Manny Acta, employed by Cleveland in 2009 after 2 losing seasons as Washington’s manager, was fired by the Indians, who dropped from contention in July to last place in the American League Central.

Indians was inside 3 games of 1st place on July 21 before losing 21 of 25, going 5-24 in August, and at last sliding all the way to the bottom of its division. It certainly was not all Acta’s fault, but there were occasions when the Indians appeared to be going thru the motions and a lack of effort is not a positive reflection on any manager.

Acta went 214-266 in virtually 3 seasons with the Indians, who are just 21-50 in the 2nd half this season. Acta had one season left on his agreement.

The Indians expounded Acta will not return in 2013 on an off day before they opened a last homestand against Kansas City and the White Sox. If there’s any solace to Acta it’s that his final 2 games were road wins over the 2nd-place White Sox, who are chasing Detroit for the division title.

Bench coach Sandy Alomar, an ex Indians All-star catcher and fan favorite who may become Cleveland’s next fulltime manager, will replace Acta for the last 6 games of 2012.

Indians GM Chris Antonetti said the search for a new chief will begin immediately. Acta’s coaching staff will remain intact for the rest of this season. Sports scores

Antonetti, who doubtless shares some responsibility for the Indians’ stunning drop this season, declared the decision to dismiss Acta was made following discussions with Indians president Mark Shapiro and owner Paul Dolan.

”Unfortunately, our results on the field fell short of our expectations,” Antonetti declared. ”We made this call with the idea of improving moving forward.”

Antonetti shared in the responsibility for the Indians’ disappointing season.

”Ultimately, the responsibility rests with me,” related Antonetti, adding Acta handled the decision with class. ”Manny isn’t the just one the to blame. We need to take a hard look organizationally to see how we can do better. We all have higher expectations.”

Earlier this month, Dolan said he was not considering a managerial change, but the Cleveland Indians continued to stumble and left the club with little choice. Dolan indicated the decision was made by Antonetti, who is in his 2nd season.

”I have great respect for Manny and appreciate the effort he exhibited not only leading our team, but also the contributions he made in our community over the past 3 years,” Dolan said in an announcement. ”I absolutely support Chris’ decision to make this change and am confident that he will lead a tireless search to find the right individual to lead the club to our ultimate goal of winning the World Series.”

The 43-year-old Acta maintained a stoic attitude during the in the Indians’ insisted he was not concerned about his future but only about developing young players.

It didn’t help him that several Cleveland players underperformed this season while others couldn’t keep healthy.