"Alan Trammell just had a disaster happen to him last year," Leyland said, referring to injuries to Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez, specifically, as he spoke during a half-hour visit with writers and broadcasters at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel. "Guillen and Ordonez, you put them back in the lineup and you've got two pretty good players."

Even at his introductory news conference in October, Leyland was careful to acknowledge Trammell and the pain he -- and Trammell's fans -- felt after Trammell was fired Oct. 2.

Trammell himself argued for much of the season that Guillen, who missed long stretches because of a sore knee, and Ordonez, who was gone for the first half of the season after hernia surgery, were the big reasons why the Tigers never came close to the .500 mark.

"The team came out of spring training with high expectations, and they realized they couldn't meet those expectations, everything went to (pieces)," he said, acknowledging that clubhouse tension was one of a bad season's byproducts.

Leyland won't be doing his General Patton impression two months from now when the Tigers meet for spring camp in Lakeland, Fla. Not in front of the entire Tigers roster, anyway.

"I don't ever address my team in spring training as a team," he said. "I separate it: I'll talk with the outfielders separate, the infielders separate, pitchers separate, and maybe mix in a catcher or two.

"That way they all have to look you in the eye when you're talking. You can look at 'em and know who's paying attention and who's not. Those are some of the little tricks you learn over the years."

"We're one of those teams that don't look very good," he said, acknowledging the Tigers' 12-year woes, "but I think we're a team with a couple of right ingredients that could get good, quick."

"In the National League, you have the eighth hitter and the pitcher," he said. "In the American League, instead of the pitcher, you might be facing David Ortiz."

The Blue Jays agreed to terms with starter on a five-year, $55 million contract. They also signed general manager to a three-year contract extension.

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