Nationals fire Manny Acta

[Smasher_Sloan]

They need to bring back the striped Senators cap. Then, and only then, will they be poised for success. Look sharp, play sharp.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

How would they look with Sizemore in CF, Phillips at 2nd & Lee at the top of the rotation?

 

[dooley_womack1]

They need to bring back the striped Senators cap. Then, and only then, will they be poised for success. Look sharp, play sharp.

Roy Sievers, the first 80-year-old player in big-league history.

 

[UPChip]

I liked how Ownership was capitalized in the same way as one might when referring to God.

Then again, at least the Nationals ownership is only ruining a baseball team.

I work for Ogden (which also owns the Pirates), and there was some sort of corporate bigwig in town today and I was dying to ask him "What sacrifices has corporate made other than trading Nate McLouth?"

 

[Cosmo]

There's a lot of exaggeration going on in terms of how talented some of the young guys are. In terms of overall rankings, they had ONE player in the top 50, and he's a 20-year-old catcher in low-A ball right now.

Otherwise, Justin Maxwell is hitting .232 in AAA. And while he's drawing lots of walks he's also striking out more than once a game. At AA their best players are already too old to be considered stud prospects. Even Ian Desmond is already 24, though his numbers suggest he should be at Syracuse now. Down a level from there you have Chris Marrero hitting the crap out of the ball at the age of 21 in the Carolina League. And while it's his second year there, he's still young enough where it's ok. They also have another catcher putting up good numbers there.

I didn't bother looking at the pitching, which is where all the depth supposedly is, but there isn't anyone position-wise screaming future star. Unless the Lerners go Wayne Huizenga circa 1997 this team isn't going to be successful for a real long time.

Potomac had an outstanding first half pitching-wise, with Jeff Mandel, Bradley Meyers and Erik Arnesen. The latter two are already up in Harrisburg. So there seem to be some decent, middle-of-the-rotation arms down low in the system.

 

[BYH]

Jim Riggleman? Seriously?

The poor ****ing guy is the temp of big league managers.

 

[spnited]

Jim Riggleman? Seriously?

The poor ****ing guy is the temp of big league managers.

As well he should be

 

[BYH]

He'll end up in Flushing next year after Manuel gets canned

Thereby answering YES to the question "Can he go to a ****tier organization than the one he just left?"

He's going from 29 to 30 if he does that.

 

[Hammer Pants]

The Washington Nationals shouldn't even exist. Baseball should have purged them and the Marlins years ago.

You get no joy from watching the Marlins compete every year despite paying peanuts? The ****ty stadium and rotating door of players has to be tough on their fans, but their competitiveness is also fascinating.

 

[Drip]

Acta is a good baseball man. He will get another shot somewhere.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Acta is a good baseball man. He will get another shot <b> to be third base coach</b> somewhere.

Fixed.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Offered without comment, a copy of the letter the Nationals sent to saps like me who keep pouring money (for now) into this franchise:

To Fans of the Washington Nationals,

No one is more dissatisfied in the first half of the 2009 Washington Nationals season than we are. Like you, we had hoped that some of our younger players would have matured faster and that the addition of some of our new veterans would have significantly improved our record from a season ago. Our hope was that solid club leadership would emerge on and off the field and that some intangible combinations would begin to click resulting in many winning streaks.

We definitely do see significant pieces materializing for the future, and there have been many close, exciting games and optimistic bright spots: Strong outings by John Lannan, the home run and RBI production of Adam Dunn, the All-Star selection and 30-game hitting streak of Ryan Zimmerman and the recent addition of speedster Nyjer Morgan. Much of the season, however, has been defined by weak relief pitching, poor defense, and youthful inconsistency. We have tried to work through this period with patience and focus but now we are faced with mounting losses which are beginning to take a toll on our entire roster. Clearly, some changes are required as we prepare for the second half of the 2009 season and, more importantly, build for a competitive future.

Today, we announced that manager Manny Acta is being replaced on an interim basis by Jim Riggleman, veteran manager, and currently the Nats bench coach. Both the Ownership and the entire Washington Nationals organization have the highest respect for Manny Acta and the role he has played in the short history of the Nationals. However, it is our belief that a fresh attitude and approach is necessary as we set out to improve our performance for the remainder of the year. We want to send a strong message to our clubhouse and our fans that the status quo is unacceptable. We believe that more is expected of everyone in the organization.

Baseball operations will be reevaluating all our players and our options for improvement over the next several months. We hope to sign our 2009 draft choices by the August deadline. We hope these new additions will join an already exciting Nationals youth movement headed by the likes of Lannan, Jesus Flores, Alberto Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Craig Stammen on our current roster, and the likes of promising Minor League stars like Chris Marrero, Michael Burgess, Danny Espinosa, Derek Norris and Drew Storen, among many others. But, we also will be determining the viability of trades or roster upgrades that can be made without doing damage to the farm system or the developing talent we expect to blossom within the next two years.

When we bought the Washington Nationals in the middle of the 2006 season - just under three years ago - we committed to a patient, long term approach, building a strong farm system and core foundation that would deliver a perennial and consistent contender; to provide a second-to-none family entertainment value at Nationals Park; and to investment and involvement in the metropolitan Washington, DC community. Today we remain steadfastly committed to each component of that mission. We are proud to represent the National Pastime in the Nation's Capital, and we are proud to call the Capital area home.

We know we have a way to go, but the end result will be all the richer for the early days we've spent together at Nationals Park. We are getting better. We want you to be with us as the pieces of the puzzle come together. Your support is powerful to the Nationals and baseball in Washington. Thank you for your continuing patience and your commitment to a shared dream.

Sincerely,
Washington Nationals Baseball Club


My response:

To The Washington Nationals:

Thanks for the note. Now STFU and produce, eh? You've changed almost everything from the day you arrived. Almost all the players. The manager, twice now. Coaches. The GM (thank you for that). The improvement seen? None. Zero. Zip. We keep hearing how things are on the right track blah blah blah blah blah. How about showing us that? You act like you're the only organization in the world with good, young talent. You are not. So save the energy it takes to tell us how sorry you are things are working out this way. Put all of it toward fixing this mess and fixing it quickly.

Nice touch, leaving your new (interim) manager out of the press conference, by the way. Not that we'd want to hear from the man charged with trying to clean up some of this mess.

Sincerely,

NFBLooser
Owner of four (partial) season-tickets, a big gas bill and more "Curly W" clothes than any human should claim to own.

Why do I get the feeling that the person who wrote the Nats' letter is the same guy who writes those letters to newspaper employees explaining how, despite cutting half the staff, that the paper will continue to be the leader in news coverage?

Oh, and who wants to bet that Adam Dunn gets traded two weeks after this letter came out?