Randolph, Manuel on back burner

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - At the moment, new Mets manager Terry Collins doesn't have to worry about any revenge-motivated story lines this season from his two predecessors, Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel.

Randolph, who was fired by the Mets in 2008 during the infamous 3 a.m. axing in Anaheim, had served as the Brewers' bench coach. But Randolph did not even get an interview with Milwaukee when Ken Macha was fired, and surprisingly was not mentioned as a serious candidate for any of the other managerial openings.

Despite the bad breakup in Flushing, Randolph said last season he badly wanted to manage again. But it didn't look as though he would be employed for the coming year until old friend Buck Showalter hired him to be his bench coach with the Orioles.

As for Manuel, he has declined requests to be interviewed since the Mets refused to extend his contract at the end of last season. After meeting with the ownership group Oct. 5 at Citi Field, Manuel returned home to Sacramento. Like Randolph, he was not interviewed for any managerial jobs.