The Nationals fired five coaches before today's game:

Each was in his second year with the organization. Only pitching coach Randy St. Claire, as I mentioned earlier, will be retained. Before they all exited, I was able to speak with Harris, Tolman and Corrales. All said they thanked Acta for the opportunity; all handled the decision with grace.

No coach yet knew the next step. "Go home and start making a list of people to call," Tolman said.

This, of course, means less control for Manny Acta. My guess is they didn't want to make Manny available to the Mets, who need to decide about keeping Jerry Manuel. By firing Acta's coaches, upper management signals their disapproval but still gives their manager a chance to bounce back.