There were a couple pairs of shoes lining the bottom of Dontrelle Willis' locker in Tigertown on Monday morning.

Nikes. Orange trim. Orange lettering. "DT" for D-Train on the back.

"Those new?" I asked.

What a great question. He couldn't be wearing teal with his new Tigers' uni now, could he? I might as well have asked if he'd be commuting from south Florida for each game.

"I mean, are those a new style for this year?" I corrected myself.

Willis just shook his head and laughed.

"They’re a little bit different, but they’re pretty much the same inside," Willis said. "They just put a little orange on there ‘cause I’m with the Tigers now."

For Willis, that qualifies as about the smallest change of the past year. In the Tigers' clubhouse, it was almost strange to see him as just another star in a locker room full of them. But while a change in scenery is being predicted as a good thing for Willis, who went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA in '07 , he just shrugged off the thought.

"I’m definitely happy to be around a great group of guys," Willis said. "But I’ve always been excited to come in the locker room and be a major league baseball player. It’s not dictated by who’s around me. I'm going to be working hard and having fun no matter who's around me."

So that scenery talk is overrated?

"Probably."

I have no idea if Willis will rebound in the spacious area that is Comerica Park. But judging from his willingness to accept change (he'll be wearing #21 instead of #35 which belongs to Justin Verlander), Tiger fans have one less thing to worry about. At the very least, it'll be fun for the Michiganders to watch him pitch in some nice kicks (which, again, aren't all that new.)