Manny Acta becomes latest scapegoat for Nats front office

[Da Schwab]

Knew it was coming, but the man had next to nothing to work with.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4324006

WASHINGTON -- So much for the plan to have Manny Acta's patient optimism lead the Washington Nationals out of the doldrums. The abysmal won-loss record became too much to stomach, costing him his job at the All-Star break and adding another layer of instability to the worst team in baseball.

Acta was fired after the team reached the unofficial halfway mark of the season with a majors-worst 26-61 record, on pace to clear the 100-loss mark for the second consecutive year. Acting general manager Mike Rizzo -- himself an interim placeholder -- announced Acta's dismissal Monday morning.

"We feel that the team has underachieved," Rizzo said. "We feel we have a better ballclub than we've shown on the field. ... We feel with a different voice and possibly a different feel in the clubhouse that we can have a more successful second half of the season."

It's a shame what this franchise is doing, not just to Acta, but to its players and fans.

[TMU]

I miss the Expos.

[CentralQB5]

Hahaha it makes me laugh to see how pathetic the Nats organization really is, it seems like every year they are fireing there manager

[sunshinekids99]

Hahaha it makes me laugh to see how pathetic the Nats organization really is, it seems like every year they are fireing there manager

He's been coaching for 2.5 years, so there goes that arguement. And to be honest they've only had 2 managers.

[Posey H8er]

The only good thing about the Nats is their ballpark.

[jumanji]

Teams must think of Riggelman when looking for someone to take over a sinking ship.

[HCYanks]

Acta made a couple headscratchers during his tenure, but was still probably the most progressive/forward thinking manager in the league in terms of game management. It's a shame that he loses out because he never had any real shot of making noise while a guy like Joe Torre continually looks better than he really is because of all the nice rosters he's had to play with.

[Schad]

Acta made a couple headscratchers during his tenure, but was still probably the most progressive/forward thinking manager in the league in terms of game management. It's a shame that he loses out because he never had any real shot of making noise while a guy like Joe Torre continually looks better than he really is because of all the nice rosters he's had to play with.

Yeah, but he'll land on his feet; the fact that most of the league thinks very highly of him despite the fact that he was associated with the Nationals for that time suggests that he'll end up with a better gig, probably by the start of next season.

[VinnyTheMick]

Hahaha it makes me laugh to see how pathetic the Nats organization really is, it seems like every year they are fireing there manager

They have had 2 managers. Get real.