The G&M's Jeff Blair dropped two shots of happy into our drink yesterday when he suggested that it was somewhere withing the realm of possibility that the Jays could make a run at former Nationals manager Manny Acta.We should probably check ourselves here before we get into some irrational thoughts about what Manny Acta could actually do to make this team better. There is a bit of a Cult of the Manager amongst baseball types (mostly writers and broadcasters), who inherently pass along the credit for any team that appears to be outperforming expectations to the bench boss.
This is why we think that the Manager of the Year Award (or the "Wow, That Team Did Unexpectedly Well Award") is kind of a crock of poo.
At the same time, Manny Acta would bring some very tangible assets to the Blue Jays that we think can only help the club. For instance: He's not Cito Gaston. That's a good start.
Acta is also a young man (40), and while we don't want to be ageist, the MLB season is an eight month grind for which a younger man may have more stamina. Also, Acta can speak Spanish, which in this day and age is a huge asset. Can you imagine how he much more effective Acta could have been in yelling at Alex Rios: "Hola amigo. ¿Por qué es tu cabeza en el culo?"
Mostly though, we're focusing on the whole "Manny is not Cito" aspect of things. That gives us a little hope.
