Much of Manny Acta’s post-game press conference, predictably, was about the resignation of Jim Bowden. Here’s the transcript of what he had to say about his former boss (more news to follow at the bottom):
What was your reaction? “It was shocking to me. He had scheduled this meeting at 8:45. I was expecting him to just give the guys a pep talk, the usual thing that he does, because he wasn’t here when we had our team meeting. He was in Arizona, dealing with the arbitration hearings. The news just caught me buy surprise. I think it takes a lot of courage for him to do that. Me as a manager, I really appreciate what he did, if he felt he was being a distraction here. I will always be grateful, because I did interview with five clubs, and he was the one who gave me my first opportunity to manage. Is he perfect? No. Few are brighter, and few work harder than him. He’s not perfect, neither am I, neither is anybody here. Actually, the perfect one died over 2,000 years ago. As I said, I will always be grateful. Regardless of where this goes from here, I will always be grateful to him. Much was said about our relationship, but I thought it was a good professional relationship. And the proof is, if it would have been as bad as some people think, he wouldn’t have kept me around here for three years.”
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When did you notice his baseball intelligence? “Always, from Day One. This guy’s non-stop. His brain is always going. He could get players from underneath the rocks, as we’ve seen here the last couple of years. He’s a bright man. That’s why he’s done what he’s done for so long.”
Also: Jesus Flores has a strained right elbow and will have a precautionary MRI tomorrow. The Nationals scratched him from the lineup because he played in yesterday’s loss to the Cardinals and they didn’t want him catching two days in a row. But trainer Lee Kuntz checked Flores out after the game and ordered the MRI. Too early to tell if this is a harbinger of 2008 all over again, but we’ll see how things shake out tomorrow.
