Tigers phenom Jeremy Bonderman has made scant use of his changeup in Florida, but one benefit of keeping him in the majors would be to put him under the tutelage of pitching coach Bob Cluck. Scouts say Cluck is a good teacher and strong proponent of the changeup. . . .

“Detroit hasn’t seen the real Dmitri Young play,” he said. “We had a little spurt last year, that’s about it. You all haven’t seen diddly. They didn’t see too much because I only had 200 at-bats [last year].”

“I love the catcher,” Anderson said Saturday, referring to Brandon Inge. “I love that second baseman (Omar) Infante. Oh, I like (Gene) Kingsale. I like that kid (Andres) Torres — he can run like a deer.
“There’s more hope at the rainbow than I thought.”

“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.”