WaPost: Acta Is Still Manager—for Now (RR)

Hours before Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay, a Fox Sports report, citing major league sources, suggested that Acta will be fired by week’s end and replaced with bench coach Jim Riggleman. Team President Stan Kasten neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying: “I would never talk about personnel, because I don’t. I’ve been asked a variation of that question [about Acta’s job security]—from some media outlet—almost every day since the first week of the season. And if I had a policy to talk about personnel, I’d have to do that story every single day.

“Having said that, I can’t tell you how perplexed I am by this season and this team and the things that are going on. And our record is, you know, very troubling for me every single day. . . . So yeah, I’m troubled by everything. We continue to look for solutions. Have I thought about every possible recourse? I have. As has [acting general manager] Mike [Rizzo], as have our owners. We’re certainly not satisfied with our record; far from it. We’re distraught over it and we’re going to consider everything we need to do to make it better.”

At least for the day, Acta remained on the job, trying to restore some dignity to a ballclub that fell to 16-44 with an 8-3 loss to the Rays. Acta, speaking before the game, said: “I haven’t heard anything” about an impending firing.

Riggleman, who was hired as bench coach before the start of the season, said he had no knowledge of any plans that would install him as this franchise’s next manager. “I don’t know where that started,” Riggleman said.