Manny's Second Act(a): Cleveland Indians Hire Former Nationals Skipper

The Cleveland Indians interviewed Bobby Valentine and minor league manager Torey Lovullo for their open manager position. But at the end of the day, they felt Manny Acta was the right man for the job.

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman , Acta has been hired by the Indians to be their next manager. The Indians signed Acta to a three-year deal with a club option for 2013.

This will be Acta’s second managerial stint. His first one, as we all know was with the Washington Nationals from 2007-2009. Acta was 158-252 with the Nationals and was relieved of his duties in July.

I would throw his record with the Nationals out the window. Walter Alston, Miller Huggins, or John McGraw wouldn’t have won with those National teams.

A manager can’t win when he is given 13 corner outfielders, no bullpen, and nobody who can play defense to work with.

What you want to know if you are an Indians fan is, does he have the respect of his players? In the American League, the respect of your players is just as important as X’s and O’s because of the DH—if not more important.

By all indications, Acta never lost his team and the players liked playing for him in Washington.

Remember, Joe Torre and Terry Francona didn’t have great success in the National League before coming over to the AL.

I like the Acta hire more than I would if Valentine was hired by the Indians. I have no idea what the infatuation with Valentine is?

Why pay a manager almost $5 million a year who has accomplished just as much as Acta has—which is nothing. Plus, I am not sure how Valentine’s rather large ego would have worked in the low-key Cleveland market.

So is Acta going to immediately turn around a team that lost 97 games in 2009?

Probably not.

The Indians are in rebuilding mode and fans are going to have to be patient with Acta.

He does have a good, young nucleus to work with. Grady Sizemore, Matt LaPorta, Carlos Martinez, Michael Brantley, and Shin-Soo Choo should provide a solid foundation for the Indians for years to come.

The Indians will hold a press conference on Monday to officially announce the hiring.