It was hard to tell if the Washington Nationals hired or fired manager Manny Acta.
President Stan Kasten and acting general manager Mike Rizzo outlined Acta’s positives and never dwelled on negatives during a news conference on Monday. Kasten said Acta would be a standout manager one day.
Just not here.
It’s hard to argue against firing the third-year manager, who was 158-252 overall. The Nats are the baseball’s worst team for the second straight year at 26-61. Each year was progressively worse.
Somebody had to go. General manager Jim Bowden was forced out before the season. Kasten certainly isn’t leaving as part-owner. That left Acta, who was dealt a terrible bullpen, lackluster clubhouse chemistry and no real chance of winning.
Kasten and Rizzo didn’t say it was Acta’s fault because they know it’s really not. Acta’s a good baseball man and a good person. There really aren’t any holes in his game. This team was assembled badly and now it has to be torn down and re-assembled starting with coming trades before the July 31 deadline when dealing veterans for prospects.
Still, 26-61 just can’t be tolerated without changes or the stands will empty faster than at a Courtney Love wet T-shirt contest.
Without any real charges against Acta, the Nats went the classy way and just said it wasn’t Acta as much as the situation requiring change. It’s like your beautiful girlfriend breaking up by saying it’s about her, not you. Whatever.
“Maybe something in a different voice, a different way in presenting possibly the same material could have an effect,” Rizzo said.
Let’s see, other words for stink are foul, rotten and stench. And those are the printable comparisons of the Nats. No matter the adjective, the Nats still stink no matter who manages them.
Washington switches to Jim Riggleman, whom the Nats didn’t produce during the presser to keep some of the stink off him. This is Riggleman’s fourth team with a 522-652 mark. Be nice to the poor guy until October when the Nats find someone else.
Not that it will be easy to hire someone good. You think anyone with options wants this mess? The Nats are a couple hires away from attracting a top-level talent. The next move is an older manager with patience who knows it’s a nice paycheck for three years. Maybe then the Nats will be a .500 team if we’re lucky.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
