Who says spring training doesn't matter? Try telling that to Dontrelle Willis, Jeremy Bonderman, Joel Zumaya, Eddie Bonine, Brad Thomas, Alex Avila and Don Kelly, all of whom left Florida with big smiles on their faces.

For better or for worse -- and that certainly remains to be seen -- all seven are wearing Tiger uniforms today because of what they did in Lakeland during the past six weeks.

All seven were on the bubble right down to the wire.

Willis (2-0, 13 strikeouts,12 walks in 19 innings) and Bonderman (1-1, 6.92 ERA), were both battling for their big league lives. And both pitched well enough during their exhibition outings to convince the Tigers to restore them to the starting rotation and eat $9.6 million of the $10 million remaining on Nate Robertson's contract.

Zumaya's triple-digit fastball was enough to convince the Tigers brass they would rather have Joel (2-0 with 9 K in 9 innings) in the bullpen than with any minor leaguer they might promote in his place. 

Bonine, whose confidence in his knuckleball is increasing, earned a place on the team this spring. Bonine (1-0, 3.77 ERA)  can pitch in long relief or start in an emergency. He and Thomas (2.25 ERA) were in the right place at the right time when Bobby Seay and Zach Miner had to go on the disabled list.

The Tigers are grooming Avila to hopefully be their catcher of the future. Although Avila would benefit from playing every day at Toledo, Jim Leyland likes his left-handed bat on the bench so Alex, who batted .350 this spring, will continue his learning process at the big league level.

Kelly, who hit .355 in 23 games, gives Leyland the back-up center fielder he coveted. I think Clete Thomas has a bigger upside. But when Thomas was hit on the arm by a pitch, which hampered his throwing, that opened the door for Kelly -- although Leyland insisted Thomas' minor injury had nothing to do with the decision.

Having said all of that, don't attach too much significance to the Tigers' impressive 18-10-2 Grapefruit League record  -- third best in the American League behind Tampa Bay and Cleveland -- this spring.

It was the Tigers' second-best record in Florida since then moved into Marchant Stadium in 1966. The only spring the Tigers won more was in 2007 when they went 21-10-2. Then they finished a disappointing second during the regular season, eight games off the pace.

Spring training games are intended to get players ready for the regular season. Winning and losing is secondary. Most exhibition games are won or lost in the late innings by players who won't even be on the team.

Nevertheless, all managers, including Leyland want to win more often than they lose during the spring.

All things considered, this spring training was definitely a success.

But what happens next is what really matters.