Clouds Still Loom Over Acta as Nats Wait Out Rain Delay, Win Series at Stadium

NEW YORK – Manny Acta was to be back in Washington late Thursday night for the first time since a report that he was about to be fired as Nationals manager.

He may not have to pack up his things.

But he shouldn't buy any property either.

Acta's job status isn't day-to-day or series-to-series, as far as can be determined, but he is certainly on thin ice. Maybe that ice thickened up a bit Thursday when the Nats improbably clinched a series win at Yankee Stadium.

Craig Stammen combined with four relievers and an uncharacteristically brilliant defensive game for the first shutout of the Yankees at their new yard. Washington won just its third series of the year – its second since April 23 (the other came May 8-10 at Arizona, when A.J. Hinch was managing for the first time in his life).

"We felt that despite our record," Acta said, "we have been playing better baseball. We've just been beating ourselves a little bit defensively."

Still, the Nationals are 18-46, the worst 64-game start in the NL since the 1987 Padres.

Since managerial firings usually happen at home (ones on the road are often botched, and you can ask Willie Randolph or Tony Muser about that), when Acta reports to Nationals Park on Friday for a game against the Blue Jays, he figures to be either out of work or bombarded with more questions about his status, which has been publicly tenuous for almost a week.

"What else am I going to do?" Acta said Thursday, bristling. "Answer the same things I answered [earlier this week]? Nothing has changed, right? I still don't have time to worry about rumors."

The "rumors" – actually sourced reports – began last Saturday, when Fox Sports said Acta would be fired shortly and replaced by bench coach Jim Riggleman.

It didn't happen Saturday, nor Sunday, nor on Monday's off day. So it will either happen Friday or continue to hang over Acta's head, especially with non-denial denials coming from Washington management.

Determining whether Acta is a good manager is no easy process.

Yes, the Nats' talent level is bad. That goes more to Jim Bowden than Manny Acta.

Then again, Washington has lost 28 of its past 36 games, even with the latest two-game winning streak. The Nats have lost 16 games in the opponents' final at-bat and are 0-8 in extra innings, getting outscored 18-0.

Acta's career record is 150-237, a .388 winning percentage that's the equivalent of a 63-99 season. Since 1951, only one non-expansion manager with 380 games managed has a worse career record: Alan Trammell of the 2003-05 Tigers.

And Acta has to be held accountable for some portion of that mark.

Acta is a smart baseball man, and the Nationals brass likes him personally. The question they have to answer is whether Acta is the right person to lead the team on the field as they go through what promises to be a long rebuilding process.

Even longer than Thursday's rain delay: nearly 5 1/2 hours that turned a 1:05 p.m. start into a night game.

"When you have three meals at the ballpark before you start the game, it's been a long day," Acta said. "But it was worthwhile, I think, getting out there and winning a ballgame."