FanHouse Randy St. Claire

Manny Acta is through as Nationals manager, according to a report on ESPNdeportes.com that quotes Acta directly. Bench coach Jim Riggleman is expected to replace Acta as interim manager, according to MLB.com.

Washington lost 5-0 to the Astros on Sunday to drop to 26-61 on the season, a mark that leaves it with an appalling .299 winning percentage, puts it on pace to finish the season 48-114 and all but assures that the club will wind up in last place in the NL East for the second straight season.

Acta -- in the middle of his third season at the helm of the Nationals and 157-252 as manager of the team -- has been the subject of speculation all season long, with FOXSports.com reporting that he had been fired back on June 13, a report that turned out to be premature.

Last week, when Pat Lackey told you about Odalis Perez's failure to show up at Nationals camp, he wrote that the "Nationals finished in last place with Perez and they appear pretty confident that they can duplicate the feat without him." They'll put that confidence to the test after releasing Perez on Monday.

That allows Perez to seek other employment, although there probabaly won't be too many suitors lining up to pay him more than $850,000 in this economy. Perez made a fuss about the lack of guaranteed money from the Nats, but he was going to make the team and guarantee himself the salary, so his real problem was with the amount. If he gets more, God bless him, but I wouldn't break ground on that pool just yet.