If you got a few free minutes, you should definitely read Jerry Crasnick’s story on GM Jack Zduriencik for ESPN.com.  Crasnick is a solid baseball writer and it’s a good story about Zduriencik and the changes he’s brought to the Mariners.

It mentions that Zduriencik – he of the shorn head – got his barber’s license at age 16.

Here’s some more ..

Zduriencik’s secret talent might seem quaint and outdated in comparison to, say, Boston general manager Theo Epstein’s ability to play Pearl Jam on his guitar or Twins GM Bill Smith having a bachelor’s degree in French. But as long as Zduriencik keeps earning rave reviews for his day job, baseball fans in the Pacific Northwest won’t be complaining.

Time will tell whether Zduriencik’s offseason is the precursor to a 2010 executive of the year award, but he’s definitely made life interesting in Seattle, where it’s been wall-to-wall activity this winter. During the past 40 days, Zduriencik and his front-office team have done everything but (A) add a 30-home run guy and (B) built an ark.

And I also like this part …

The “Moneyball” philosophy is about exploiting marketing inefficiencies. Jackie-ball, its less heralded cousin, adheres to the principle that several incremental upgrades are preferable to one enormous Matt Holliday or Jason Bay signing and resultant big-splash news conference. Sometimes it’s preferable to zig when everybody else is zagging.

Also if you have ESPN Insider, which I highly recommend paying for just for the access to Buster Olney’s blog alone. You will find this story from Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus that breaks down the context of Zduriencik’s success.