It wasn't the kind of comment you heard often last season, when the Tigers ranked next-to-last in the American League with a .981 fielding percentage and had the second-most errors with 113.

Errors, however, don't tell the whole story of a defense. The balls fielders don't get to also significantly impact the runs allowed. Detroit ranked 24th out of 30 major league teams in a defensive efficiency formula calculated by Baseball Prospectus. Balls put into play that are converted to outs are used to determine efficiency.

But, after making changes at half of the eight regular positions, Tigers manager Jim Leyland no longer has to get defensive when discussing defense.

"I don't know if there is such a thing as an exciting defense," Leyland said Tuesday. "But our defense on that (left) side has a chance to be exciting."

The Tigers, who open the Grapefruit League season here at 1:05 p.m. today against the Atlanta Braves, have made upgrades. Three of them are on the left side of the diamond:

-- Shortstop Adam Everett covers as much ground as anybody at his position, and many believe his soft hands and fundamentals are second to none.

-- Third baseman Brandon Inge, a rare athlete, no longer is the catcher and returns to a position where he's been a vacuum cleaner in the past. Leyland said Inge and Seattle's Adrian Beltre are the league's best fielders at the hot corner.

-- Catcher Gerald Laird, considered a near equal to former Tigers star Ivan Rodriguez in the declining years of his career, was obtained from the Texas Rangers. He has a good reputation for handling pitchers and playing solid, all-around defense. Ditto for new backup Matt Treanor.

-- Left fielder Carlos Guillen, an All-Star shortstop and third baseman the past two seasons, will bring his grace, glove and instincts to a corner outfield spot. Guillen was an outfielder when he signed as a teenager, and already looks comfortable there.

Placido Polanco, the 2007 Gold Glove winner who owns the major league record of 186 consecutive errorless games at second base, and center fielder Curtis Granderson are the only strong defenders back at the same positions.

Miguel Cabrera, who Leyland predicts eventually will be a "great first baseman," already is competent there since switching infield corners last April. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez, one of the league's top hitters, is adequate on defense.

Cabrera, Guillen and Inge switched positions during 2008 and Edgar Renteria, now with the San Francisco Giants, was the new shortstop.

"We now know going into spring training what we have," Tigers infield coach Rafael Belliard said. "All that was tough for me and the players last year. This year, we have better concentration and will make the plays and turn the double plays when we need to.