In Cleveland, Joe Noga reports the Indians "will not make any major changes to their uniform design for next season, despite Nike taking over as the exclusive manufacturer" for all MLB on-field apparel. While Chief Wahoo "remains absent," the club's "popular red home alternate jersey introduced last November and the redesigned blue road jersey will return, along with the Block-C cap in both home (blue with red bill) and road (all blue) designs." Additionally, the Indians have "elected not to replace the All-Star Game patch on the left sleeve" of their jerseys for the upcoming season, "choosing instead to leave the sleeve empty" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 11/20).
BUILDING IT BACK UP: In Pittsburgh, Paul Zeise noted new Pirates GM Ben Cherington's introductory press conference on Monday was "more about sending a clear signal to Pirates fans that they are valued and that Owner Bob Nutting and company want them to come back and support the organization again." This past season, which saw the Pirates finish last in the NL Central with a 69-93 record, "turned off the fan base in a big way." But fans were "brought up by all three men" -- Nutting, new President Travis Williams and Cherington -- "early in their remarks Monday." That is "exactly the right approach because this past season was a public relations disaster for the franchise and the fan base clearly needs to be rebuilt" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 11/19).
VOICING DISPLEASURE: In S.F., Ann Killion noted judging by her social media and email inbox, the Giants "have a problem." Killion: "In the days since they announced the hiring of Gabe Kapler as the successor to Bruce Bochy, a flood of missives has arrived on my electronic doorstep." Some fans "speak of sadness, of a feeling of betrayal, of bad optics, of a sense of an ending." To say the Kapler hire is "not popular is to say that rents in San Francisco are a tad high" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/17).
