Manny Acta new Indians Manager

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Manny Acta will be named the 40th manager of the Indians today.

Acta reportedly turned down an offer to become Houston's manager to accept the Indians job, which is for three seasons with a team option for 2013. Acta played eight years in the Astros' minor-league system and managed another seven years.

The Indians interviewed Acta, Bobby Valentine and Torey Lovullo last week to be Eric Wedge's replacement. They were scheduled to interview Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly later this week.

Acta managed Washington from 2007 until he was fired July on 13. His overall record was 158-252. The Nationals were 26-61 when he was fired this year.

He used the free time by watching the Indians on cable TV to get a feel for their team. He knew the Indians were struggling and might make a move at the end of the season. That included the Indians, who finished with 97 losses.

"It's a good core of players," said Acta, last week. "They already have an offense in place. If Grady (Sizemore) had been healthy the whole season. And Travis (Hafner) had been healthy and Jhonny (Peralta) would have had his typical year, it's as good as it gets in the Central."

Acta calls himself a "common-sense' manager, who believes communicating with players is his biggest job. He says there are few geniuses in the game when it comes to strategy and that everyone from reporters to the fans in the stands know when to bunt.

"This is a job where handling people is a key," said Acta. "Especially because this is a job where the employees make 50,000 times more than the boss."

That may not be the case in Cleveland, where payroll has been dumped for the last two years, but Acta's message was clear.

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