Kovacevic: Cherington's welcome without the wow

Ben Cherington won't blow anyone away. Not visually. Not verbally.

And that comes with a welcome feel, at least from this perspective.

One might think that this particular Monday at PNC Park, maybe more than any day in Ben Cherington's 45-year life, would've been the one where he'd try to turn it up a notch. To get a little visually expressive. To sound a little verbally stoked.

Nope. It never came.

I mean, sure, he'd become a GM once before, back in 2011, but that was after 14 years with the Red Sox in his native Boston. Everyone knew him there, and he knew everyone right back. But on this occasion of being introduced as the top baseball man with the Pirates, a new team in a new city with new faces all around, it would have been plenty fair to expect him to be a little wound up. Or, more to the point, to attempt to prove himself to Pittsburgh in the span of, oh, an hour or two.

I kept waiting, even prodding him a time or two in our site's 20-minute interview session with him, Bob Nutting and Travis Williams. And again, it never came.

I promise, I'll get to the inside-baseball stuff in a bit, but that was the most compelling immediate impression the man made on me. He's got a cool, calm aura of confidence about him. Ask him a question, and he'll answer without hesitation but also, palpably, without worrying what anyone will think of it. And at the same time, raise a point with him, and he'll pause, look right back in the eyes and legitimately consider it.

Oh, he laughed when something was funny. Cracked a small joke or two himself. But the above trait felt almost overwhelming through this session. In a room where a handful of us had points to make, he was the grounding force at the center. He'd wait till everyone was done, all eyes would gravitate toward him, and he'd end up hitting one over the fence.

Without caring that he did.

When I asked, for example, about the importance of evaluating one's own talent -- a shortcoming of the previous front office that appears to have irked Nutting like no other -- Cherington could've come back with some kiss-up-to-the-boss response. Instead, it was this: "I don’t see the process of evaluating them as any different than how you would outside the system. You just have more information."

I dare say this is good for the Pirates. Frank Coonelly never left lawyer mode and thus, even when he was sincere, no one bought it. Neal Huntingon never left warp-speed analytical mode and thus, even when he was being brutally honest, he'd come across as a curious combination of insecure and condescending. Clint Hurdle, a brilliant public speaker who does so right from the heart, often offset both, but never completely.

From what I gathered in this initial encounter, Cherington won't ... well, he won't care. Meaning whether or not he impresses. Or whether or not the right message was sent. Or whether or not it plays well on his weekly radio show or any other public setting. Because, if he's as comfortable in his own skin as he appears -- and we're talking about someone who turned down two other chances a year ago to interview for GM openings with the Mets and Giants -- that'll be enough for him.

If I had to guess -- and that's all it can be this soon -- that stems from his documented history of being meticulous and methodical in everything he does. As he'd word it on this day when I broached minor-league player development, "It’s about wanting to be great at every little thing."

Remember when Hurdle was hired and how, at his press conference, he strikingly spoke of having asked more questions of Nutting and the front office than they had about him?

Yeah, it felt similar when Cherington told us, "I’m really confident in the resources that are available across the baseball infrastructure -- including the major-league team — based on what I know to be fact, seeing it on paper. And also based on getting to know Bob and Travis, and just getting that deep feeling of how committed they are to this team and this city."

But when it comes from Cherington, in that super-serious tone, one can actually envision him "seeing it on paper." Meaning the team's financials.

That's neat. That's a needed dynamic.

• Photographers see things that we regular humans do not. As such, shortly after rifling through his many snaps from this session, our Matt Sunday casually observed: 'I legit think he's Batman.'

That's fair:

• Anyone still fixated on payroll, in all likelihood, doesn't follow Major League Baseball closely enough to engage in the discussion. Not being mean here, but it couldn't be more obvious after these past dozen years where payroll ranks on the Pirates' list of problems.

• I still can't detect any appetite for a full-blown rebuild. Not with Cherington's answers, when I asked. Not with Nutting, for sure. As was the case three weeks ago, he absolutely lit up the moment I mentioned Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman and other current young players. And he knew I was raising them in the context of building around them.

• Doesn't mean no one will go. Doesn't mean no one should go. Starling Marte's 31, but he's coming off probably the most complete season of his career, and he's got two years of affordable control at $11.5 million in 2020 and $12.5 million via club option in 2021. Reynolds can't come close to rivaling Marte's defense, but he's capable in center. This could be a place to begin restocking the minors.

• Or hey, Josh Bell, too. Hurts to mention either guy, to be honest, as I've known both since they were 18 and respect them in every way. But Bell's only 27 with three years of control, all through arbitration, and he'd bring a mint with a smart GM at the wheel.

This is why I asked Cherington if he could envision a hybrid approach to a rebuild. Because I have a hard time doing that. I really do. The system's bankrupt. And the Pirates can either wait for years and years for that to change through a natural course -- draft, international, etc. -- or they can swing for the fence in this regard while the honeymoon's in full effect.

Just a thought. Not necessarily a stance. Yet. It'll depend on Cherington's independent assessment of the state of the system.

• Let's hope it's truly independent.

I'm not saying that because Cherington acknowledged communicating with Huntington a few times through the process and that Huntington was "extremely helpful." It was smart on Cherington's part to do due diligence, to study the setting. But Cherington also told us that he's not immediately planning more front-office moves and stated, "My belief at the moment is there are really good people here and that the Pirates are already doing certain things pretty well."

Ideally, the key phrase therein is "at the moment." The Pirates undoubtedly do have some good people currently in the fold. They don't have that many to make a blanket statement like that, much less to take that approach.

• Nutting's damned serious. I've never seen him like this. Not even when he took over in 2007. It almost feels like it's become personal, the opportunity to prove himself.

Hey, tear me to shreds for writing that. I don't care. I'm not here to pander. I'm here to share what I think.

• Repeating into infinity: He needed to fire everyone. He did fire everyone.

I keep hearing and reading from the fan base how it's about action rather than words. Well, those were some rather significant actions. Now, more is needed.

• Credit where due: Roger Goodell and the NFL completely crushed it with the Myles Garrett and Maurkice Pouncey suspensions, as well as all related suspensions and fines to date. The decisions have been fast and firm.

It doesn't exactly dovetail with the hot-take culture to say such things, but hey, I genuinely don't take issue with any of it. Including the hefty fine Mason Rudolph's still expected to have levied. Including both teams being fined the same $250,000 for leaving their respective sidelines at the same time.

Just perfect all-around. A powerful message was sent, the right people were punished the right way, and a very bad matter was put to rest.

• Here's what's not OK: We still haven't picked up a peep from league offices about either of the vicious helmet-to-helmet hits that concussed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson. The Browns' Morgan Burnett and Greedy Williams were guilty on the former, Damarious Randall on the latter and, from my view, the worst by far.

What the league's done to date hasn't stopped or even slowed helmet-to-helmet hits. Someone will die from one of these. Don't wait until it's too late.

• Rudolph still hasn't started a single game in which he's enjoyed all three of the following:

1. A non-collapsing pocket

2. A reliable running game

3. A receiver performing well

Come to think of it, he hasn't started a single game in which he's enjoyed even two of those three.

How about we hold off on sweeping pronouncements about his future in the NFL until that happens, oh, maybe once?

• It's not that the Steelers can lose in Cincinnati if their offense remains as rancid as it was in Cleveland. It's that they will lose. And based on what little we can know in this moment about the health of James Conner, Smith-Schuster and Johnson, I'd be taking the Bengals for big win No. 1.

• The offensive line's been lousy and Pouncey being out won't help, in that B.J. Finney now has to line up at center rather than threatening Ramon Foster at left guard. Foster hasn't been anywhere near where he needs to be all season.

Oh, I suppose Mike Tomlin could slide Matt Feiler to left guard, as he did specifically to face Aaron Donald, and have a very capable Chuks Okorafor take right tackle. But that feels like too much movement, in addition to the unsavory visual that signing Foster to a significant contract this past offseason -- two-years, $8.25 million -- would be perceived as a mistake.

I love the guy, but maybe it was. He needs to be better. They all do.

• A hearty congratulations here to Jim Rutherford on his Hall of Fame induction last night in Toronto. He's richly deserving for everything he's represented on and off the ice for decades now.

My personal favorite J.R. trait is the pregame grunt. Never try to speak with the man in the couple hours before faceoff. Doesn't matter which game, which opponent or when during the winter, he's wholly unapproachable. And no, it doesn't matter by who, whether it's that guy pictured with him above or the elevator operators at PPG Paints Arena. You say hello, and he'll just grunt back.

It's not to be impolite. It's because he's already that deeply absorbed in the main event. Old school as he is, nothing ever tops the importance of that evening's game.

• Anyone still remember when he was supposed to be basically the gatekeeper/mentor to Bill Guerin, Jason Botterril and Tom Fitzgerald?

Well, he was, and let's not alter that particular script. Because it's also to Rutherford's inestimable credit that he saw his age -- he's now 70 -- not as an impediment but as a strength.

As he elegantly offered in his acceptance speech last night, "What I've learned the most in my life and my advice to people is: Don't let anyone tell you you can't do something. That was the story of my career. The more they told me I couldn't do things, the more it turned out that I did."

• Here's betting Rutherford's next big trade will be to send Nick Bjugstad out. Once he's recovered and resumes producing a bit, of course.

Bjugstad's got a big frame and a bigger heart, and he's eminently capable of contributing more than his solitary goal -- and solitary point -- through 10 games before getting hurt. But he also comes with a $4.1 million cap hit this season and next, and that's far too much when Sam Lafferty's in the mix and needs a roster spot in the NHL.

• On that note, complete this sentence any way you'd wish: I'd rather have Adam Johnson in Pittsburgh than ...

• If that answer's Dominik Simon, it's an automatic disqualification.

• Dominik's again the Penguins' Corsi King, by the way ... except that it's Dominik Kahun.

Really, in addition to the five goals he's put up in the past eight games, he's also atop the team's list of forwards with a 57.67 Corsi For percentage, signifying that he's been on the ice for 203 shot attempts by the Penguins, 149 by their opponents. That's outstanding, for those still getting a grasp on hockey's advanced analytics. Shows he's been responsible both defensively and with the puck.

Maybe that Olli Maatta trade will still pan out.

• Watch all 36 seconds of this power-play shift from Saturday night, culminating in a Jake Guentzel goal, and tell me why Evgeni Malkin shouldn't remain on the half-wall — even once Sidney Crosby returns:

His ability to dart back and forth, in an out, keeping the goaltender on edge because he's a threat to shoot from anywhere ... that's what Phil Kessel brought from the other side. And candidly, that specific facet's what's been missing the most.

• Can't recommend strongly enough for baseball fans to consume our whole interview with Cherington, Nutting and Williams. Much material there.

It's the freshest start conceivable. Let's see.