Well, with the current state of the Yankees, it’s hard not to read those comments and put a little substance into them.
The abscence is as good an explanation as any other, no?

Willie’s talking about George. Cash should stop being so touchy.

I think that because Randolph was reliable, always there, did what was asked of him, etc, he may have felt that he was taken for granted. And that could be where the “underappreciated” comments come in.

I think this is about dollars. I know a guy whose father runs into Willie sometimes. I recall a couple of years ago, this guy telling me that his dad saw Willie at a 7-11 in NJ and Randolph was lamenting then about possible pay cuts for the coaches.

Willie probably figures he should have been paid more, and that’s why he was “underappreciated.”

Just a guess.

So much for the “Willie gets managerial exprience elsewhere and returns to Yankee stadium in a few years” hypothesis.