I am going to need jaw implants. Manny Acta was made not just one, but TWO managerial offers this off-season! At any given time you are three times more likely to be a US Senator than a MLB manager (actually, that doesnt even account for the possibility of foreign managers in MLB, which couldnt be matched in the Senate) - I mean, you would assume that qualifications for these impossibly rare spots would have to be impeccable. Or, candidates must have a good jaw.
Acta, a career .241 hitter in the minor leagues (.299 slug. BB and SB numbers unavailable), parlayed his on-field success into a minor league managerial position. He managed eight seasons for Houston's farm system, not advancing above high-A level, and compiled a sub-.500 winning percentage over a larger sample of 851 games. His minor league record was 419-432. But that jaw...
After a few coaching assignments, Acta was allowed to destroy the soul of the fledgling Nationals fan base, to the tune of 158-252, a .385 winning percentage, or, you can say that the Nationals opponents had a .615 winning percentage. And this was no expansion team roster. Zimmerman, Dunn, Willingham, Nick Johnson, Dukes & Milledge were all rostered on opening day this year. Sure, the roster was not perfectly assembled, but this team under-performed its ability by any measure. More troubling, however, was the way Acta destroyed the confidence of his bullpen, and particularly the young Joel Hanrahan who was jerked in and out of the closer spot after every success or setback, no matter how minor. In his press conferences, in his interviews, talking to the media, Acta sounded as cool as ice. The message was that things would turn around, there is no need to panick, these are growing pains. But on the field, his actions looked far different. Willingham was benched for Kearnes who was benched for Milledge who was sent to the minors. The closer carousel spun and spun around. starters were pulled too soon. Pitchers pitched scared. The team lost games at an astonishing pace, and anyone watching could tell you the team was being managed into the ground.
Joe Torre was a horrible manager early on and obviously found religion and payroll later on. I suppose it is possible. But with so few spots available, I would expect there to be a little more substance for a candidate to be able to get these chances. I suspect that the substance is in his jaw.