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Indians Hire Manny Acta

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Don't really know much about the guy. Only that he managed one of the worst teams in MLB history. I hope there were other reasons behind why the Nationals sucked so bad and it was not his managing skills.
 
The one thing I do love about Acta is he is very smart and embraces the new trends and stats, which is a huge plus.

If he can really learn from his last job *...where did we hear that before?* then he can be great, but I guess I am just not that hopeful.
 
Coyote850 said:
Don't really know much about the guy. Only that he managed one of the worst teams in MLB history. I hope there were other reasons behind why the Nationals sucked so bad and it was not his managing skills.
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*looks at Nats roster*

Uh, yeah, there were other reasons.
 
cmstophe said:
*looks at Nats roster*

Uh, yeah, there were other reasons.
Click to expand...

Considering the best pitcher on their team isn't actually on their team, yeah there are definitely reasons.
 
Terry Pluto's take:

SOURCE

Manny Acta has the respect of his peers, but Cleveland Indians need results on the field:
By Terry Pluto
October 25, 2009, 5:49PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Here's what think of the Indians hiring Manny Acta -- I just don't know.

He certainly belongs on the all-interview team, as Houston also wanted to hire him. That's a lot of attention for a guy who was fired at mid-season with a 26-61 record in Washington. Other than the Nationals, his former franchise, the only teams looking for a manager were Houston and the Tribe.

Both wanted Acta, despite his 158-252 record in 2 1/2 seasons with the Nationals. Which is why it's hard to know what to make of him as a manager -- he had a poor record with a terribly run franchise. It is also a concern that his successor, Jim Riggleman, enjoyed more success with the Nats after Acta departed.

In person, Acta is impressive. He loves baseball and really wanted the Indians job. His enthusiasm is obvious and genuine. That also was true to Washington when he was hired in 2007.

As ESPN.com reported in a story when Acta was fired during the 2009 All-Star break: "When the Nationals introduced Acta as their new manager, president Stan Kasten gushed, 'I knew within 30 minutes that this could be the next manager, that he had the right stuff,' and then-general manager Jim Bowden brought up Jim Leyland's name, saying Acta was 'going to be very special.'"

Acta is a major figure in the Dominican Republic, having managed Tigres del Licey to the 2003 Caribbean Series title. He also managed the 2006 Dominican team in the World Baseball Classic. He managed in the minors for eight years, then spent five years as a coach with the Expos/Nationals and Mets.

He is fluent in English and Spanish, which will be a huge help as the Latino presence continues to bloom in the majors. That is especially needed on the Tribe, where there was only one Latino coach last season. The Indians have 11 Latinos on their 40-man roster, and as many as eight may be on the 25-man opening day unit.

But as Acta admitted at his own press conference last week -- being bilingual is not reason enough to hire him.

The Indians are sold on Acta's communication skills, along with his love and use of modern baseball statistics. Unlike veteran manager Bobby Valentine, who also interviewed for the job, Acta did reams of homework on the state of Cleveland baseball.

To their credit, the Indians wanted to hire a manager from a different organization. They wanted a fresh approach. They love his positive approach to people and the game itself. After all the struggles in Washington, Acta loves the stability offered by the Indians.

Many baseball people gave glowing reviews of Acta, but perhaps the most meaningful came from Atlanta manager Bobby Cox. He called the Indians unsolicited to say Acta was exactly the kind of energetic manager the team needed, adding that he thought Acta was "well-prepared" when Cox managed against him.

While they were intrigued by Valentine, the Indians weren't sure he even wanted the job. They thought about bringing him back for another interview this week, then Acta received the offer from Houston. The Indians had Acta down as their top choice after also talking to Class AAA Columbus Manager Torey Lovullo and Valentine.

They didn't want to risk losing Acta, then be turned down by Valentine. They also weren't sure if Dodgers coach Don Mattingly was sincerely interested in the position as he may be Joe Torre's successor in 2011.

So they moved on Acta.

Perhaps the most important work begins now, surrounding Acta with a strong coaching staff. The Indians should add a veteran with big-league managerial experience to help, along with finding pitching and hitting coaches who really do have a track record of success with young players.

They are counting on him to be an impact manager, to finish off prospects at the big-league level as Acta will have one of the majors' youngest teams coming off a 65-97 season that led to the firing of manager Eric Wedge.

After Acta was fired, some Washington players said he didn't bring enough discipline to the team. He also was known to rarely publicly criticize his players. Acta's defenders say he wanted to take some action to bring more order, but a front office in flux that led to Bowden being fired failed to support him.

Several successful managers had rocky starts to their careers, including Torre and Terry Francona. That's why it is a mistake to simply write off Acta based on what happened in Washington. Now, Acta gets another chance to manage, and the Indians are counting on him to make the most of it.
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The Common Man said:
yeah, you're right, who really cares about wins and losses anyways?

this franchise has gone to hell. I honestly see a 10+ year playoff drought coming our way.
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It's one part of your baseball resume as a prospective manager. Several more variables come into play than just W-L record.
 
The Common Man said:
yeah, you're right, who really cares about wins and losses anyways?

this franchise has gone to hell. I honestly see a 10+ year playoff drought coming our way.
Click to expand...

I don't know why I'm even bothering to reply to this, but I'll try.

Out of all the candidates, Acta was the clear-cut top choice. He had shit to work with in Washington, which included a terrible roster, putrid management, and a corrupt GM. That organization is so inept, even their jersey guys fucked up
washington-natinals-misspelling.jpg

Acts is a sabermetircs guy, which means he's intelligent and uses statistics in combination with gut managerial aptitude. His interview was inspiring, intelligent, and he came off extremely prepared.

Who did you want, Bobby Valentine? Did you even listen to his PC? It was the most awkward, ill-prepared side show I've ever heard. And that's what Bobby V is: A sideshow, something this team doesn't need. He did well with the Mets cause the team was loaded.

Some were clamoring for Grover. I like Grover, but he's a retread and was blessed with 4 HOF's and sick talent on his team (Manny, Vizquel, Thome, Alomar, Belle, Lofton, etc). We don't have those type of players right now.

Acta is also from the DR. When I went to the Dominican last year, I noticed a lot of people wore Cleveland Indians gear. I asked a few locals why and they all said the same thing: Out of the 32 MLB teams, the Indians (and Yankees) have the best DR relations. This is huge, considering we have a ton of players from the Dominican and the best players in baseball are from the Island.

If you're a bitter Indians fan because we cannot hang onto our top players, I suggest you follow another team that has the assets to do so. We are a mid-market team and we are unable to take on a team salary of $100+.
 
Damage just laid it all out for you. Great post, dude.

If you're going to be a fan of a small market team AND stick by them then you have to accept their cycle for what it is. (kinda like being with a woman).

There are going to be windows of opportunity with small market teams where that team has as much talent as it's going to have before the next free agency exodus. You have to have a manager that's best suited to win you a championship in what generally works out to be around a 3-5 year window. For the down times, you need to have a manager whose greatest strengths are:

(1) Developing young guys
(2) Handling turnover

If Acta is the guy that's most capable of doing these two things, then he was the best fit for the Indians as currently constructed in the economic environment that umbrellas baseball right now.
 
FWIW, the Tribe did like Valentine- he apparently gave much better answers in the interview than in the press conference, where I felt he was toying with the reporters- but they weren't sure how interested he was. They wanted to call him back in for a 2nd interview, but Acta was their top choice and with Houston offering him their managerial job the Tribe moved quickly to lock him up. I think it does say something when the only two teams looking for a manager were after Acta.

I know folks won't like this observation and I understand- but I think the Tribe is getting Acta at the right time, that is, after his first managerial gig. He got his feet wet, saw what to do and not to do, and now gets to start over with a knowledge base to work from.

I think the same goes for whomever gets Eric Wedge, too. You see it happen time and again with managers- LaRussa, Cox, Torre, etc. Jim Tracy is a good example, too; he had initial success with the Dodgers, got canned, had the bad run with the Pirates then found a good situation with the Rox. It will be a breath of fresh air for Acta to go from an org ran by Jim Bowden to one as well structured as the Tribe's.

I just hope that fans don't expect miracles, though. Fausto Carmona has been a headcase for 3 of the 4 years he has been in the bigleagues- unless the coach has a PhD in psychology I don't know how they are supposed to straigten him out. That is up to Fausto. Perez has a good arm, but I have to wonder if the league figured him out. As for Jhonny, he is a vet and it is up to him to accept the move to 3B and to put on some more muscle and weight. Peralta may not have loved Eric Wedge but he is also a guy that has shown that he needs some prodding- and Wedge gave him that. He shouldn't need that anymore at his experience level. The young guys just coming up? There I think the manager plays a role in helping them adjust. But the vets? I don't expect miracles. Those guys' improvement is their own personal responsibility, not the coaches. What Acta will be accountable for are wins and losses, general effort and growth as a team.
 
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