Indians Hire Manny Acta

[Damage]

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.

Since Acta is from the DR, I'm praying he gets to the enigma that is fausto. Lastoria thinks Louis isaac may be back. Who knows. Luvello may get the 3rd base gig, which is something I'd love to see. The guy deserves it and has coached with more than half the current roster.

 

[DougHeil]

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.

Naw; you're wrong about that. I believe the young players we now have will see to it that there isn't a big drought. In fact; I think they believe they can compete in the coming year. The fact is that the Central Division is awful/terrible/pathetic, etc. I don't see any reason to make me think it won't be just as bad as it has been next year. The Indians have no reason to not think they can't compete, and I would think that with a new direction now, they just may think they can win. I'm going to be optimistic about Acta and the team. Unless or until he proves otherwise, we all need to be optimistic. What's the alternative? Yeah, become a Reds fan?

 

[The Oi]

I think a realistic timeline for the Indians over the next five years would be something like this:

2010: 75-87
2011: 82-80
2012: 90-72
2013: 93-69
2014: 90-72

With those kinds of records, I think it would be realistic to expect the Indians to be back in the playoffs within the next two years and to make it three consecutive years.

 

[macbdog]

I would just like to request, jigo, that you please stop bogarting and pass already.

I won't get into those kinds of longterm projections with this squad, since Grady is only locked up for 2 more years and the pitching is very much up in the air. I do expect, though, that this club be back to .500 by 2011. After this year we will have a better idea where the pitching is at: has the club finally established a young BP that avoids cyclical collapses? Has a top 3 for a rotation emerged or has the club been able to build a 5-man staff capable of keeping them in games? Has a balanced speed/power lineup developed out of Grady/LaPorta/Choo/Weglarz/Santana/Brantley/Cabrera? Did Choo get out of his military service? Who has stepped up from the current crop in the upper minors, including the much-maligned pieces of the Cliff Lee trade?

I don't feel as confident about this team's rebuild like I did 6 years ago- alot of usuable pieces but no wows like CC/Grady/BP- but still optimistic. Hell, Westbrook was on his way to being useless until a drastic turnaround. If Acta and staff can have a quick impact on the young pitchers like Sowers and Laffey, we could see nice swift turnaround and a bright shortterm. If not, well, that makes the 2nd wave (Rondon, Carrasco, Gomez, De La Cruz) all the more important.

 

[chiefwahoo]

I was wondering why we jumped so fast at hiring Acta until I saw today that 10/26 is the deadline for first payment on 2010 season tix. I'm LOLing if this was supposed to inspire me to re-up for next season... not that I think he is a good or bad hire, I honestly have no idea. I hope he works out and we get back to competing. But the bigger issue in MLB is still there and will always be there. Still praying for an owners lockout someday...

 

[Chris]

I think a realistic timeline for the Indians over the next five years would be something like this:

2010: 75-87
2011: 82-80
2012: 90-72
2013: 93-69
2014: 90-72

With those kinds of records, I think it would be realistic to expect the Indians to be back in the playoffs within the next two years and to make it three consecutive years.

:chuckles:

Wait, you're serious?

 

[Gunther]

There have been some very good points and posts on here. One thing I would like to add is that, at least for next season, the AL Central is still a weak division. Obviously, we have to see what everyone does this offseason, but if no one signs any mega stars, particularly pitchers, then we have a fighting chance to compete in the division as early as next year. I say this a little tongue-in-cheek since I know that we will have a major uphill battle with our pitching staff next season, but after all, this is baseball, and anything can happen. Hell, before last season, I thought we had one of the better bullpens in all of baseball - and look how that turned out.

Sometimes a little change of scenery does a world of good. That's what I am hoping for.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

After hearing his official intro into the organization just now, I can easily see why the guy got the job. First of all, he knows the problem with the Indians is the starting pitching and the key is getting Fausto back on track.

Second, he flat out knows the Indians. Mentioning Santana, Weglarz and Rondon in his press conference is impressive, I'm not sure Eric Wedge knew who the hell those guys were.

Third, he is going to work tomorrow. Now I'm not one to point fingers, but how often was Wedgie out at Winter ball and Arizona Fall league?

Fourth, he doesn't want to just sit and wait for the power HR. He is open to everything...he isn't like Wedge where he seems to wait for the HR.

And finally...the guy remembers names, he knows numbers and he seems to be able to speak to a group but also has the ability to connect with a single individual. Mentioning reporters by name is something that stood out and I'd put money on him having a smoking hot wife.

The guy knows the Indians and I think he might actually be successful here.

 

[DougHeil]

He's talking to Bruce right now on ABAO TV.

I've gotta say; I'm impressed. I don't know whether or not it's because he knows exactly what to say and how to answer questions, but goshGolly; he's worth it to be optimistic "this year".

I also liked his spring training answer in that he likes to take a look at the minor league players the first couple weeks, then the last few weeks is game on. He understands the importance of the very first game and first week of a season.

 

[macbdog]

He's talking to Bruce right now on ABAO TV.

I've gotta say; I'm impressed. I don't know whether or not it's because he knows exactly what to say and how to answer questions, but goshGolly; he's worth it to be optimistic "this year".

I also liked his spring training answer in that he likes to take a look at the minor league players the first couple weeks, then the last few weeks is game on. He understands the importance of the very first game and first week of a season.

Wonder if he can give an opening spring training speech like Wedge, though. Like him or not, those were supposedly awesome. And really, I could never figure out how a guy who aimed to fire up his players from day one of spring training and have them work that hard would have teams that start slow. Anywhoo, let's see if Acta's approach, which kind of sounds like quid pro quo for most baseball teams, does any better. I still have a nagging feeling that the slow starts are a result of personnel not management (the only time they started well was with Trot Nixon dishing out pies and light-heartedness).

Second, he flat out knows the Indians. Mentioning Santana, Weglarz and Rondon in his press conference is impressive, I'm not sure Eric Wedge knew who the hell those guys were.

Third, he is going to work tomorrow. Now I'm not one to point fingers, but how often was Wedgie out at Winter ball and Arizona Fall league?

And finally...the guy remembers names, he knows numbers and he seems to be able to speak to a group but also has the ability to connect with a single individual. Mentioning reporters by name is something that stood out and I'd put money on him having a smoking hot wife.

The guy knows the Indians and I think he might actually be successful here.

One thing Wedge could never have been accused of was not working hard enough. Acta may 'know' who those players are, but so would any casual baseball fan who can google 'top 10 Indians prospects' or go to milb.com. I know Wedge was always in Cleveland to work with the winter developmental seminars, which is when the Tribe gets their top 20-25 prospects in town for focused instruction. I doubt he was at the AFL, since the AFL coaches are all minor league guys. Same with winter ball- that is for minor league coaches looking to move up, most bigleague managers are focused on their dayjobs. Note that Acta stopped coaching the Dominican once he got the manager's gig in Washington.

I was wondering why we jumped so fast at hiring Acta until I saw today that 10/26 is the deadline for first payment on 2010 season tix. I'm LOLing if this was supposed to inspire me to re-up for next season... not that I think he is a good or bad hire, I honestly have no idea. I hope he works out and we get back to competing. But the bigger issue in MLB is still there and will always be there. Still praying for an owners lockout someday...

The Tribe moved quickly b/c Houston had made a contract offer to Acta. I think the timing with season tics was just a coincidence.

Since Acta is from the DR, I'm praying he gets to the enigma that is fausto. Lastoria thinks Louis isaac may be back. Who knows. Luvello may get the 3rd base gig, which is something I'd love to see. The guy deserves it and has coached with more than half the current roster.

I want to see Lovullo end up on the roster, but being a 3rd base coach is a kiss of death. No 3rd base coach ever in the history of everything has been praised. Never has the sentence 'I love how he handles sending runners home!' ever been uttered, or even typed, in a serious fashion. Every fan of every team thinks their 3rd base coach is a windmill, and once Lovullo has one guy get thrown out at home the 'fire Lovullo' websites will pop up. :chuckles:

One guy they absolutely should bring back, but probably won't: Wayne Kirby. I don't care what role. Just bring him back. I can't find what he did this past year; he was no longer with the Rangers' AAA team. I saw he was rumored for the bigleague staff of the Rangers. If he isn't with another bigleague club, they need to find a way to get him here. Kirby's pluck, sticktoitiveness and moxie would be a great asset to a young team.

 

[AZ_]

I think I would have rather us kept Wedge and fire Shapiro.

This is a fucking joke.

Wow, this line of thinking is SO unlike you.

 

[The Oi]

Just trying to be optimistic guys... :chuckles:

 

[Ajak0410]

Well the Cavs season is clearly a wash.

124 days till Mannyball, LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!!:headbang:

 

[mult336]

i really just dont get our fans..... We need a new owner?....... It doesnt matter who buys the team....... Nothing changes unless this owner just wants too spend too lose money. If the Indians really spent say 120m a year on payroll you think that would guarantee 38000 plus a game? Hey i aint trying to stir the pot but i just want too people to focus on the real problem and that is baseballs system is broken, unless your team gets lucky or are from Boston/Yankees.

 

[Maximus]

What the fluck is a Manny Acta?