Washington Post: After Bravura Debut, Acta Faces Follow-Up (RR)

In other news, the Mets are apparently working on a trade that will send Acta back to New York in exchange for Willie and $30MM in cash considerations.

“He took command of the team the minute he stepped in the locker room,” [Nationals President Stan] Kasten said. “He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy, in terms of what he demands, but he’s supportive of everyone on his team. He doesn’t tolerate not playing the right way, but he makes it fun to play the right way, and do it together.”

There may not be another manager in baseball for whom it can be said: He is immune from criticism. In a game where every columnist, blogger and talk-radio caller must have a strong opinion or be unheard, it is virtually impossible to recall something bad that has been said or written about Acta. Even Acta himself, who ought to know, could not come up with an example of his being criticized.

“It’ll come,” he said. “We had such low expectations, it helped me in the first year—because people were expecting so little. People who know about the game saw the way we handled our bullpen, and way we handled our team—regardless of the talent—and knew we knew how to handle the team, which was 90 percent of the job.