In N.Y., Tim Rohan writes the Dodgers hiring A's Assistant GM Farhan Zaidi as their new GM "seemed to be a bold move, and it reinforced a trend in which statistic-minded executives are taking increasingly important positions" across MLB (N.Y. TIMES, 11/6). In L.A., Steve Dilbeck notes the club has been "undergoing an amazing transformation the past few weeks, going from a mostly old-school front office to one brimming with guys who know 'analytics' and 'sabermetrics.'" They "moved Ned Colletti out" of the GM spot and brought in Rays Exec VP/Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman as President of Baseball Operations. Now he has reportedly hired Zaidi from the A’s, where he was GM Billy Beane’s "latest king of statistics." The team also is "poised to add" former Padres GM Josh Byrnes, who "prizes statistical analysis." Dilbeck: "The Dodgers have formed their very own Geek Squad" (L.A. TIMES, 11/6).
WHITER SHADE OF PALE: On Long Island, Marc Craig notes the Mets yesterday unveiled "several design changes" to their uniforms, including one in which they "dumped their off-white pinstriped uniforms in favor of a new bright-white version." The Mets also "did away with their plain bright white home jerseys, which had been a departure from tradition since they did not feature blue pinstripes." The Mets had been "wearing the bright white home jerseys" since '97. The Mets' new alternate road cap "features the familiar interlocking NY logo in silver lettering with an orange outline, and the "rest of the cap is blue" (NEWSDAY, 11/6).
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES: In Boston, John Tomase notes the MLB landscape has "inexorably shifted over the last five years," as it used to "take a complete team to win a World Series, but not" in '14. Tomase: "That leads to an obvious question as the Red Sox embark on their most important offseason in a decade -- does their way still work or must they alter their approach to compete in today’s leaner, scrappier game?" Whatever the Red Sox do this winter, GM Ben Cherington "doesn’t plan on being reactionary." He said, "I’m not saying there’s one way to do it. I just think we have to be careful of moving too far away from what we’re good at. I’d rather try to fix the things that just didn’t work this year and start there" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/6).
