“What I like about him (Trammell) is that he’s not afraid of failure. I was never afraid of failure, either. But now as I look back, my greatest thing was ignorance. I didn’t know I wasn’t smart enough to be afraid. If I was starting all over, I’d be afraid. But I wasn’t then. No, never.”

Torres and Kingsale maintained their lead Friday in the four-player centerfield derby. In a 7-4 split-squad loss to Montreal, Torres and Kingsale hit in the order’s top two spots for the second straight day. Torres had his third straight multi-hit game and is hitting .522 this spring. Kingsale also had two hits; he’s hitting .323.

“The one thing I don’t want to happen,” Anderson said, “is that I don’t want anyone thinking that what I have to say means something. Like I told Tram, and I told him the truth, I’ll come there because I really want to see how he operates, but I’ll tell you this, whatever I say to you privately, don’t pay any attention to it.
“Run it through your mind, but then use your mind, that’s what it is for. You were given that mind, now use it. People told me things when I started, and I listened, but I took what they said and ran off with it five different ways.
“That’s what Tram will do. It’s a blueprint, nothing but a blueprint of how things can be done, but it’s up to him to decide how to apply it. I could tell him some things about the ’84 Tigers or the ’75 or ’76 Reds, but they don’t pertain to this club. His club ain’t ready for that yet. You have to adapt it to you. He’s a bright kid, he knows that.”

Any Blue Jays fan who thinks a return to greatness in Toronto has been a long time coming should merely look to the Tigers. This is a historically significant franchise that has been in the toilet far too long. Here’s hoping they can finally get out.

This is two good games in a row for Eric,” manager Alan Trammell said. “He showed good reactions. He looks more comfortable. That’s what you hope for over time. What he’s done the last couple of days is definitely what we’re looking for.”

“I (Roger Craig) also help out with the Diamondbacks in spring training, and if they had someone like this, he would be in Double-A and Triple-A before going to the majors, simply because of the pitchers they already have at the major league level,” Craig said. “But the structure here is different. I don’t know what will happen with Bonderman, but they have a situation where if they want to they can bring him right to the big leagues.

“I’m not going to force it on anyone, but I’ll talk to everyone about it,” said Craig, the former Tiger pitching coach and split-finger guru who will spend the next week working with the Tigers.

One Cleveland official said of Bonderman: “They traded away Weaver and it looks like they got one in return who’s going to be just as good.”

Asked Friday about Smith’s remarks on the payroll, Ilitch said, “I’m not going to comment about Randy. I think Randy’s record speaks for itself.”

“I introduced him to the players, and later on in the meeting used him in one of the examples of hitting strategy,” Trammell said. “Some of our players will be asked — or forced, I guess would be a better term — in certain situations to take a pitch.
“Lou was a good guy to talk about this. When he was a leadoff hitter, he learned how to take pitches and forced himself to learn to hit behind in the count.”