New York Mets manager Willie Randolph got fired, and for now coach Jerry Manuel has Manny Acta’s job.
The problem, though, is Manny Acta already has a job: manager of the Washington Nationals. And he is under contract through 2009.
So someone else will wind up getting the job that surely would have been Acta’s - manager of the Mets.
How crazy is that? The man who thought he would have to spend 20 years managing in the minor leagues to get a decent shot at a major league job now has one job and likely could have had another - one of the most coveted in baseball.
Timing is everything.
It’s no secret Acta is close to Mets general manager Omar Minaya and vice president of player development Tony Bernazard. Minaya and Acta worked together when Minaya was the GM of the previous incarnation of the Nationals, the Montreal Expos, and Minaya, like nearly everyone who has worked with Acta, was impressed with him.
When Minaya took over as the Mets’ GM in 2005, he took Acta with him to serve on Randolph’s coaching staff. But the Lerners, Nationals president Stan Kasten and GM Jim Bowden, interviewing for a replacement for Frank Robinson after the 2006 season, were just as impressed as Minaya and offered Acta the job.
Acta, of course, accepted. He was a career minor leaguer who dreamed of being a major league manager. He hardly was in a position to be picky.
At the time, there appeared to be little chance of an opportunity in New York.
Randolph had guided the Mets to within one game of the 2006 World Series, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series on a home run by Yadier Molina in the ninth inning.
Randolph, after years on the Yankees’ coaching staff, was a beloved and respected figure in New York and seemed secure for years to come.
Then came the collapse of 2007. The Mets blew a seven-game lead in the NL East in mid-September, losing 12 of their final 17 games to fall out of the playoff picture.
In the final week against the Nationals, a horde of New York writers came to the District to record the demise of Randolph, whose job has been in jeopardy ever since.
They also speculated about Acta as a replacement for Randolph. The speculation continued early this season, when the Mets played the Nationals and Randolph complained about fraternization between the teams.
New York Post baseball writer Joel Sherman wrote about that in his blog.
“I think what is more insidious with the Met issue is the involvement of some front-office members, notably Tony Bernazard, so openly joking around on the field for a long period with Washington manager Manny Acta,” Sherman wrote. “It is understood within the Met universe that Randolph is not beloved within his own front office and that there is a certain pining for Acta.”
But Acta, who signed a two-year contract with Washington in 2007, agreed to two one-year club options, which effectively keeps the manager in Washington through 2010.
Nationals ownership picked up the option for 2009 last year, and unless something changes drastically, they would be foolish not to do so for 2010 as well.
Acta certainly appreciates the opportunity he has gotten here in Washington and spoke in Sunday’s edition of The Washington Times of how happy he is here.
“I love it here. I really love it here,” he said. “There’s so much to do, and it’s such an important city with so many things to offer. I’m committed to staying here, and I hope I’m here for a long time.”
But it’s only natural for Acta to wonder what might have been, like on the days when Johan Santana is on the mound in New York and Acta is patching together a starting rotation in Washington.
Make no mistake about it: The Mets are in chaos, and the Wilpon ownership is dysfunctional. But at least they operate like a big-market team with a big-market commitment - albeit a misguided one - to the product for which their fans are paying big-market prices.
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