Manny Acta is suffering through the same type of season Eric Wedge had during his last season at the helm of the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe is approaching 100 losses once again after dropping 97 games a year ago.
The current team is five games below the pace set last season, although to be fair Cleveland won just five of their last 25 last season. Still, the 2010 Indians will need to go 11-14 the rest of the season to win one more game than they did last season. And that would make them 66-96.
In order to win 70 games, Acta’s crew needs to go 15-10, something that is not likely to happen based on the way the Indians are playing.
Most of the optimism in hiring Acta was based on the premise that he was not Wedge, and as fans, we would finally be rid of the "Wedgespeak", talking about grinding through the season, and separating one game from another.
Was that optimism warranted? In retrospect, based on Acta’s managerial record, it wasn’t.
If the Indians do lose 100 games this season, it would be the third straight season the team he managed lost 100 games. The 2008 Washington Nationals wound up 59-102, and last season, although the skipper was let go after a 26-61 start, the Nats wound up at 59-103. In fact, the current Indian manager has a career "winning" percentage of .389, which is a 63-99 record over 162 games.
Now this isn’t a total indictment of Acta, who wasn’t blessed with an all-star roster provided by GM Mark Shapiro. However, what he has shown in his big league managerial career is ability to handle losing.
And the Indians are an organization that needs to change a culture of losing, and it seems a manager who is used to losing doesn’t accomplish this.
Everyone wants a skipper who is is fiery and an emotional leader, and that’s not always the right course of action. Take a look at Joe Torre. However, what is needed is a manager who will fight for his team, and I don’t see that out of Acta. His players need to know that he feels winning is important.
Take Sunday’s game for example. Acta was ejected after going out to protest a poor call by umpire Hunter Wendelstadt, which SS Asdrubal Cabrera complained about instantly, and with just cause. However, it seemed like he went out there more to keep his shortstop from being kicked out more than he did to stand up for his team.
The same thing happened a couple of weeks ago against the A’s with the Tribe in a losing streak. The umpire ruled a hit by pitch on catcher Kurt Suzuki, on a ball that ricocheted 50 feet after hitting the knob of Suzuki’s bat. Acta protested the call calmly. With his club playing listlessly at the time, a tantrum was in order.
Again, if Acta was winning big with his approach, it wouldn’t be questioned, but he’s not.
Acta seems like a good baseball man, and the Houston Astros were interested in hiring him last year in the off-season. And surely, Shapiro will point that out in his and Acta’s defense.
With the organization in a losing spiral since their division winning season of 2007, one would think a person used to winning would have been brought in to change the attitude of the players. The Indians like to play it safe, and you reap what you sow.
The manager deserves credit for his patience with Rafael Perez and some of the other young players, but he has been too tolerant with guys like Trevor Crowe, who has had the second most at bats on the team despite mediocre offensive statistics. He also has given Luis Valbuena over 200 at bats with a batting average of around .170. But, maybe that’s a directive from the front office.
This is a team that needs to change directions, and needs to do it right away. Fans are being driven away by the continued direction of the organization, and that direction continues to head south.
Something needs to change baseball wise in Cleveland. A nice start would be winning, and hiring people who have been involved in winning would be a good start.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 