Loverro: Acta takes fall

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By Thom Loverro

Manny Acta is better off without the Washington Nationals.

That, no doubt, is not what Acta thinks today after getting fired from the job he worked so long to get.

No one likes to get fired, and Acta made it clear that he wanted to stay with the Nationals. But as the days and weeks pass, Acta probably will consider the pink slip a blessing.

Most people who leave bad organizations are better off, particularly talented people. And despite the results on the field, those in the game know Acta is talented and believe he still has a future as a major league manager.

A manager with a career record of 158-252 usually wouldn't get a second chance.

But Acta will because, in organizations where reason and respect reside, people recognize that winning 158 games while managing the Washington Misfits is a worthy accomplishment.

They will look at the way he handled the worst situation in baseball in his 2 1/2 years as manager, never losing his composure or the clubhouse.

They know Acta had to work with the game's most dysfunctional general manager in Jim Bowden and a family ownership group that was convinced it knew how to run a baseball team and knew how to do it better than anyone else.

How's that working out for the Lerners?

The Nationals are not now going to become the Colorado Rockies, who turned their season around after firing Clint Hurdle. If you think otherwise, you are delusional enough to work in the Nationals' front office.