Is Acta Becoming Wedge Ii

[roach]

Don't get me wrong. i've totally enjoyed this season. i've gone to two games and will be at tomorrow's afternoon game. But my baseball buddies have noticed the same thing i have. Acta has disappeared.

At the beginning of the season Acta was aggessive with small ball and agressive with pitching changes. i loved that. For the last few weeks he seems to be undermanaging. Reminds me of a guy that is now in Seattle. i don't get it.

[Chris.]

No, I don't think so.

But really...small ball and pitching changes can't make up for the current 1-44 slump with runners in scoring position. I still think Acta was a great hire and a perfect fit for this team. It's hard to say he's getting the best out of his team with so many guys struggling, but coming into the year we had no business being in first place this far into the season. He has the team playing hard and believing they can win.

Wedge had a few Cy Young candidates (CC, Lee, good Fausto) a few MVP candidates (Sizemore, Hafner, Victor), all in their primes and didn't get much out of it. Fausto took a complete downturn (and saw a good recovery with Acta last year). Peralta was looking like an impact player after breaking out in '05, and was a mess by the time Wedge left. Sizemore was run into the ground with no days off and probably wasted a little bit as the leadoff hitter. Cliff Lee, postseason legend, spent the '07 playoffs in Buffalo.

Acta's team is nowhere near as talented as the '07 team, but they are (well, were) finding ways to win.

I guess I didn't really say anything about his actual managing decisions...but I don't really see enough passiveness to get too critical of him. He has balls, he sticks up for his players, and he's in first place. Wedge knew how to keep his players happy when they were winning, but ended up a complete disaster. I'm nowhere near ready to compare them.

[Mr. T]

Acta needs to get his act together and get the team back to the fundamentals of the game, they are playing undisciplined ball. I am seeing to many fielding and throwing errors It is the 6th inning any Yanks have a 6-0 lead today in the 6th inning, more than half of these runs were set up by fielders who make bad plays and not making good throws.

practice practice practice

[rich4eagle]

@roach said:

Don't get me wrong. i've totally enjoyed this season. i've gone to two games and will be at tomorrow's afternoon game. But my baseball buddies have noticed the same thing i have. Acta has disappeared.

At the beginning of the season Acta was aggessive with small ball and agressive with pitching changes. i loved that. For the last few weeks he seems to be undermanaging. Reminds me of a guy that is now in Seattle. i don't get it.

Taking heed on your always astute obeservance

[Chris.]

Not to distract from the Tribe....but CC threw 5.1 perfect innings (11 K's) against Wedge's Mariners...who are about to lose their 17th straight. (In a rain delay right now)

Yeah, the Mariners are pretty bad. But Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, an all-star closer, Justin Smoak, Ichiro....and I don't think Tribe fans appreciated just how good our roster was during Wedge's reign. Acta is doing more with way less than what Wedge had when he was here...and Wedge is just embarrassing himself in Seattle.

(Sidenote: how about the time Wedge was daydreaming as one of his opponents walked to first base after ball 3. That happened TWICE this year.)