Indians Pick Up Option on Acta

The Indians are not satisfied with where they finished this season, but the organization is undoubtedly pleased at the direction the team appears to be headed. Manager Manny Acta has played an instrumental role in that.

On Thursday, general manager Chris Antonetti opened a season-end sit-down with reporters by expressing his confidence in Acta's leadership and ability to take Cleveland to the next level. Antonetto also announced that the Indians have exercised Acta's club option for the 2013 season.

"I'm very happy," Acta said. "This is the place I want to be."

The Indians are coming off a promising campaign -- one in which they placed second in the American League Central despite a roster ravaged by injuries -- but the club believes it is capable of more. That starts this offseason, when Cleveland will tackle its holes and try to build a contender for 2012.

In his second season at the helm, Acta helped guide the Tribe to an 80-82 record, marking an 11-win improvement over last year's showing by a young and developing team. Along with some internal decisions, the Indians will look to add a bat and upgrade their rotation over the course of the winter months to improve even further.

Entering this season, Acta insisted that his team could vie for the AL Central crown, even though most prognosticators felt the team would reside in the division's cellar. That early confidence was backed up when Cleveland stormed out to a 30-15 record and held a seven-game lead for first place in the Central on May 23.

The Indians faded down the stretch, but Antonetti made it clear that he firmly believes the success the team did experience this year was largely due to Acta's influence in the clubhouse and expertise in the dugout.

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