Willie Randolph wants another crack at managing, and he’s willing to brave the chilly St. Louis elements just to get an interview. The former Mets Manager has decided to throw his hat in the ring for the now-vacant Cardinals manager position by camping outside of Busch Stadium until a decision is made.
“Yea, its cold, but it was worse up in Boston,” explained the Orioles bench coach, who has made a habit of camping outside Stadiums with open managing positions of late. “The South Side of Chicago wasn’t any better either, my damn tent kept blowing away.”
Ever since Randolph was fired by the Mets in 2007, he has yearned to someday manage again in the big leagues. While he’s failed to be anything more than a bench coach since then, he believes it’s only a matter of time until a desperate team calls his name.
“I’m using the friend-zone approach,” the former All-Star added. “When I courted my wife, I used to camp on her lawn day and night until she finally accepted my proposal.”
The Cardinals, who defeated Randolph’s Mets in the NLCS during their 2006 championship run, have been on Randolph’s wish list ever since, and with the retirement of longtime manager Tony La Russa on Monday, Willie seized his golden opportunity.
“If you can’t beat em, join ’em. Isn’t that what they always say?” said Randolph. “I always keep my camping gear in my truck, and St. Louis was only a four-hour drive when I heard the news. That’s fate baby.”
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is well aware that there is a former manager camping a few hundred feet from his office, but he refuses to give in to Randolph’s unorthodox tactics.
“He’s been tossing pebbles at my office window for a few hours now,” the World Series architect said. “We’ll probably throw him a courtesy interview, but we’re probably going to wait until it snows a couple times first.”
