Wedge Watch: Who Will Manage Tribe in 2010?

[AMC]

I would love Mattingly, he has done a great job with the Dodgers, and we have a team similar to the Dodgers did prior to getting Manny

 

[elcheato]

I think Mattingly is going to stay with Torre in LA and eventually take over when he decides to call it quits.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

I don't care who it is, as long as it's not Lovullo. I'm tired of the team hiring from within to save money.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

I think Mattingly is going to stay with Torre in LA and eventually take over when he decides to call it quits.

Mattingly reached out to the Indians.

I really hope we hire him.

 

[elcheato]

Well then I guess he is looking for a coaching gig sooner rather then later lol

 

[DougHeil]

Mattingly reached out to the Indians.

I really hope we hire him.

Yes. Both Mattingly and Valentine are names regular joe fans would know. Would they know a name of Acta? I don't think so, let alone pronounce it. I think it is important for whoever is hired to be able to instill a sense of excitement back into a new season of Indians baseball. I don't see this Acta guy being able to do that. I could be wrong though.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

Yes. Both Mattingly and Valentine are names regular joe fans would know. Would they know a name of Acta? I don't think so, let alone pronounce it. I think it is important for whoever is hired to be able to instill a sense of excitement back into a new season of Indians baseball. I don't see this Acta guy being able to do that. I could be wrong though.

I don't know if it was said *or even mentioned* here or not, but I really think Acta ends up being the bench coach for the Indians this year, a move I would support greatly.

Acta is extremely smart and is always looking to improve, but he would be much better suited for a bench coach.

 

[MoFlo]

I don't know if it was said *or even mentioned* here or not, but I really think Acta ends up being the bench coach for the Indians this year, a move I would support greatly.

Acta is extremely smart and is always looking to improve, but he would be much better suited for a bench coach.

I really think Hargrove gets a spot on the coaching staff as well

 

[AMC]

Manager - Mattingly
Bench Coach - Hargrove
Hitting Coach - Fryman?
Pitching Coach - Acta?

Any Ideas?

 

[Gunther]

So, I didn't know anything about Manny Acta, and I thought I would do a little research.

Here is his interview with the PD posted on cleveland.com today. Seems like a likeable guy, I thought:

<table style="border:0px; padding:0px;"><tr><td><font style="font-size:13px; font-family:Verdana; font-weight:bold; font-color:#293546">Manny Acta Indians candidate for manager</font></td></tr><tr><td><script type="text/javascript" src="http://tribeca.vidavee.com/advance/trh/embedAsset.js?width=470.0&height=265.0&wmode=transparent&skin=v3AdvInt_cleveland.swf&dockey=32E99C5B4CB5C293D33D62B70E4F5DE9&"></script></td></tr></table>

So I went to the Washington Post website and typed in "Manny Acta", and here's the first article that came up (from July 15th):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/14/AR2009071403235.html

Players Wish Acta Had Been More Stern
By Chico Harlan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 15, 2009

One day before the Washington Nationals opened their season in Florida, Manny Acta called a late-afternoon state-of-the-team meeting with his players. Twenty-four players showed up on time. The one who didn't, center fielder Lastings Milledge, appeared in the starting lineup the next day, batting leadoff, digging in for the Nationals' first at-bat of the season.

Acta's decision -- Milledge was fined, nothing more -- was his alone to make, but it bothered some players and contradicted a recommendation from the front office. As the season dragged on and the losses accumulated, players appreciated Acta's even temperament and easygoing nature. But all the while, they wondered if a more demanding presence might benefit them. Acta, fired late Sunday night with a 26-61 record this season, left behind a clubhouse of players who almost universally enjoyed playing for him. Every so often, however, they wanted more from him. They wanted him to reprimand, to punish, to call out those who needed it. They wanted him to push.

Milledge, in particular, required such guidance. Several times after Opening Day, the 24-year-old showed up late to the ballpark. Some players spoke privately to Milledge, but he brushed them off. With Acta backed into a corner -- in spring training, he had declared Milledge his everyday center fielder and leadoff man -- the team, one week into the season, demoted Milledge to the minors. At the end of June, he was traded.

"There were situations where it was like, 'Oh man, I hope Manny says something.' And it never got said," said one player, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "If one person steps out and is not reprimanded, eventually everybody is saying, 'Is it okay to do that or what?' We kind of police ourselves, but at the same time we're trying to build with each other. We just wanted him to say something one time to reaffirm everything."


Acta believed that players didn't generally respond well to public forms of discipline; embarrassment wasn't his teaching tool of choice. He reached out to players, recommending self-help books, always making himself available to talk about family. Yes, he could get angry -- but the fewer who saw it, the better.

"I can only judge by what I saw," acting general manager Mike Rizzo said. "I think there was a definite respect factor [among players] for his personality, and I think they enjoyed the levelness of it, the steadiness. I think to expect something different from Manny wasn't beneficial, because he was who he was. He was very consistent with it. It would be like asking Nyjer Morgan to hit like Adam Dunn; it's not in their makeup to do something. So I think you have to play to people's strengths, and Manny's strength was being a level guy. No highs, no lows."

Only in Acta's first season, 2007, did the manager show a willingness to bench players for failure to hustle. On April 22 of that year, Acta pulled Ryan Church from a game after the outfielder jogged down the first base line on a groundout. On June 7, Felipe López committed a similar offense -- twice. After it happened for the second time, López was benched and replaced with Ronnie Belliard. After that game, Acta said: "We're going to play hard, we're going to play right and we're probably going to [have to] out-hustle the opposition. It's not going to be tolerated, regardless of who you are."

In the last two seasons, counting this one, Acta never benched a player. Not that he lacked opportunities. This season, shortstop Cristian Guzmán didn't run after balls that deflected on his feet, Elijah Dukes ran into thoughtless outs on the bases, and Milledge misplayed balls in the outfield and refused a patient approach at the plate.

Acta's most outspoken criticism of a player, oddly enough, came in what ended up being his second-to-last game of the season -- and his final win. Dunn, in a 13-2 blowout, missed second base while trying to score from first on a Josh Bard double. That resulted in an out and nullified Bard's hit. "Just unbelievable," Acta said after that. "Inexcusable. Those bags, they haven't moved in over 100 years."

Several players interviewed for this story, though, acknowledged that a manager who lacks a zeal for punishment can still be a good manager. Acta, players said, probably will be -- once he gets the right talent.

"One thing I can say I learned from Manny, the way he carried himself all the time, he was professional," Willie Harris said. "He never got out of whack, winning or losing. That's one thing I try to do, stay even keel. Him being my manager the last two years, I learned that from him."

Maybe he's a little TOO nice. Sounds like he's better suited to being a coach than a Manager. After reading a few more articles, it seems to me that Acta was a very knowledgable and nice guy in a dysfunctional organization that had awful pitching (sound familiar?).

How would this play in Cleveland? I think we need someone who can be decisive and lay down the law once in awhile. It is important that the team get out of the gates strong next year, if they are going to be competitive. That will take some discipline.

To sum up, I wouldn't object to Acta as a coach, but I don't want him as Manager.

 

[7foot3]

I don't care who it is, as long as it's not Lovullo. I'm tired of the team hiring from within to save money.

So we're going to throw away any possible good traits Lovullo might have because we think Wedge was a hiring based solely on money? Wedge shot up through the minor league coaching ranks, and won numerous managerial awards.

So I went to the Washington Post website and typed in "Manny Acta", and here's the first article that came up (from July 15th):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/14/AR2009071403235.html

Sounds like a bunch of players who don't want to take full responsibility for their own failures. Pretty much the only thing here is that Manny Acta couldn't get Lastings Milledge to get his act together. Has anyone else been able to do that yet?

I think this is the only quote in the article Indians fans should actually care about:

Several players interviewed for this story, though, acknowledged that a manager who lacks a zeal for punishment can still be a good manager. Acta, players said, probably will be -- once he gets the right talent.

 

[BooyaCS]

Shaprio said there was no timetable in place and if they had to wait to get the person they wanted they would do so.

Of the 4 I think Mattingly would be intriguing. Remember he was the supposed Heir Apparent to Joe Torre in NY when NY hired Joe Girardi. I think if he comes to the American League as a manager he would take the attitude to try to Stick it to the Yankees for passing him over (heres to hoping Charlie Manuel wins his second world series).

That being said Shapiro said he was talking to the candidates and who they want on their staff.

Manager - Mattingly
Bench Coach - Hargrove, Acta
Pitching Coach - Scott Radinsky
Hitting Coach -
Bullpen Coach - Fasano
First Base Coach - Sand Alomar JR
Third Base Coach - Rick Manning

 

[Gunther]

So we're going to throw away any possible good traits Lovullo might have because we think Wedge was a hiring based solely on money? Wedge shot up through the minor league coaching ranks, and won numerous managerial awards.

Please enlighten us. What good traits does Lovullo have?

Sounds like a bunch of players who don't want to take full responsibility for their own failures. Pretty much the only thing here is that Manny Acta couldn't get Lastings Milledge to get his act together. Has anyone else been able to do that yet?

I think this is the only quote in the article Indians fans should actually care about:

Several players interviewed for this story, though, acknowledged that a manager who lacks a zeal for punishment can still be a good manager. Acta, players said, probably will be -- once he gets the right talent.

So you are saying what exactly? Do you actually have a point, or are you just trolling around shooting negative comments out of your ass?

And by the way, who do you want as Manager and why?

 

[chiefwahoo]

If we do end up with Donnie Baseball, can we start a movement for him to bring back the 'stache? He's just not the same without it.

 

[macbdog]

If we do end up with Donnie Baseball, can we start a movement for him to bring back the 'stache? He's just not the same without it.

He doesn't have the mustache anymore? He just went down a notch in my book.