'There's no walking in baseball': Acta keeps Day 1 crisp

Baseball Betting Lines

02/15/2007 -

VIERA, Fla. (AP) -``There's no walking in baseball.''

Day 1 on the job, and Manny Acta coined a phrase.

The Washington Nationals' new field boss conducted his first spring training workout as a major league manager Thursday, and when he noticed some of his pitchers and catchers strolling over to a drill, Acta sent a message by telling them to pick up the pace.

``On the hop! Come on!'' he yelled, albeit with a smile, the way he seemed to do pretty much everything on a day he's been waiting for.

Acta is taking over a team that's finished last in the NL East three consecutive seasons, but, as closer Chad Cordero put it: ``He believes we can go out there and win and compete, and he wants us all to believe the same thing.''

Sure, Acta has managed, but not at this level - at Class-A clubs in Auburn, N.Y., Davenport, Iowa, and Kissimmee, Fla.; in winter league ball; and for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

``I've been in this position before a zillion times, and to me baseball is baseball,'' Acta said, ``except that this is the biggest stage.''

This particular scenery is familiar, though. Acta ran drills on these fields along Space Coast Parkway when he was the third base coach for the Montreal Expos, before holding that post with the New York Mets the past two seasons.

During past springs, Acta hit fungos or tossed batting practice. This time, he moved around, observing, making mental notes and reminding guys to move along.

It's going to be, Acta said, a ``crisp spring training, and walking is not allowed. We're jogging from station to station, just to keep things going. There's no walking in baseball.''

His new position meant he didn't have to walk at all, actually; he was assigned a golf cart to get from the main stadium to the practice fields, though he said that felt awkward. From force of habit, Acta lugged around a fungo bat with a glove stuck on one end; that bat served as a walking stick.

``It was kind of boring for me a little bit,'' he said with a laugh. ``Not enough action.''

Acta knew everything would be OK when he had trouble sleeping the night before - ``my typical manager's nightmare,'' he called it.

Usually, the restlessness comes from visions of forgetting to fill out a lineup card. As Wednesday became Thursday, Acta awoke with a start a few times, worried the electricity would go out, his alarm clock wouldn't work, and he'd oversleep.

``You don't go through any of that stuff when you're a coach. But when you're managing, whether it's minor league, winter ball or here in the major leagues, I just find that you've got to have that,'' he said. ``Everybody has to be nervous and have a little bit of butterflies on your first day of everything.''

Nationals third base coach Tim Tolman knows, perhaps as well as anyone, how much this day meant to Acta. They've known each other for more than 15 years.

And yet, to Tolman, Acta seemed quite steady on an emotional morning.

``When you're prepared, you're calm,'' Tolman said. ``And he was prepared.''

At 38, Acta's the youngest skipper in the majors. That, plus his one-of-the-guys demeanor - standing in the clubhouse to eat the spread of luncheon meats and potato salad, right along with everyone else Thursday - have led some to trot out the old ``players' manager'' label already.

Yet in carefully choosing his words for his pre-practice speech, Acta made clear that he's interested in one thing: winning. Surprise, right?

But the other part of the message, the one Acta hoped would draw the attention of the more than three dozen players in the clubhouse, was this: ``If you came over here just because you think you have a better chance of making a big league club, and you don't see the upside of being here, then it's too bad.''

For 10 minutes or so, Acta told his players what to expect and what he wants.

``He wants guys that believe we can win,'' right-hander John Patterson said. ``But if you come in here just to be here, to collect a paycheck, that's not the guy he wants on this team. He made that very clear.''

Notes: Cordero and his agent were to meet Thursday with GM Jim Bowden in an effort to avoid arbitration. During past talks, Cordero said, the team offered him a two-year deal. The arbitration hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. ... RF Austin Kearns arrived, joining the growing number of position players, including 3B Ryan Zimmerman. ... Zimmerman and former Reds SS Barry Larkin fielded grounders hit by former Reds RHP Jose Rijo. Larkin and Rijo are spring instructors.

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