Acta compiled a 158-252 record with the hapless Nats

Well, here we are, Tribe fans. Two days away from a Game One World Series match up of our two beloved Cy Young winners — a game that will prove to be one of the most bittersweet moments in our collective history as human beings, let alone as Cleveland Indians baseball fans.

But what does that matter? More important things are at hand! And as of today, we now know who will be leading our squadron of young athletes this coming season (as well as the two or three beyond that)! That man is none other than… fired Nationals coach Manny Acta!!

Now, before you all get out your Jump To Conclusions mats and expand Lake Erie some 82.4 square miles by taking part in some catastrophically destructive form of rampaging, please, take a moment. Catch your breath. Open your mind, and think about why this decision might have been made by people who know just a little bit more about baseball than you do.

I will attempt to paint this portrait by discussing each of the alternatives, as we know them.

Torey Lovullo

Who? Oh. Our last-place AAA team’s manager. Erm… I’ll try to give him some credit here.

Mr. Lovullo has spent the past eight years working his way up through the Indians’ farm system and was even considered a major candidate to replace Jim Tracey as manager in Pittsburgh in 2007. During his tenure in the Indians’ organization, he has spent time managing and developing more than just a handful of the guys on our major league squad, giving him a leg up in the familiarity department. That being said, I was honestly surprised he made it as far as he did in the hiring process. Indians G.M. Mark Shapiro distinctly said before any interviews took place that promoting from inside the organization was unlikely. That Lovullo made it as far as he did speaks to his character, but ultimately, there was no way he was going to match up with the big dogs.

Bazooka Joe couldn’t blow a finer bubble.

Bobby Valentine

Speaking of “big dogs,” how about this guy? According to numerous poll results across the inter-web, nearly half of the population of Indians fans would have preferred to see Bobby V. at the helm of our club. Understandable. This guy, despite his age, has one of the smoothest faces in the biz! Combine that with his “Sarcastic Uncle” type humor, and I really don’t know what else these front office folk should be looking for in a manager! In all seriousness, though, his MLB managerial record of 1,117-1,072 not only shows his superior level of experience over the other candidates, but also that the man is a winner.

I’ll admit that when his name first started floating around, I was elated. The thought that the Indians were even looking at a guy of his caliber was enough to tell me they were taking the job hunt seriously. However, after watching his post-interview press conference, I felt a little bit uneasy about his candidacy.

In regards to his interest in being hired as manager of the Cleveland Indians: “I’m a baseball manager, and they’re looking to hire one of those type guys. They have a major league baseball team [...] and I consider myself lucky to be considered.”

Really? That’s the best you can do to convince us you want the job? No specific details about the state of our franchise? Or why you’ve always loved the city of Cleveland? Or how the competitiveness of the AL Central intrigues you? These are things the casual observer could B.S. their way through, but Bobby opted to throw in a thick tone of sarcasm and offer up a generic “sure, I’d take the money” response.

Combine that with his slouched posture and blatant admittance that he was “out of touch” with the American game (after spending the past six seasons in Japan) and despite this, didn’t even attempt to brush up on any details about the team he was interviewing to become the manager of prior to the interview, and I think it’s safe to say we might have been in over our heads with this guy.

Sporting one of the least creative names in baseball, “Donnie (first name) Baseball (sport)” will not be managing the Indians next year.

Don Mattingly

According to legend, Los Angeles Dodgers’ bench coach Don “The Hit Man” Mattingly was scheduled to come to Cleveland for an interview this week, but the Tribe’s time table was rushed due to the Astros’ offer to Acta. Mattingly is certainly a name worthy of a double take, but can you honestly picture Don Mattingly managing the Indians?

And anyway, the guy was a Yankee. A YANKEE! And now he’s sitting beside Joe Torre every night managing the Dodgers. What does he know about small market teams? I’m not saying the it could never have happened, but he certainly feels like a misfit to me.

Ron Roenicke

Also set to interview at some point this week was Angels’ bench coach Ron Roenicke, and I’ll be the first to admit I hadn’t heard of this guy prior to this article. He was before my time as a ball player, and I don’t keep track of every team’s coaching staff. I’m sure that if he was being considered this late he was a worthy candidate, but because I don’t know much else, I’ll move on to why I like the pick we made.

MANNY! MANNY!

Listen. Manny Acta managed the Washington Nationals. I don’t care who you throw into that fire, they are not coming out with a record anywhere near .500, let alone a winning one. In watching Acta’s press conference, I felt at peace with his rationale for taking the job in our nation’s capital.

“It’s a step that most of us have to take,” said Acta, “I needed to get my foot in the door, and I was in no position to turn down a job like that. I felt it was important for me to start my managerial career, and I took advantage of it.”

He goes on to say that he has no regrets about the decision and knew what he was getting into when he took the job.

Sure, it’s nothing profound. I can’t imagine what else you could say about the worst managerial position in the majors, but his reasoning seems sound, and I can’t blame him for getting his career started when he had the opportunity.

Also, take into consideration that of the three teams looking for new managers this offseason, two of them (Astros and Indians) made Acta an offer. The other was his former team, the Nationals.

Everybody who has worked with him, under him or across the diamond from him — Mets GM Omar Minaya and Braves manager Bobby Cox, to name a few — can only rave about his work ethic, determination and enthusiasm for the game. On top of that, he clearly did his homework prior to his interview. He was able to rattle off the entire Tribe lineup, rotation and bullpen — something Bobby Valentine certainly fell short on.

Lest we forget this last, but very important detail about Mr. Acta: he is a native of the Dominican Republic and is bilingual, which will ease communication with the third of our roster that just so happens to be hispanic.

All in all, I have to believe that we could have done a lot worse than the guy we got. I’m excited to have a young, enthusiastic manager who is excited to be here (he chose this job over the Astros’, despite growing up in their system), who can grow along with our young team and, hopefully, lead us to better days.

Take it away, Manny.