His hair is grayer. His glasses are a bit thicker. He now has a new right hip.
        Other than that _ and the fact that he now wears the foreign uniform of the Chicago Cubs _ little has changed with Alan Trammell, who returned to Detroit and to Comerica Park on Tuesday for just the second time since he was abruptly fired at the conclusion of the 2005 season.
        If Trammell harbors any bitterness at being bounced after wearing the Old English D for 24 years --  20 of those as a popular star shortstop -- he hides it well.
        “I’m happy on a baseball field. Tiger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Comerica Park, that’s where I feel most comfortable,” he admitted.
        Although the Cubs got in late from Atlanta on Monday night, Trammell, now 51, was up early Tuesday morning. He wanted to take one last look at Tiger Stadium, his home for two decades, before it is totally demolished.
        “It put a smile on me,”  Trammell said later. “That will never change. So many great memories for so many years.
        “I peeked through the fence. I could see the top of the first base dugout and I could see where the infield was. Basically, it’s all gone. It’s just a matter of taking the steel and the rubbish away.
        “There’s never closure,” he admitted. “Your memories are forever. It’s gone. It’s sad. But we move on.”
        When Trammell arrived at Comerica Park shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, he headed for his old office, outside the Tigers’ clubhouse.
        “It was great to see him,” declared Jim Leyland, the man who took Trammell’s place behind that desk.
        “This is his house as far as I’m concerned. Always will be. He belongs here more than I do. They don’t come any finer than that guy.”
        When I had concluded my conversation with Trammell, I shook his hand.
        “See ya, Rook,” I said, using the nickname I gave him in 1977 when he first joined the Tigers.
        Trammell smiled. “You’re still the only one who is allowed to call me that,” he said.
        Some things never change.  Hopefully, they never will.