Chico Harlan speculates that Manny Acta may be gone by Tuesday night’s game. He might be reading too much into this statement, however:
Here’s what Rizzo said yesterday:
“I haven’t heard any player point a finger, I haven’t heard any grumbling other than frustration with themselves, and I think that’s a testament to the players themselves and to the management,” he said. “I can tell by the attitude of the team, the effort level of the ballclub, the attentiveness of meetings and that type of thing. We’ve got guys who run balls out every time no matter what the score is, no matter what just happened the inning before. Those are all signs of the attitude of the club, and really a testament to the professionalism of the players.”
Asked directly about Acta’s job security, Rizzo offered an indirect answer. “Like I said, the manager is judged by how the players react. The effort level is there. The respect level is there. The evaluation process continues for everybody, including the staff, including the players.”
In other words, Rizzo isn’t seeing any signs that Acta failed to motivate the players. We don’t know if that’s enough to stop the acting GM from hiring an acting manager. (Tom Hanks?)
Posted by David Pinto at 11:26 am | Management | Permalink | 3 Comments
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June 1st, 2009 @ 11:37 am
If Acta is let go by the Nats, he will be quickly locked up by another organization.
June 1st, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
I don’t watch Acta enough to know, but I do know that I just watched the Nats play the Phillies for three games and I have never seen a team so sloppy on defense. They basically spotted the Phillies one to two runs every game just on defense.
June 1st, 2009 @ 3:31 pm
That’s more about talent than coaching with this squad, though, isn’t it?
They have Corner Outfielders playing CF; they have Designated Hitters playing corner outfield slots; they have a 2B playing SS. I don’t know the reputation of Flores’ replacements, but I did watch Nieves drop a pop up this week, and that’s not a coaching problem so much as a lack of skill.