It's June 13, and apparently we have our third major league manager firing. The latest victim -- according to scoop-master Ken Rosenthal -- of the ax is Manny Acta of the Washington Nationals. Considering that the Nationals are the worst team in baseball -- and at 16-43, it ain't close -- this can't come as a huge surprise to many. Acta will be replaced by Jim Riggleman, who took over after a firing last season in Seattle. He's also had stints managing the Cubs and Padres. In fact, he was the Cubs' skipper during the 1998 season that saw Sammy Sosa's 66 bombs and Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game. He shouldn't expect to see fireworks of that variety in Washington, though.

Seeing as how the Mariners really suck this season, I've kind of stopped paying attention to them. Of course, because of that, I forgot just how bad the team really is. Thankfully the three games I just saw them play against the White Sox in Chicago this week reaffirmed everything I previously knew.
John McLaren


























