Robinson Getting the Silent Treatment

"Not at all," he said. "In fact, I'm probably more committed to wanting to do it again because I still feel very good, and this ballclub has taken a different shape as the season's gone along. I like a lot of what we have here right now, and I think -- with the right mix next year, if you want to cut back or go young or whatever -- it could still be a good year."

Even if he's not rehired as the manager, Robinson's experience over a half-century in the game still is valued in some corners of the organization. Earlier this summer, Bowden said, "He has a knowledge of the game, an ability to dissect the game to such detail that very few people ever will be able to in this game."

That, then, would appear to leave open the possibility that Robinson could move into a front-office job should he not return as manager. But Bowden already has what appears to be a full staff of assistants and department heads: Bob Boone as the director of player personnel, Tony Siegle as the assistant general manager, Mike Rizzo as vice president of baseball operations, Jose Rijo as a special assistant and Dana Brown as the amateur scouting director. Robinson said he would want a front-office job only if he had "real authority, decision-making power."

And so, with the Nationals off on their final road trip of the season, Robinson waits. He said he is not nervous about the outcome -- "I'm beyond that," he said -- but there are deep concerns. If next week's series against Philadelphia and the Mets at RFK Stadium are to be his last in a uniform, he would like to know so he could, in an odd way, savor it.

"If it's time to go, at least I want to be able to say goodbye," he said. "I would like to be able to say, to the fans, goodbye -- and thanks."

And there is the matter of his age. He doesn't see himself as a typical septuagenarian, but he worries that baseball is what keeps him young. "There's no doubt about it," he said.

"I just know if I'm not active, my health is going to go pfffff ," he said, making a downward motion with his large right hand. "My body is used to being active. And then, all of a sudden, if it's not . . . close to the pace that I'm used to going at, certain parts of your body -- and I'm serious -- it's going to shut down. And I'm going to start acting like somebody my age."

That, he does not want. But how will it end, and when? In a week? In a year? In two? He said he doesn't know. So he will wait for a meeting with Bowden and Kasten and perhaps even Mark Lerner, the owner's son.

"It can end gracefully, depending on how the two sides would take it," Robinson said. "I don't see any reason why it couldn't and shouldn't end gracefully."