Photo by Flickr user pjhaveri.

Ideally, this column is scheduled to run on Mondays. We held it until today because after this report by Fox Sports, and the Nationals subsequent non-denials, we were certain that Manny Acta was going to be fired yesterday. Well, he wasn’t. It still seems likely that he will be, it is more a matter of when at this point. If it happens before Sunday, you can expect Bethesda Big Train Baseball’s Nationals Night with Manny Acta bobblehead dolls to be the hot ticket of the season.

The Nationals are 1-5 in the last week, and 16-45 for the season. They are neck and neck with the ’62 Mets for the worst record in the modern baseball era. It should be an exciting race. In sunnier news, 16-year-old Bryce Harper has decided to get his GED so that he can enter the 2010 draft. According to Tom Verducci, Harper is either the LeBron James or Wayne Gretzky of baseball, and the Nationals have a firm grip on the first pick in the 2010 draft. So rather than watch the Nationals, check out Harper’s 502-foot home run (the section starts around 2:30), and dream of the 2012 Strasburg Harper Nationals in the World Series.

Game of the Week: This week’s game of the week is Friday, June 19, when the Nationals return to the District to face the Toronto Blue Jays. Jordan Zimmermann will be on the hill, the first 10,000 fans 21 and over get a free Natstown beach towel, and after likely being swept by the Yankees, it could well be Jim Riggleman’s debut as the Nationals interim manager.

Briefly Noted Nationals Farm Authority breaks down the team’s draft by position and by level… Rob Dibble defends the us of “we” in broadcasts… The team has signed 16 of their 51 draft picks, but not the ones people care about.

Meaningless Statistic of the Week: Alberto Gonzales, who has a .500 batting average while playing on astro turf, is tied for the lead in the National League among right handed hitting shortstops.