Newsday and ESPN are reporting that Willie Randolph turned down the Nationals offer to coach third base or bench coach for 2009. Apparently, he felt that the bad relationship with Manny Acta was too much to overcome.
The article goes on to say that if Randolph doesn’t get the Brewers manager job he’ll stay home next season and collect $2.25 million from the Mets.
My feeling is that Randolph shouldn’t stay away from the game for too long if he wants to get back into managing a team. Even if he doesn’t get the Brewers job he could coach someplace for a season and continue to interview for managerial openings.
He lost the Mets clubhouse at the end of his short tenure. So he can’t be too picky about where he winds up at this point.
The Mets Report 