ESPN is reporting that Willie Randolph has declined an invitation to join the staff of the Washington Nationals.

Since he is under consideration for manager of the Brewers and since an announcement can't be made until after the conclusion of the world series, is it a safe bet that Randolph may be signing on as the Brewers new skipper? Or, does he just still hate Manny Acta?

You'd think after a major Brewers choke two years ago and an almost Brewers choke this year, that Randolph would be totally wrong for the job as Brewers manager.  However, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is a lifelong Yankee fan and Randolph is one of the players he idolized.  Stranger things have happened.

The other two candidates are reported to be former A's manager Ken Macha and former D-Backs manager Bob Brenly.  It could be possible that both Brenly and Macha have declined the opportunity, giving it to Randolph by default.  Macha was the first choice for the Brewers a few years ago, but declined, giving way to the hiring of recently deposed skipper Ned Yost.

Yost, by the way, is under consideration by Seattlewhich is now being generally managed by former Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik.