Tuesday marked a new era for the franchise, at least in the interim. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al examine the pregame comments by Miguel Cairo & Mike DeBartolo. Cairo was elevated from Bench Coach and was emotional when discussing his long time friend Davey Martinez. The Nationals lost his debut 4-2 at the Cardinals after a lengthy rain delay.

(05:10) DeBartolo made it clear that the organization will be revamping how it uses data and technology while he is in charge. He has a busy first month on the job as the Draft is this weekend and the Trade Deadline is at the end of July.

(17:10) Addressing the elephant in the GM room.... what to do with MacKenzie Gore?

(22:30) Cairo has been an interim manager before as he took over the Chicago White Sox in the final few months of the 2022 season. Among the minor changes Cairo made, Bob Henley will return to D.C. as a MLB Field Coordinator.

(26:20) James Wood nonchalantly made a leaping grab over the LF fence to rob the Cardinals of a homer.

(31:00) Jake Irvin took the loss as he allowed four St. Louis runs in six innings of work. Mark mentions that it was another instance of Irvin showing declining velocity on the mound.

(32:45) Keibert Ruiz was moved back to the 7-Day Concussion IL and Drew Millas returned from AAA-Rochester.

A few hours after a 6-4 loss to Boston, the Nats fired GM Mike Rizzo & Manager Davey Martinez. Mark & Al react to the major organizational moves as it is truly an end of the an era. Rizzo became the permanent GM in 2009, Martinez became skipper after 2017, and they were the GM/Manager combo for the 2019 World Series championship.

(13:15) Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that he had to "navigate that ownership group for 20 years", which leads little to the imagination. Mike DeBartolo has been elevated from Assistant to interim GM and the managerial position will be addressed on Monday's off-day.

(19:00) Rizzo was masterful at trades, but not so much at drafting.

(24:45) Would any manager have had positive results with this roster the past few years? This was Davey's first Managerial job and he is by far the longest tenured skipper in team history.

(32:20) Ownership uncertainty is front and center in the search for the next GM. Will some qualified candidates shy away from this job?

(39:40) Will Rizzo & Martinez get these same positions with other teams in the future?

(44:00) Washington begins a six game road trip on Tuesday night in St. Louis after these major changes. Early indications are that the interim manager will either be Miguel Cairo or Matt LeCroy.

The Nats were crushed 10-3 by the visiting Red Sox on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al recap the poor defensive showing which was exacerbated by the 7-run top of the 3rd for Boston.

(04:15) Mitchell Parker committed a fielding error in the disastrous 3rd inning and the other came by corner infielders. Mark points out just how poor the Nationals infield team defense has been this season. Parker stayed in the game and finished his day with three straight scoreless frames.

(18:30) Keibert Ruiz had a RBI ground out in an at bat that felt very predictable. The offense was put in a tough hole as it was behind 9-0 before the bottom of the 9th.

(24:00) Mason Thompson has been activated as he battles back from a 2nd Tommy John surgery. Zach Brzykcy was sent down to AAA-Rochester in the corresponding roster move.

(26:45) Derek Law was moved to the 60-day IL and it seems quite unlikely that he will pitch this season.

(32:00) Shinnosuke Ogasawara will start on Sunday for the Nats instead of Cade Cavalli. Why?