According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Washington Nationals are going to fire their manager Manny Acta. Acta, in his second season with Washington, led the Nationals to 101 losses, and has the Nationals off to a shameful start this season.
According to Rosenthal, Acta could be fired as early as Monday.
Acta was hired by the Nationals on November 14, 2006, in his first major league managerial stint, replacing Frank Robinson. He did a passable job in 2007, leading the Nationals to a 73-89 record, and a fourth place finish, a step down from their 81-81 record of 2006.
Then, in 2008, Acta led Washington to an absolutely abysmal season.
The Nationals finished 59-102 with a .366 winning percentage. In my opinion, Acta should've been fired before the All-Star break of the '08 season.
The Seattle Mariners fired John McLaren on June 20th, then fired interim manager Jim Riggleman in favor of Don Wakamatsu.
Now, the Nationals probably should have fired Acta during the season, and they definitely should have fired Acta after their dismal '08 season. During this season, the Nationals are 16-43, 19 games back of the first place Philadelphia Phillies.
They have a .263 winning percentage, and on April 16th the Nationals' two best hitters, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn, wore jerseys that read 'Natinals' instead of 'Nationals'. So far the 2009 season has been the worst for Acta.
Now comes the deliberation on who will replace Acta.
The Nats' bench coach is none other than Jim Riggleman, the former manager of the Seattle Mariners, who took over for McLare last year. Their hitting coach is Rick Eckstein, and the (interim) pitching coach is Steve McCatty, who replaced Randy St. Claire on June 2nd.
I think the Nationals will choose Riggleman again, because of his expirience with bad teams in the past. He previously managed the San Diego Padres (1992-1994), Chicago Cubs (1995-1999), and Mariners in 2008.
But you never know with the Nats. It could be someone completely random.
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