The Jim Leyland era with Detroit dawns Monday in Kansas City when the Tigers open the season against the Royals.

It remains to be seen if the Tigers, who were 71-91 last season, will be interesting on the field.

It's a given, however, that the coaches' office will be interesting.

Former Pirates players Andy Van Slyke, Don Slaught and Rafael Belliard will be in there, as well as former Pirates player and manager Lloyd McClendon and former Pirates manager Gene Lamont.

"It will be a very interesting staff," McClendon said. "And I think it has a chance to be pretty darn good."

"I think it's a good staff, to be honest with you," Van Slyke said. "You have two former managers on it -- and one guy who thinks he should have been a manager [Slaught]."

Leyland said he'll love having Lamont and McClendon with him.

"You have that much brainpower and you're also in a comfort zone, personally," he said. "That gives you a leg up.

"They're not going to be afraid to tell me if I messed up. We're going to play golf together, hang out together and try to figure this thing out together, and it's going to be fun again."

"I don't know if it's ever been done before," Lamont said. "It's strange, but I think Jim made a smart move getting Mac. Mac and Jim get along real well."

Coming to town

The Tigers visit PNC Park during interleague play for a three-game series that begins June 30.

"It will be great," Leyland said. "I know some of [the fans] are going to boo me and some will come down to see me, but that's just the way it is. It is what it is, that's what it is.

Does [possibly getting booed] hurt? Yeah. Do you like it? No."

Trial run for Van Slyke

Van Slyke might be a short-termer as a major-league coach.

"I'll do it for a year and figure out if it's in my makeup," he said. "Until then, why not find out about the other side [coaching] from the best manager?"

Back to Boston for Wells

David Wells wanted the Boston Red Sox to trade him during the winter. They didn't. Or couldn't. So it's back to Boston for Wells.

For good or bad.

"The Red Sox Nation [is] fantastic," Wells told the Boston Globe. "That's a good thing. I'm not disrespecting them in any way, shape or form. But, as an athlete, it's hard to live by their standards. I believe [the city] is so compact you get subjected to a lot of fans."

Making it difficult to go out in public.

"The worst I've ever seen," Wells said. "It's hard to go out there and enjoy yourself because there are crazy fans. Anywhere you go, they want a piece of you. They want to talk shop. When I leave the park, you ain't getting nothing out of me. My day's over with.

"You might get a 'Take a hike. Go bother somebody else.' You're subject to a camera, a cell phone camera. That should stay at the ballpark. I went out three times last year."

Fun?

"[Heck] no," Wells said. "I almost got in a fight one of those times. The guy was a smart [mouth] because I wouldn't take a picture with him. But, hey, we'll get through that. We'll work on it."

Malaprop alert

Barry Bonds, whose contract expires after this season, has waffled about this being his final season. "We'll tackle that bridge when it happens," he said.

It's just Monopoly money

Leyland, mindful the minimum salary for players is just over $300,000, won't fine his Tigers for rules violations.

"If I tell these guys they're fined $200, they're going to give me a tip," he said.

Lost in Colorado

Colorado first baseman Todd Helton truly is one of the greatest players about whom hardly anybody talks.

That's because fans tend to forget about him because he plays for the lowly Rockies, who never seem to get any better, let alone contend for a division championship.

"It's like, come on, he needs to go somewhere where he has a chance to win," said pitcher Shawn Estes, a former Rockies teammate. "Let everybody see how great a player he is."

That's a nice thought, except Helton doesn't want to leave the Rockies.

"I'd kill myself if I wasn't here and we started winning," Helton told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The ball's in his hands

When the news conference in Cincinnati announcing Wayne Krivsky as the Reds new general manager was about to end in February, new owner Bob Castellini signed a baseball and tossed it to Krivsky.

"This officially turns the baseball operations to you," Castellini told Krivsky.

Krivsky, who'd wanted to be a general manager for years, said he'll treasure that ball.

"You won't find this on eBay," Krivsky promised his new boss.

The waiting is the hardest part

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox don't renew their rivalry this season until May 1 when the Yankees visit Fenway Park.

It might be difficult for Red Sox manager Terry Francona to wait until then.

"I couldn't sit still," Francona said of his first Yankees-Red Sox series in 2004. "I was so nervous. It was exciting. I've been in the game a long time, but I was bouncing around.

"I tried my first year to downplay the Yankees. You can't do it. [The rivalry] is off the charts."

A thief and proud of it

Left-hander Kirk Rueter retired from the San Francisco Giants several weeks ago. Rueter was immensely popular with his teammates and the fans ... and the media.

Rueter, who lives in southern Illinois, has big plans for the Giants' first visit to St. Louis this season. He wants the players to come to his home and told reporters they would be welcome, too.

"So you can see all the stuff I stole from the clubhouse over the years," Rueter said.

Left out in Cincinnati

Cincinnati's Jacob Cruz doesn't play much during the regular season. He plays a lot during spring training, however, so he can sharpen his timing for his primary job of pinch-hitting.

So it was a little strange early this spring when Cruz didn't see his name on the travel list when the Reds played against the Yankees in Tampa.

"First time ever," he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "It felt weird. I thought I was fired."

Now that's a deep hurt

Milwaukee general manage Doug Melvin is from Canada and was therefore particularly bummed when Team Canada lost to Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.

Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "I won't be drinking Corona for a while."

The latest from Rich Donnelly ...

Grady Little is Jim Tracy's successor as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"People think Grady is a good old country boy because of [his] southern drawl," Dodgers third base coach Rich Donnelly told ESPN.com. "But his mind is a steel-trap mind. He might talk real slow, but he listens fast."