Perception of the Nats

Ken Rosenthal sounds like he has some sour grapes over his premature exclamation in the Acta firing. That is fine, but he doesn't need to come out and rub it in everyone's face. Somewhat unprofessional. Truth be told, the Nats may have made the decision then, but maybe Rizzo or somebody stepped in and played an ultimatum that Acta should be given a month to work with a semi-functional bullpen and some young arms. He failed, and the powers that be got their wish.

Rosenthal really lays into the Nats, and whether in is brought on by his personal feelings, he makes several good points.

- The manager isn't going to look good if the players around him suck
- The front office has too many Chiefs, not enough Indians
- The lack of organizational integrity creates a void of trust

The first point is being worked upon, but the Nationals need to commit to their General Manager. The "interim" tag may be just for titling to MLB, but within the organization, they must allot Rizzo the comfort and stability of his peers. So far, Rizzo hasn't made a severe misstep, and most of his moves have been smart, well thought out, and represented immediate improvement. He should know that he is going to see this through. On the flip side, now Riggleman is "interim" status, and nobody in their right mind would commit to him without first testing the waters.

Next, given the way the Acta firing was handled, their were at least two strong opinions in the front office, maybe more, as to how and when it should be carried out. Contrary to what Rosenthal says, the firing was warranted at that time as much as any other time, and was handled as well as could have been. But given these differing opinions, apparently someone's toes got stepped on and embarrassingly a story gets leaked. The sort of crap probably happens around your office everyday. But in a field that is scrutinized by the media, blogged about by nerds such as myself, a higher level of professionalism is required. Somebody needs to swallow their pride and stop meddling in others' affairs.

The final point will be the hardest to sell. The Nats, since moving to DC, have shown little commitment to improving, winning more ballgames. Some of this can be heaped onto the deposed JB, but much of the responsibility now resides in the front office getting the players to "buy-in" and trust the scheme. However, when three weeks ago the team president is committing to a manager, then firing him, both the players and fans feel betrayed. Now each player know that the club's commitment may just be rhetoric to get a few weeks of inspired baseball before shipping them out for prospects.

For all the additional drama that surrounds the larger market teams, most of it stems from failure to meet expectations. Well, the Nats suck and the expectations are bedrock. It's time for the folks running the Nats to grow up a little and build a team. Be deliberate. If that requires trading Adam Dunn, do not tell the fans he is off the market only to have your hand forced at the deadline.

RIP Manny

It was a fair juncture at which to fire him. He was on break for a couple days... now it's just longer. The team had continued to improve, the results were not. Here are the Nats month-by-month:



Not only did the Nats never even play .500 ball for a brief stretch, when they did take a sniff at it, it was more luck than anything. It wasn't Acta's fault he was dealt an awful roster and little flexibility to fix it. But never once did he come across the recipe for lemonade with the lemons he was given. And this season, as much of the dead weight was trimmed, the team continued to flop. They had lost much of the fan base, and then the announcers turned on them last week.

The decision to let Manny go at the break may have been made a while back, but if it hadn't, the stumble on the road trip was a pleasant reminder that he is still the 10th worst manager of all-time.

Acta Status

Well, it looks like Manny is going to be the last to know if it does occur, as everyone from Fox Sports to SI to the Post seem to be in on the leak. The timing seems peculiar, as he hasn't done anything over the past week to seemingly further jeopardize his Dead Man Walking status. But when have the Nats ever done anything by the book? It is almost as if they are deliberately embarrassing him by having this hang over his head until Monday. Completely unprofessional.

Not a fan of giving Riggleman close to 100 games with which to work. What if the Nats catch fire and play .500 ball from here out? Are they stuck with him? Manny clearly wasn't getting the best out of the roster in April or May... why not then?

Another front office mess.

Not Really News, but Yes, Randy St. Claire Has Been Fired

I noted last week that much of the Nationals coaching staff has already lost their jobs. Prior to that, though, we knew that somebody was going to be made scapegoat, regardless of how many guys went up and down between the big and little clubs.

Well, it has finally happened. A safe move, as McCatty has been working with most of these guys the past two seasons. I wouldn't expect the Earth to stop, though.

Expect Manny to hang on for another couple months, unless the tailspin somehow gets worse.

Manny on Life Support

With the loss last night, Manny Acta moved into sole possession of 10th place all-time of lowest winning percentage of qualifiying managers. Alan Trammell is up next if Manny continues his quest, having presided over the Tigers' 2003 debacle. The writing was on the wall when they didn't extend his contract: "Win or Else". So far, the Nats have chosen "Else with Formaldehyde". Obviously somebody is going to fire Manny Acta. The million dollar question is when.

Many managers, like Trammell for instance, buy time with their organizational credibility. They played ball, coached upon retirement, and were eventually given a shot to turn around the team. Neither Manny Acta nor Jim Riggleman played major league ball, and Acta's hiring may have been the closest thing MLB has had to a true Al Davis moment. Right now, management is tired of paying for guys not on the roster. They are also tired of looking like a bunch of buffoons running a franchise. Firing Manny is not going to solve either of those problems; if anything, it guarantees they are going to pay another person to stay home without assuring improvement. Believe it or not, this situation sucks a lot move for Acta than it does the players or fans. He came back to a no-win situation and failed. Granted, his quotes and indifference are not inspiring anybody, and his lack of situational awareness should alone be grounds for termination, regardless of record.

Barring Manny embarrassing the club further, they will probably leave him on the bench through the summer. If things get worse, Riggleman will finish the season. Neither will remain with the club next season, and it is a good bet the pitching coaches will be cleared out as well. The smart move would be to do this before the season ends so they can pursue options as soon as the final out is made, if not sooner. Depite his track record, Pat Listach probably isn't ready yet to take the everyday job, but you never know. Keeping him and Grissom will be great for continuity and improving the abysmal defense. However, the best solution to turn the Nats into a winner will likely be found outside the organization.

Stopping the Skid

As we found out earlier in the season in Arizona, firing the manager does not guarantee success, as AJ Hinch crashed and burned in his debut. It helps to have one starter that the players trust and will rally behind. Right now, that guy is Shairon Martis, who has been their rotation stopper. The Nats are 5-2 when Martis starts, and I'll let you break out the abacus to calculate their win percentage when he doesn't. Today, he'll face off against the Pirates and Jeff Karstens; this is about as money-in-the-bank as the Nats will get given their current predicament.

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of watch the first home complete game in Nats Park history pitched by Martis (sad it took nearly 100 home games to get one). He attacked hitters and forced players to put the ball in play. He is capable of getting to the 8th inning because the players and the coaches are comfortable with his approach. They know he is not Pedro Martinez, but he isn't Daniel Cabrera either. He should have no problem attacking a light Pittsburgh lineup tonight. They are below league average in slugging and walks.

Regardless, the Nats have the Orioles coming to town Friday. It will be embarrassing to have the place packed with 75% O's fans. If they are going to make a move on the manager, which is inevitable because they never renewed Acta's contract, the time would be right now. Most smart fans know that most of this mess isn't Manny's fault, but given the situation, he has done little restore a sense of order. The team is playing worse each game and THAT is his fault.

Amazing...

The lack of accountability is staggering. First there was the Colome/Zimmermann/Hernandez debacle... apparently the Nats do not take infield practice.

Then last night happened. Detweiler came in and did exactly what he needed to do. He threw strikes, he got people to swing and miss, and he got to his spot in the batting order a second time. He went to showers in position to collect his first win, despite the shoddy defense behind him. Then the bullpen attacked... all of them. Nobody should escape the wrath. Seriously, is David Cone out there? There has to be an explanation.

It is a simple lack of accountability. There isn't any punishment for not being prepared, for lack of focus. Relievers jaunt in out of the pen without a plan. Stranding runners, strategically allowing the run to get an extra out... no plan, just wayward pitches. Granted, the Nats have trotted a few pitchers not capable of getting major league hitter out... that is on management. But most of these guys have been around the block and have done this job before.

Ryan Wagner retired. His numbers did not reflect it, but he was improving and getting closer. He is still young and hopefully his shoulder gets right and he gives it another go, Chris Hammond-style. Seriously though, if your only motivation was to play with this dysfunctional bunch, would you fight the pain?