As far as Tigers skipper Jim Leyland is concerned, this next road trip is more like it.

Rather than taking the short, 20-minute flight to Cleveland for three games this weekend — a process that stretches into hours, once you factor in airport security — the Tigers will be piling onto a pair of buses for the 2 1/2-hour drive to northeast Ohio.

The Tigers play Friday-Sunday at Progressive Field.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I really am. I think it makes a lot of sense, I think it’s a great idea. By the time you get packed up here, get out to the airport, get in, get bussed over to the hotel,” Leyland said.
“Last year, one time I drove home from Cleveland, and I was at the ballpark, and I was here before the bus was here.
“Don’t tell the Ohio State Patrol that.”

It will be a chance for the Tigers players and coaches to relive their minor league days — even if it’s not quite as lengthy as some of the old 12-hour bus trips Leyland had to endure as the manager of the Tigers’ old Triple-A affiliate, the Evansville (ind.) Triplets (now the Nashville Sounds).

“I think it brings you back to your roots a little bit, the minor leagues, get on the bus with the guys, bull (a bit). ... It’s kind of fun. Read reports, or (shoot the bull), or play cards or something. It’s kind of neat. Like the old days,” said Leyland, admitting that it won’t quite be like a trip on a Greyhound bus.
“This will not be your normal bus ride. ... We won’t be stopping at the McDonald’s on the (Ohio) Turnpike.”