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Mark Shapiro, normally the public face of the Indians, has given way this offseason to Manny Acta.

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Indians skipper Manny Acta: 'I want to become one of the elite six or seven' managers | Cleveland Indians - cleveland.com - - cleveland.com
Manny Acta sits down for a lengthy interview with Paul Hoynes.

The major acquisition the Indians seem to be targeting this offseason isn't a particular player, but the interest of the Cleveland sports fan. Two consecutive painful and disappointing seasons tend to drain the enthusiasm out of a fanbase, especially when this past season saw two high-profile players (Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee) get traded for prospects. And while last offseason the Indians made a splash by signing Kerry Wood to a big free agent contract, it seems extremely unlikely that type of move will happen this winter. The major moves have already been made, and aside from a couple roster decisions (Kelly Shoppach, for instance), the Indians seem content to play out the 2010 season largely with what they have.

The biggest move the Indians make this offseason will probably be the hiring of Manny Acta as manager. And to that end, the Indians have saturated the Cleveland market with him in hopes of winning him over with the fans. He's appeared on almost every radio show, in numerous newspaper and Internet articles, and on local TV to boot. Any semi-attentive sports fan in this town has probably seen or listened to or read about Acta in the past two weeks. And, in my opinion, it's been a great PR victory for the Indians, as Acta has come across very well in every interview he's done. He's come across as very prepared, understanding in detail the particular problems that face the Indians (for instance, noting baseball's adjustments to Fausto Carmona's sinker). He's been very open about his coaching philosophies, stressing his view that a manger should base his strategies on the abilities of players on the roster, not the other way around. Because the Indians do now have a roster of athletic players, the Indians will run, which will satisfy the Smallball advocates, but if the Indians become again a team of power-hitting plodders, Acta will adjust accordingly to an Earl Weaver style of managing.

In this particular interview, Acta answers all the basic questions about his coaching philosophy, including changing lineups, avoiding a slow start, the frequency of team meetings. He also speaks at length about his career as a player, and his accession up the coaching ladder.

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

The Omar! watch continues.

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Like last year, the Indians made most of their major moves during the season, not after it. Still, there are some moves left to made. First, there's the utility infielder spot...

Would Cleveland Indians be "high-profile" enough for Omar Vizquel to return? | cleveland.com
Bringing Omar! back to be a backup infielder does make some sense. There will be a small but tangible PR boost from the signing, and going on 43, Vizquel can still play decent defense. Bringing Jamey Carroll back would be better move, but he'll be more difficult to sign.

Tribe could use Vizquel's services again | indians.com
Another Omar! article, this time from Anthony Castrovince. He mentions a possible strategic downside to having Vizquel on ths club:

For one, it's expected that if the Indians do decide to pursue a veteran utility player in free agency, they'll need him to spell Valbuena at second base against left-handed pitching, and that's not exactly Vizquel's area of expertise. The switch-hitter batted .485 in just 35 plate appearances against lefties in '09, but he's a career .255 hitter against left-handers.

I'd like to see Valbuena get some at-bats against left-handers next year. He's only had 48 career plate appearances against southpaws, so that's not much to go on. And the Indians will be looking at Jason Donald as well, so I don't think this should prevent the Indians from bringing in Vizquel.

The major problem is his age. He's going to be 43 in April, and as well as he's kept in shape over the years, at some point he's going to break down.

Documentary makes way for the Choo Choo train | 아시아경제
Korean network MBC has produced a documentary about Shin-Soo Choo titled "Choo Shin-Soo, Hitting Major League At Last". This is a Q&A (in English) with Kim Sae-byul, the producer of the program. A sample:

Q: In that sense, you might need to put in some explanation for words such as "five-tool player" that the team’s coaching staff mentions.

Kim: I’m going to put them in subtitles. Because I didn’t really know what it meant. I first heard about the term "five-tool" when I was making this program. We are going to put in subtitles for everything the interviewee says and also for terminology that might need explaining. And we are going to put in all the dates and locations for footage of the games.

Philadelphia at New York

2009 World Series, Game 1

Cliff Lee vs. CC Sabathia, 7:57 PM

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Manny Acta.

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Anthony Castrovince is reporting that the Indians have hired Manny Acta as manager:

Acta was the first candidate to come to Cleveland for a formal interview, and he left a lasting impression. He has been signed by the Tribe to a three-year contract through 2012, with a club option for 2013.

Acta beat out Bobby Valentine and Torey Lovullo for the job. The Indians were expected to interview Don Mattingly this week.

Manny Acta began his coaching career in 1991 while still playing minor-league baseball. He got his first managerial assignment in 1993 with Auburn (New York-Penn League) at age 24, and worked his way up the Astros system, culminating with AAA New Orleans in 2001. He then left the Astros organization to coach third base with the nomadic Montreal Expos, then was hired by the New York Mets as an on-field coach in 2005. Meanwhile, he managed Winter League teams in Venezuela (1999-2000) and the Dominican Republic (2002-2004). He also coached his native Dominican Republic in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. So when the Washington Nationals tabbed him to replace Frank Robinson as manager in 2007 at age 38, he had been a minor-league manager or major-league coach for 14 seasons.

His 2.5 seasons with the Nationals is difficult to evaluate, since Washington's talent level was the worst in baseball during his tenure. His first season, the Nationals finished 73-89, and he received votes for NL Manager of the Year. The Nationals lost 102 games the following season, but I don't really think they underachieved. That season, the Nationals finished 15th in the NL in OPS, and gave up the second-most runs in the league. In 2009, with no appreciable talent additions, the Nationals started 26-61, and Acta was fired in August. The Nationals rebounded under interim manager Jim Riggleman to finish 59-103.

Acta brings several things to the table. He's managed at virtually every level of organized baseball, including in the Winter Leagues. He's fluent in English and Spanish, which is a major plus with the current makeup of major league rosters, including the Indians. Terry Pluto noted Acta's preparation, both for his interview with the Indians and when manager of the Nationals:

Many baseball people gave glowing reviews of Acta, but perhaps the most meaningful came from Atlanta manager Bobby Cox. He called the Indians unsolicited to say Acta was exactly the kind of energetic manager the team needed, adding that he thought Acta was "well-prepared" when Cox managed against him.

When the Indians hired Eric Wedge in 2003, many people in baseball raved about Wedge. In my research on Acta, I've seen similar endorsements. Obviously the difference this time is that Acta has already made his rookie managerial mistakes, though in baseball a manager's strategy rarely will turn a bad baseball team into a good one or vice versa. Ultimately the wins and losses come indirectly through player development, whether it be a young player breaking into the majors or a veteran player turning his career around. I'll be paying close attention to any impact this hire has on players like Kelly Shoppach, Fausto Carmona, and Jhonny Peralta, for if those players don't turn things around, Manny Acta's eighth inning pitching moves will be irrelevant.