WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein on Monday, a move manager Davey Johnson called "a shocker" in spite of the teams offensive woes this season. Washington entered Monday nights game against the Pittsburgh Pirates stuck in a three-game losing streak and with a disappointing 48-50 record. The team is tied for 28th overall in runs and ranks 27th in batting average. But Johnson was obviously upset with the decision by general manager Mike Rizzo. "Ive experienced a lot of things in my career -- Ive been traded, Ive been released, Ive been sold, Ive been fired. But today is arguably the toughest day Ive had in baseball," said Johnson, his voice cracking with emotion. "I respect Rick Eckstein. I think hes a great coach, one of the best hitting instructors in baseball. And hes just a great gentleman. So it hurts." Eckstein was hired as the Nationals batting coach before the 2009 season. He was the longest-tenured hitting coach in the NL East. And now hes out of a job. "Davey and I have a great respect for each other. This was a general managers decision," Rizzo said. "I respect Davey to the point where I run everything that we do by him. There are certain things that we may not agree on and this was one of them. I thought we needed a change, and so I made the change." Eckstein was replaced by Rick Schu, who for the past four years has been the teams minor league hitting co-ordinator. Schu was not expected to arrive in Washington until Tuesday. Schu will be asked to turn around an offence that produced only five runs over the weekend while being swept at home by the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Theres no one solution," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "Everyone just needs to play like theyre capable of playing. No coach is going to come in here and turn someone into a .300 hitter whos not a .300 hitter. You are what you are. If we play like were supposed to play, then well score runs." Rizzo knows this. But he felt the move was necessary anyway. "Rick Eckstein is a fine hitting coach. A lot of this falls on the players," he said. "The players are paid to perform and they havent. The voice of that and the guy whos in charge of that, I thought we needed a different perspective. A different way of doing things." Johnson told Eckstein of the switch on Monday afternoon. "I felt like I had to be the one to tell him. I owed him that much," the manager said. Hours later, Johnson still hadnt fully absorbed the move. "I tell you, it was a shocker," said Johnson, who tried his best to convince Rizzo to change his mind. "In my discussions about firing Rick, I said theres other options," Johnson said. "You can do it with me if you want to change the scenery or change the philosophy." Rizzo wouldnt dream of it. "Were not going to fire Davey Johnson, one of the best managers to have ever managed," Rizzo said. "Daveys a pro, has been through a lot of this stuff before, and you know, were not worried about our manager. Hes one of the best in baseball and I trust him." Johnson was the only one in the clubhouse disappointed over the move. Catcher Wilson Ramos said, "He helped me a lot with my swing, you know, so thats bad news for me. ... I saw everybody right now walking around the clubhouse with a face, you know, not happy. I tell you, we dont feel good right now." Schu has 16 years of coaching experience. Before coming to the Nationals, Schu spent parts of four seasons as Arizonas hitting coach. During that time, he worked with current Washington infielder Chad Tracy. "I had Rick years ago in Arizona, and Ive always felt very highly of him," Tracy said. "Great personality, brings a lot of life and energy to the clubhouse. Hes going to bring the same kind of hard-working attitude he had in Arizona. Hopefully, a new face around here will spark something new in us. I think thats what management is looking for." Sometimes, its just easier to fire the hitting coach than dump players or the manager. "The hitting coach position is the most volatile position in Major League Baseball right now," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "And if you dont believe me, just go look it up and check the industry out for the changes that have been made in the last five years. Right before I left Colorado, I had to fire a hitting coach and then hire a new one, so yeah, I think its the most challenged position." Pat Lafontaine Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Ryan Miller Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.officialsabresfanstore.com/authentic-zemgus-girgensons-sabres-jersey/ . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Alexander Mogilny Jersey .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Jeff Skinner Jersey . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Daniel Worrall, Joe Mennie and Chris Tremain have been chosen for Australias limited-overs tour of South Africa after the selectors were compelled to dig deep into the nations pace reserves to cover for the resting Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.For a series that will be played in conditions more suited to pacemen than the just completed bout with Sri Lanka, Worrall, Mennie and Tremain have been rewarded for breakout domestic seasons for South Australia and Victoria, the two sides that contested last seasons Sheffield Shield final.National selector Rod Marsh said the seam and swing bowling trio will be needed to support John Hastings and Scott Boland against South Africa and also the opening match against Ireland. Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Peter Siddle were among the bowlers not able to be considered due to injury. Usman Khawaja, who played two ODIs against Sri Lanka with scores of 6 and 0, was left out of the squad. Adam Zampa is the frontline spinner in the squad with Nathan Lyon also omitted.Chris, Joe and Daniel all had terrific summers last year and have also impressed us during the recent Australia A series with consistent performances, Marsh said. They are young players with a bright future who thoroughly deserve their selection and we look forward to seeing them work with John Hastings and Scott Boland, who have both performed well for Australia since returning from injury.Mennie and Worrall formed a potent seam and swing combination alongside Chadd Sayers for the Redbacks last season, while Tremain moved from New South Wales to Victoria and soon found himself spearheading the bowling attack for the team that eventually lifted the Shield.I think consistently playing has been a big help, Tremain said in Melbourne. People keep saying I got starved for opportunity in NSW but I dont think that was the case. It was a matter of not doing the right things at the right time to give yourself an opportunity to play there. Coming down to Victoria I got a few good opportunities early, did ok and rolled with the punches early.Then, rather than worrying about whether I was going to play the next game I worried about the next ball or how I was going to stay in the moment rather than worry about what had gone or what was going to happen. If there was any big change in my game it would be more upstairs in my head than anything else. Playing consistently and not worrying too much about whether I was going to play the next game, was a big step.Tremains first Australian tour will coincide with that of the new assistant coach David Saker, who took up thhe role as Darren Lehmanns deputy after helping guide the Bushrangers to the Shield.dddddddddddd A plain speaker, Saker has ensured Tremain stays level in mindset, neither seduced by success nor downtrodden by failure.He just called and said what are the odds that my first tour is your first tour? Tremain said. Hes good and hes no punches pulled, so Im sure regardless or playing for the Renegades or Victoria or Australia coming up, if Ive done something wrong you get scolded for it and rightly so.If you do something right its not a big pump up, its a pat on the back and congratulations for doing your job. Hes really good at keeping people level, keeping people concentrated on what they need to do and not getting too far ahead or behind what theyre doing.While South African pitches should provide more assistance than Sri Lanka, Tremain said that the high benchmark being set by the likes of Hastings gave him a level of consistency to aim for. Ive been watching the ODIs in Sri Lanka at the moment and they look like theyre very difficult to bowl on, he said. Watching John Hastings and Scotty Boland work over there, [James] Faulkner, the way they go about their business on flat wickets is a really good viewing point for wickets that might offer a little bit more.Doing the hard work on these flat wickets just makes it that little bit easier on a wicket that might offer a bit more. Rather than looking at what we might get in South Africa Ive been looking at what its like when it is really hard and flat and you cant get the ball up around their ears or get it to swing. Viewing that sort of stuff has put me into a mainframe that things are going to be difficult, they might not be as difficult as Sri Lanka, but if I prepare for something really difficult and get a pleasant surprise, then grab it with both hands.Travis Head retained his place in the ODI squad following a series of cameo performances in Sri Lanka, but there was no room for Glenn Maxwell. Mitchell Marsh returned to the squad after being rested from the Sri Lanka ODIs, while the captain Steven Smith also returned to the ranks.Australia will play Ireland in Benoni on September 27 followed by the five ODIs against South Africa starting September 30 in Centurion.ODI squad: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, George Bailey, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Chris Tremain, Matthew Wade (wk), Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa. ' ' '