Good news for all you true SABRs:
Alderson will work to bring in a few loyalists from his past to help implement his philosophy. According to several sources, he already has reached out to Paul DePodesta, whom he hired in San Diego, to help strengthen the Mets' statistical department and J.P. Ricciardi, whom he worked with in Oakland, to assist on player personnel. DePodesta, the former Dodgers GM, has to decide if he wants to leave the Padres for whom he is executive VP. A few executives briefed on the subject said they think DePodesta will join the Mets. Ricciardi, the former Blue Jays GM, is an analyst for ESPN who is weighing several options.
I know DePodesta, if not also Ricciardi, has many fans here at Amazin' Avenue. In many ways, he has represented everything the Mets are not over the past few years. Through his blog, DePodesta pioneered transparency and fan interaction from a front office. Also, as a central character in Moneyball, DePodesta is a symbolic figure in the continued acceptance of sabermetrics.
Both DePodesta and Ricciardi are former GM's, whose tenure was doomed by unfortunate circumstances. While neither were blameless in their own firings, DePodesta left the Dodgers in pretty good shape and Ricciardi did pretty well, faced with the impossible task of besting the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox.
We've got an all-star front office in the works, here.