviewed with both clubs recently. Cleveland, fearful he would sign with Houston, hammered out a deal with his agent over the weekend, making Acta the new Indians manager.
Um, isn’t this the guy who went 26-61 before getting canned by Washington in July? That gave him the worst mark in baseball for the second straight season. Here are his records in his three years as a big league manager:
| Year | W | L | Pct. |
| 2007 | 73 | 89 | .451 |
| 2008 | 59 | 102 | .366 |
| 2009 | 26 | 61 | .299 |
| Total | 158 | 252 | .385 |
That isn’t exactly trending the right direction. Yes, this is the Nationals we’re talking about, but his predecessor, Frank Robinson, went 152-172 (.469) as the leader in Washington’s first two seasons. And more tellingly, the team went 33-42 (.440) after Jim Riggleman took the helm this summer with basically the same roster Acta had.
But the Indians saw something there they liked.
“This is a perfect place for me,” Acta said when the Indians introduced him. “That’s why I’m here. I’m attracted to all these talented young players. I’m looking forward to teaching and leading them and helping this team win a championship.”
One of the reasons Nationals (then acting) GM Mike Rizzo cited when Acta was relieved of his duties was poor fundamentals.
“I’m not satisfied with the way we play the game at times,” Rizzo told the Washington Times in July. “We don’t execute nearly as often as I expect them too. … The way we fundamentally play the game needs a lot of work.”
All of a sudden Acta is going to teach the basics to a young team? Didn’t he just fail to do so in Washington?
The two teams had a lot in common this year. They both had solid, but not spectacular lineups (773 runs for Cleveland, 710 runs for Washington). And they both had horrible pitching staffs (5.00 ERA for Washington, 5.06 for Cleveland). Of course, the Indians, under Eric Wedge, won at a .401 clip. That’s more than 100 points higher than Acta’s winning percentage.
Maybe the second time around will be better for Acta. After all, as he pointed out, not every manager is successful right away.
“If you give people the opportunity to choose between Joe Torre after his first three years with the Mets or Joe Torre now, I believe everyone would pick Joe Torre now,” Acta said this week.
Every time a college basketball coach struggles his first few seasons, his backers trot out the Mike Krzyzewski comparisons. “He went 38-47 his first three years and look how good Duke turned out.” Therefore, every coach who has a losing record their first three years is the next Coach K. Or in baseball, the next Joe Torre.
Good luck with that one, Cleveland. I suspect you just let Houston off the hook.
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This argument defies logic. Acta had nothing to work with in Washington! The Nationals don’t have a core of veterans, nor do they have a group of young players representing a future.
As a Mets fan, I watched Acta (the Mets’ former bench coach) out-manage Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel these past three seasons. He’s an excellent in-game tactician and knows how to handle a clubhouse. Basing his performance on the Nationals’ won-loss record makes for a simplistic argument. Good job.
No core of veterans? What are Ryan Zimmerman, Cristian Guzman, Adam Dunn, Nick Johnson (who was there until after Acta was gone), and Josh Willingham? I’m not arguing the Nationals should have won the division, but a .299 winning percentage is pitiful. Jim Riggleman got them to a .440 percentage after he took over, and Johnson, who led the team with a .295 average and .408 on-base percentage, was traded at the end of July. There’s no way to argue this team played to the level of its ability under Acta, when they were better before he got there and better after he left.
And outmanaging Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel probably shouldn’t be the bar you set for measuring a good manager.
The improvement was all Nyjer Morgan.
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