Trade rumors will run rampant throughout baseball this week as Friday’s deadline for making deals draws near. Some of the gossip may even have some basis in fact.
        The Tigers will not be immune. That worries Jim Leyland.
        “I think it can affect players, absolutely,” the Tigers manager admitted. “It would affect anybody.”
        One supposedly reputable national sports Web site started a rumor this weekend that the Tigers were interested in the Cardinals’ Troy Glaus. Leyland couldn’t wait to shoot that one down. “No disrespect to Troy Glaus, but his name has never been mentioned here, to my knowledge,” Leyland said. “I want to nip that in the bud.”
        Leyland didn't want Brandon Inge, who is hindered by a torn patella in his left knee cap, to worry about losing his job for no reason.
        Then White Sox TV announcer Steve Stone floated an ever more ridiculous rumor that the Tigers had their eye on Milton Bradley, the discontented Chicago Cub. A Web site pounced on Stone’s comment as if it were fact, adding fuel to the fire. “We have absolutely no interest in Milton Bradley,” Leyland declared, dousing that blaze as quickly as he could.
        “So much b.s. is thrown out there, it’s not fair to the players,” the Tigers manager said. “It’s brutal.
        “When there is legitimate stuff out there, I think that’s great. But just to throw stuff out there, that’s disrespectful. That’s just people there’s nothing to it. That’s not good.”