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." Fake Jerseys Outlet . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Fake Soccer Jerseys .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.fakejersey.com/fake-hockey-jerseys/ . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Fake Jerseys For Sale . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Fake NHL Jerseys . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is off to a slow start by his standards and the juniors lack of big runs and 100-yard games has raised a few questions.Cook has just one carry over 20 yards and is averaging 87 rushing yards per game heading into second-ranked Florida States showdown Saturday at No. 10 Louisville,Last season Cook already had 422 yards and six carries of 20-plus yards. Reasons for his slow start have ranged to lack of contact during preseason scrimmages, offseason shoulder surgery or being slower after adding 10 pounds during the offseason.Cook said it is none of the above.It is more of a case of taking what the defense is giving him without forcing things.No matter the down and distance it is, stay ahead of the chains. I think Ive done a great job of that this season, just taking what they give me, Cook said. Those long runs are going to come. I had to put that in my head, dont force the game.Coach Jimbo Fisher did think that Cook was a little rusty in the Sept. 5 opener against then-No. 11 Mississippi but was happier with his ground game in last Saturdays win over Charleston Southern.Just because your numbers arent the same doesnt mean youre not playing as well, Fisher said. I like his progress where hes at right now.Cook had only 11 carries against Charleston Southern but did average 7.6 yards per carry. He also had two touchdowns, including a 38-yard score in the third quarter.Against Ole Miss, he averaged 5.4 yards per touch and became the first FSU back in nearly 10 years to have a 100-yard receiving game.Cook worked on catching the ball during the offseason because he knew it was going to be a more integral part of the offense. Fisher iis also hoping that it reduces the wear and tear on Cook.ddddddddddddt just shows the versatility I have. It shows Im not one dimensional, that I can catch the ball out of the backfield, Cook said. I kind of like it. Getting one on one with the linebackers, just winning that battle.Louisville is well aware of Cooks versatility and big play capabilities.In last seasons game, Cook had 163 yards on 22 carries along with a season-high four receptions for 60 yards. On the opening drive of the second half, Cook broke four tackles for a 54-yard touchdown that gave the Seminoles the lead.Two years ago, Cook had 110 yards on nine carries, including a 38-yard score in the fourth quarter that put Florida State up for good.He makes quick decisions and hes extremely fast, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. He will be the fastest back we will play this year so weve got to do a good job of being disciplined in his gap controls and setting edges, and trying to make sure we get a lot of guys to the football.Safety Josh Harvey-Clemons, who was one of the four Cardinals defenders that Cook made miss last year, says the defense has seen that play often over the past year and that it has served as motivation.It was crazy, bad play for us, he said. Thats what happens when players make plays. It is up for us to stop him.---AP sports writer Gary Graves in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegfootball.ap.org---Follow Joe on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joereedy and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/joe-reedy ' ' '