No, no! Keep Acta for this Yankee series! Come on, let the man manage at Yankee Stadium!

I'll miss Acta -- and this is a hell of a crappy way to let him go, dangling him out there like this -- but the idea of Bobby V. returning to the Major Leagues in Washington pleases both the Nats fan and the Mets hater in me.

bring back Frank Robinson... or at least make Valentine bring his fake nose and moustache getup.

but the idea of Bobby V. returning to the Major Leagues in Washington pleases both the Nats fan and the Mets hater in me.

I'm only one Mets fan, but I've had more than enough Bobby Valentine to last a lifetime. Washington's welcome to him.

Everyone else loves him, but I rather concur with Van Lingo Multi, er, that guy with the long name. I've also had enough of Valentine.

Although, even as I write that, boy, we've had nothing but really boring people at the helm ever since.

I really wonder where this 'report' came from--probably someone VERY close to Bobby. If Rizzo is going to be the permanent GM, either Bob Melvin or Buck Showalter would be more logical and make more sense. The only reason to prefer Bobby is if Kasten thinks he needs someone who can keep fans and media entertained.

is if Kasten thinks he needs someone who can keep fans and media entertained.

So they are hiring their Stengel after the 40-win season?

edit. Seriously Bobby is a good coach. It would be interesting as a Mets fan to have a perspective of him on someone else's bench.

as Acta runs short of time with the 16-45 team

The Nats range in age from sixteen to forty-five? I had no idea. Must be a challenge to manage THAT group.

I'm not sure I get the Mets' fans having had enough of Bobby V. If they'd had someone in the interim who could either be interesting or competent I'd understand it better.

The Nats range in age from sixteen to forty-five? I had no idea. Must be a challenge to manage THAT group.

They play with the maturity of a sixteen year old and the athleticism of a forty-five year old.

Plans change. Sources close to the Nationals indicate that Acta originally was under the impression that he had the year to do the job -- or at least until a full-time GM was named. Rizzo is expected to get the full-time GM job at some point, as the Nationals-owning Lerners seem to be supporters of his, so maybe that announcement will come fairly soon.

If this is true, then it would remove the only objection I have to letting Acta go. I'm in the 'appoint a GM first' camp, and seemingly the only member.

Really, what worries me about this Lerner ownership is the way it drifts. It drifted into keeping Bowden, it's drifting around over Acta, with firing by leak, it's drifting into hiring Rizzo, a matter that really should have been settled by now, since Bowden quit in February. I fear all this drift reflects some internal dissension between the Lerners and Kasten.

Since the Japanese season goes till October and Bobby V is under contract for that time I don't see him quiting midseason to take the Nationals job.

fp ... I agree they should appoint a GM first ... but then I'd have fired Bowden at least long enough ago that I'd have hired a new GM at the end of last season if not sooner.

John Feinstein weighs in: Whether or Not This Is Final Acta, Nats Need to Change Script

The current Acta soap opera points to the larger question, the issue that has plagued the franchise since the Lerner family took over: inertia. Everything moves in slow motion with this team. Everyone in baseball knew that Jim Bowden wasn't the answer as general manager before the Lerners took over. It took the disaster in the Dominican to get the Lerners to show Bowden the door.

Having done that, they still haven't removed the interim tag from Mike Rizzo's title. Most baseball people think Rizzo is a bright baseball guy who deserves the chance to get the franchise going in the right direction. Stan Kasten appears to think that's the case.

So why the fooling around with the interim tag? Maybe Kasten and the Lerners think they can lure Pat Gillick out of retirement one more time or get John Schuerholz to roll up his sleeves one more time to build a team. Or maybe Billy Beane is finally ready to give up the ghost in Oakland and bring all his theories to the East Coast just in time to have Brad Pitt play him in a movie. Or maybe there's someone else.

If so, fine -- pull the trigger and get going. If not, commit to Rizzo and move on. But leaving him sitting in interim land is foolish and sends a bad message to the GMs he's trying to deal with: If you don't like what he's offering now, maybe you go over his head to Kasten or maybe you wait him out because he might not be around too long. Either way, it doesn't work.

I'd have fired Bowden at least long enough ago that I'd have hired a new GM at the end of last season if not sooner

You and me both, Walt.

Most baseball people think Rizzo is a bright baseball guy who deserves the chance to get the franchise going in the right direction. Stan Kasten appears to think that's the case.

See, now this contradicts the SI article this thread links to. I was surprised at Kasten's omission from the SI article, because I thought he was the one who brought Rizzo in to serve the sort of role Riggleman seems to be serving as Acta's bench coach.

You need to be a former Kremlinologist to begin to grapple with the mysterious hidden workings of this franchise's Politburo. Who was standing next to whom on the Flag Day podium?

Maybe it's both. Maybe Riggleman is the interim guy until they hire the GM, but they just can't wait from him to be hired to fire the last interim guy, Acta. Maybe they're not lethargic at all and are running at more of a spider monkey tempo right now. Maybe.

Or maybe not.

Supposedly they can't hire a replacement GM without first interviewing a minority candidate. That, along with the late date of Bowden's 'resignation', hampered their ability to name a permanent GM.

So Rizzo is sorta stuck with the interim tag no matter whether they love him or think he's Syd Thrift.

Doesn't Bobby Valentine have Japanese citizenship? Would that fit under a minority interview?

The Nats range in age from sixteen to forty-five? I had no idea. Must be a challenge to manage THAT group.

The amazing thing is both ages refer to Esmailyn Gonzalez.

Supposedly they can't hire a replacement GM without first interviewing a minority candidate. That, along with the late date of Bowden's 'resignation', hampered their ability to name a permanent GM.

What kind of lame excuse is this? For crying out loud, Bowden resigned over three months ago. What'd they do, wait a month before sticking the ad in The Sporting News? Haven't they heard of Craig's List?

Well, if they wanted someone who was a current Ass. GM, then most teams probably weren't willing to let them talk to their guys as the season was starting and before the draft.

I don't think MLB has a rule like the NFL where interviews for promotions have to be granted, right? (Am I even getting the NFL rule right?)

So their options were 1) name Rizzo interim GM. 2) Bring in retread interim GM. They couldn't/can't officially name one 'til they go through the whole hiring charade. (At least that was the gist a few months back)

Bobby Valentine won't win with the Nats for at least a few years until the organization is overhauled and the roster drastically revised. However, he is a high-profile, energetic guy who would immediately become the face of this woebegone franchise -- the same sort of job he held in Texas as the Rangers began buidling. As long as he doesn't wear out young pitchers' arms like a Dusty Baker would, I think he'd be a fine fit in Washington.

Well, if they wanted someone who was a current Ass. GM

Please, the abbreviation is AssGeM.

Having started following European football, the idea of the "interim manager" and "interim coach" seems off base to me now. If a team fires a coach and hires a new one 2/3 of the way through the season, there is not necessarily an assumption that there will be another coaching search as soon as the season ends and the only coaches available in the middle of the season are losers and has-beens. Not at all!

Of course, the "offseason" is only about a month long in that sport, what with preseason friendlies, Champions League, et cetera, especially for the top teams. But in US sports, the Miami Dolphins are probably practicing year-round, and yet every NFL team's coach gets hired in the same two-month period of the year.

There are a lot of things to like about Jerry Manuel, but if Bobby Valentine comes back, I want him to manage the Mets. He was always 2 innings ahead of the other manager and understood the batting order much better than his successors. Yes, he's a know-it-all, arrogant prick, but we need that.

And ESPN says that Manny Acta has been fired.

Adios, Manny. Flaws and all, you will be missed.

Have fun managing the New York Mets next season.