Considering that Acta had a record of 158-252 with the Nationals, it is somewhat surprising that he was such a hot name. But sources indicate that he was great in his job interviews and illustrated good vision for how he’ll direct teams to the promised land.

“I look forward to working with this talented group of young men who seem to possess a lot of energy and passion for their work,” said Acta of the Indians. “I believe we will grow together as a team, with the ultimate goal of bringing a championship to Cleveland and its fans.”

Going into the 2009 baseball season, some experts were picking the Indians to rise up and claim a spot in the playoffs. That didn’t happen, to say the least. The Indians finished the season 65-97.

Manny Acta hired by the Cleveland Indians (Image: Zuma Press)

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Manny Acta Hired as Indians Manager

On the season, the native of New York is hitting .246 with five homers, 22 RBIs and 26 runs. However, he’s been playing especially well since the All-Star break. In 83 at-bats, he’s hitting .325 with three homers, 14 RBIs and 16 runs.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre likes the flexibility Belliard will offer his club.

“It gives me the ability to spell these guys,” explained Torre. “He gives us a little more depth with experience coming off the bench.”

With the Dodgers looking to make noise in the playoffs, Belliard’s postseason experience could also have been a factor in this swap. In 2006, Belliard was the starting second baseman for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

The minor leaguer pitcher Washington received was 22-year-old Luis Garcia.

Ronnie Belliard traded to the Dodgers (Image: Zuma Press)

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Ronnie Belliard Traded to the Dodgers

Gomes, who began the year on a minor league contract after struggling mightily with the Tampa Bay Rays last season, finished the game 3-for-4 with three homers, three runs and five RBIs.

After the contest, Gomes said this was an emotional game for him.

Said Gomes: “I was in Triple-A to start this thing off and now, not too many at-bats later, I have three home runs.”

On the season, Gomes has a .271 batting average to go along with 14 homers and 33 RBIs. The 28-year-old outfielder has resurrected his career after hitting .182 with the Rays last season.

Arroyo was almost equally as impressive. He pitched all nine innings and gave up only two hits and one walk. He evened his record at 11-11 and lowered his ERA to 4.74.

The Reds improved to 50-64 with the win. The Nationals, who have now lost three games in a row after winning eight straight, are 40-75 — the worst record in baseball.

Jonny Gomes - Cincinnati Reds (Image: Zuma Press)

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Jonny Gomes Blasts Three Homers in Reds Win

Considering that the Nationals once again have the worst record in baseball, this news isn’t a huge surprise. Under Acta, the Nationals are 26-61 heading into the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

“I thank the Nationals for giving me this opportunity and I’m sorry that things didn’t work out as expected,” Acta told ESPNdeportes.com. “It’s normal for the manager to pay the price when the team is not doing well.”

The Nationals got progressively worse with Acta as manager. In their first season, Acta and the Nationals were 73-89. In his second season, the team finished 59-102. Now in the third season, the team is worse than ever.

Acta’s last game as manager came Sunday when Washington lost to the Houston Astron by a final score of 5-0.

While there has been no confirmation of who will get the job, one name that has already come up is Jim Riggleman.

Manny Acta Fired (Image: Zuma Press)

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Manny Acta Fired by Washington Nationals

On the season, Morgan is hitting .277 with two homers, 27 RBIs, 39 runs and 18 stolen bases. The 28-year-old is an everyday starter for the first time in his big league career.

Burnett is a 26-year-old relief pitcher. Prior to the trade, he had a 3.06 ERA in 38 appearances with the Pirates. He began his career as a starter but is now a full-time reliever.

The Pirates get a player in Milledge who has a ton of potential. He was expected to breakout this year with the Nationals but has instead found himself in the minor leagues. If the center fielder can get back on track, he could turn out to be the best player in the trade.

Hanrahan has struggled this year. After pitching well in 2008, he has a 7.71 ERA in 34 appearances so far in 2009.

Nyjer Morgan - Washington Nationals (Image: Zuma Press)

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Nyjer Morgan Traded to the Nationals

Despite the end of his hitting streak, Zimmerman is still having a very good season. He’s hitting .357 with eight homers, 26 RBI and 28 runs. The 24-year-old from North Carolina is the best thing going for the last place Nationals.

On this day, the Nationals didn’t need production from Zimmerman to take home a rare win. Scoring three runs in the top of the seventh and two more in the top of the ninth, Washington was able to beat the Giants by a final count of 6-3. The Nationals are now 11-21, while the Giants are 18-15.

Zimmerman’s 30-game hitting streak was the second longest in franchise history. The longest was 31 games by Vladimir Guerrero in 1999.

Ryan Zimmerman (Image: Zuma Press)

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Ryan Zimmerman Sees Hitting Streak End

5. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners will likely be improved from last season. They have a relatively high-priced roster so Seattle can expect less bad luck this year. That said, they will likely remain a top five worst team.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates simply don’t have enough talent. They’ve played hard the last few years but without the necessary talent, it’s difficult to put victories on the board.

3. Baltimore Orioles
Although the Orioles made a few runs at big name players, they once again had a disappointing offseason. They do have a few young players would could breakout but the team will still lose — a lot.

2. San Diego Padres
After a bad season, the Padres spent most of the offseason shedding salary. That is never a good combination. San Diego is in for another long baseball season.

1. Washington Nationals
The Nationals will likely once again be the worst of the worst. They don’t have much star potential in their lineup or at the mound. Overall, Washington just remains a mess.

Washington Nationals Losers Again? (Image: Newscom)

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Top Five Worst Teams in Baseball

MLB has already started running their ad campaigns with various commercials, like the one below, that features someone sitting at a computer as you hear their thoughts out loud and see various words typed across the screen as if they were typing a blog post. MLB will call on some of its own players to star in these commercials, including Torii Hunter, Carlos Pena and Kosuke Fukudome, among others. I’m looking forward to seeing more of these commercials, and maybe it will keep me from turning the channel when Cook’s likeness was shown on TV last season.

In other baseball related news, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network has announced that they will broadcast more Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals games in HD next season. Oh boy! It’s hard to watch these two teams play at times in regular definition or in person, why do we need Hi-Def to see them play?

The network announced that it will carry “as many as 200″ broadcasts in HD. I would guess that would depend on just how well the Orioles or Nationals are doing next season, but I would guess MASN viewers may be only seeing the minimum of one game a week in HD. Which games will those be? You know… when the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees visit Camden Yards or when the New York Mets or Philadelphia Phillies visit the D.C. area.

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Blogging the postseason and HD in Mid-Atlantic states

Just 26,338 fans saw Guzman hit for the second cycle in Nationals history. Guzman hit a home run in the first inning and picked up a single in the second, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Guzman’s double came in the fifth inning and finished off the feat with a triple in the eighth inning to center.

Here is the video of Guzman’s cycle against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Cristian Guzman hits for cycle – Video

You already know my feelings on the Sabathia trade. The Indians didn’t get enough in return for the former Cy Young Award winner. Shapiro jumped the gun and sold off Sabathia out of panic.

Believe it or not, there are a few diehard Indians’ fans left (no – this is isn’t a Major League movie). Check out this video of one fan’s attempt at a tribute to his favorite team.

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Indians drop 10th straight