Ohio State’s Pryor Under Fire
October 15, 2009NFL Trade Rumors: Josh Cribbs to Miami Dolphins?
October 15, 2009With John Farrell officially bowing out of contention to replace the recently-fired Eric Wedge, the Associated Press reports that the Indians have began to look at Manny Acta.
Former Washington manager Manny Acta has been interviewed by the Cleveland Indians for their managerial opening.
Acta, fired by the Nationals in July, spoke with Indians general manager Mark Shapiro by phone earlier this week. […] Acta said in an email to The Associated Press that he was excited about the opportunity and the Indians told him they would get back to him next week.
He will reportedly also interview with the Houston Astros. Widely considered to be a strong candidate, Acta’s biggest downside may just be on paper as the his record as a manager stands at 132-198. Then again, he did not exactly have much to work with in terms of talent for a vast majority of that time.
Fire Joe Morgan had a solid piece on Acta a few years back. I can’t imagine his coaching philosophy has changed much over time. If you can bring yourself to get over his success rate, Acta may not be a bad option for the future of this squad.
27 Comments
SHAPPETTI KNOWS BEST
/Isis’d
And? Is this supposed to be exciting? Sure he’s excited about the opportunity, just look at his resume. What legitimate team would even interview this stiff?
Isis, who do you want to interview since you are the o-so-powerful ruler of all things Cleveland sports related?
Jacob-someone with a winning resume for starters, how’s that? Someone coming from a pedigreed positon from a winning organization, how’s that?
Powerful ruler no, common sense (or uncommon if you will) yes.
Jacob-now back to your channel’s choice of Tory Luvello, Mike Sarbaugh, Manny Acta, and any number of no-namers ready to slobber at anything Shapetti says; same time same bat channel.
I’m with isis. Someone else, please.
I’d much rather have a guy willing to sneak back into the dugout with a disguise on.
Why? You replace Wedge with Acta. They are the same person. I still say it is someone not on the radar…Think Alomar Sr. or Carlos Tosca…
Did you learn anything from the Eric Wedge/Shapiro friendship experiment?
Jacob, you didn’t want actual NAMES did you?
Steve @#5-I’m right with you in regards to Bobby Valentine, he’s not only a winning manager but comes with a great personality, passion, drive, motivation, and plan…….everything foreign to Dolan/Shapiro. Sorry Bud-there’s no way BV would work under this group. Book it.
Good one B-bo, your inane attempt at invalidation is beyond weak. Go back to supporting the list you have, there’s your names.
someone with a winning resume for starters, how’s that? Someone coming from a pedigreed positon from a winning organization, how’s that?
So apparently Isis wants to hire someone from the baseball equivalent of the Belicheck tree? Maybe a baseball type Crennel/Mangini/Weiss type? 😉
“Someone with a winning resume for starters, how’s that? Someone coming from a pedigreed positon from a winning organization, how’s that?”
Yet you were bashing Farrell, who is from a winning organization, and has been groomed there for a few years.
I never said I wanted Acta, I was kind of surprised when I first heard his name mentioned. Nor did I ever officially endorse the internal candidates such as Lovullo or Sarbaugh.. I just think that Luvullo is clearly the front-runner and someone from the outside is going to have to overwhelm the front office for him not to get the job.
@12
If I recall, Isis didn’t bash Farrell, Isis said Farrell knew the tribe front office and would have nothing to do with them.
The thing is, while I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea of an established commodity (Valentine, for example…..I’ve heard Showalter’s name out there, but I’m not a fan–particularly after talking to several longtime Yankees fans), I wouldn’t mind seeing new blood in there–and no, Acta doesn’t work for me. Someone like an Alomar or Vizquel would be worthwhile, in my opinion, as would an unconventional option like Rick Manning.
Now Isis, let’s see that trademarked condescending smugness as you criticize those names while failing to bring anything to the conversation except your spewing of hate at the front office and some clever nicknames.
Viva la Shapetti, right genius?
If anyone remembers the movie El Cid (which I assume was based loosely on a real person), you will remember that they put his corpse on a horse and ran him out into battle like Weekend at Bernie’s and that they, thus, routed the enemy. How about a Billy Martin cut-out?
El Cid = Sid Monge
Almost forgot one for the list: Lou Brown
“Ok, guys. We’ve won two games in a row. If we win tonight, its called a winning streak. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. “
List of (realistic) names, please, Isis. “Someone with a winning resume for starters,” and “Someone coming from a pedigreed position from a winning organization” isn’t good enough. I don’t want to know who you AREN’T interested in; I want to know SPECIFICALLY who you are interested in.
Charlie Donovan: How would you like to manage the Indians this year?
Lou Brown: Gee, I don’t know…
Charlie Donovan: What do you mean, you don’t know? This is your chance to manage in the big leagues.
Lou Brown: Let me get back to you, will ya, Charlie? I got a guy on the other line asking about some white walls.
I like this. Acta knows SABR theories well enough, and it doesn’t appear that he will behave like a moron. His record is a product of the Nationals drafting 38 corner outfielders and no pitchers.
Wedge’s problem was rarely his in-game management, it was his inability to prepare his players and construct a lineup. So when you see Shapiro going after someone similar, it’s because Wedge wasn’t all bad.
And haven’t people figured out yet that managers don’t make all that much difference anyway–at least not at the MLB level? Put LaRussa or Torre in charge of the Orioles: they’ll lose. Put Wedge with the Yankees: they’ll win. What we need is someone who buys into the logical side of Shapiro’s thinking (objective data analysis) but questions his silly ideas (players must be “character guys”). Acta will do just fine.
list of real names that should be looked at…..
Sandy Alomar Jr.
Mike Hargrove
Bobby Valentine
Tony Pena
Ned Yost
Don Mattingly
I would love to have Sandy back as a manager and Alomar Sr or Hargrove as his bench coach.
@Jon S. – I completely agree with your comment, and you make a very valid point. Managers do not make much of a difference statistically speaking, and although one can credit certain little things during the game to their doing, often it is just the players doing the extra things. In the minor leagues, the coaching staff is uber-important because it provides teachers for the young people just learning the nuances of the game. Any player that then makes the major leagues clearly knows what he is doing, and the constant mediocrity over the past seven years was not Wedge’s fault.
I would be fine with the Indians hiring a manager like Manny Acta. By all accounts he seems like a sane human being who realistically knows what he is doing, but I think that the decision would be very unpopular with some of the the fans. The front office has a plan and knows what they are doing, and hopefully things start to turn around under this new manager’s regime quickly.
Guys, you might as well stop trying to get Isis to actually give names. He doesn’t play that game, because then he would be accountable to that person. This way, he can bash anyone and everyone because he never officially endorses anyone specific. I tried to get him to name specific people back when the Browns were looking at coaches, and he ran around in circles all day long and never once offered up anything of value. It’s just par for the course. For the sanity of this website, it would be best if everyone would just ignore Isis. You know he doesn’t have anything meaningful to contribute, and you know he’s going to spew a bunch of anger and hatred. We should just accept it, ignore it, and move on.
My only (one of many, who knows?) concerns about this managerial hunt is their desire to lock one up before the World Series is over. What’s the rush? If you wait, you can interview EVERYONE (including those from winning organizations, to Isis’ point). If you don’t wait, you exclude those from playoff organizations this year.
The manager will have ZERO impact on the amateur draft, so it’s not like that’s a concern. Free agency hasn’t started, so that’s not a concern either. So, what’s the rush?
@RockKing: “Truth be told, I thrive under a lack of accountability.” – Michael Scott
Well, everyone knows that Mangini and Shapiro are relatives-by-marriage. So, in honor of Mangini, Shapiro is going the “let’s hire someone recently fired from another team!” route.
In all seriousness, I can’t say Acta would be the worst choice ever, but I’d rather see someone like Showalter, BV, or even Manning. I’d love to see Sandy Alomar on the staff somehow, as well.
Wow, Isis, you’re really a certified dumbass. I usually try to avoid name calling, but really…I have never read anyone spout as much horse*hit negativity as you. Not suprisingly, you never offer ANY solutions worth a damn. You’re worse than Michael Moore for christ sakes.