by Grand Rapid Press

"I had Tom Candiotti in 1979 in Victoria (British Columbia) on a co-op team," Bryk said. "He had average stuff and got to the big leagues. But he never would have stayed long without the knuckleball."

Candiotti was 151-164 with a 3.73 ERA in 16 seasons in the majors.

"I think the same thing could happen to Eddie if he used it more," Bryk said. "That's just my opinion; I think he can be just like Candiotti. The Detroit Tigers might see it differently, but that's how I see it."

Bonine lost a no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning Friday night when Gordon Beckham hit a two-run home run. The homer was the key hit in Chicago's 2-0 victory.

Bonine has pitched primarily in Toledo the past two seasons, but has done well in three starts for the Tigers . Bonine has two quality starts in three starts this season, and allowed three runs in five innings in the other one.

Bonine said his amount of knuckleballs thrown hasn't varied in recent years.

"I throw five to 15 every game," he said.

When told of Bryk's urging to throw more and comparison to Candiotti, Bonine said, "I did not have the sinking fastball with the Padres that I have now. But Bryk helped me a lot when he coached me. I'll keep the knucklers at about this same number, though."

Bryk said the knuckleball is the reason Bonine ended up with the Tigers . That and a scout Detroit had named Joe Ferrone, whose report influenced Detroit's selection of him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 8, 2005.

"We sent him to the Instructional League in order to throw a lot of knucklers," Bryk said. "He was lights-out throwing 'em there, and Joe Ferrone wrote it up in his report. He convinced Detroit to make him a Rule 5.

"That's why you have scouts. And the day they drafted him, I went up to ( Tigers general manager) Dave Dombrowski and said, 'Your scout did a great job for you.' "

Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp likes the number of knucklers Bonine mixes in with his changeup, slider and fastball.

"That's a go-to pitch for him," Knapp said. "When he spots his fastball like he did and can follow with the knuckler, that's a pretty effective combination."

Seay suffers mild strain

Detroit left-handed reliever Bobby Seay is feeling much better and hopes to pitch against the Minnesota Twins as early as Monday. Seay suffered a mild strain of the left pectoral minor muscle Thursday, when facing Indians Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians. He came out after Hafner doubled with an ache in his chest.

"It was more pain than anything," Seay said before Saturday's game. "It was a dull pain that I was foreign to. But now it's 100-percent better than it was yesterday, and I hope it's going to be better still tomorrow.

"I'm doing everything I can to be back on the field Monday."

The Tigers begin a four-game series with the Twins that should decide the Central Division championship.

Sox pitcher impresses Leyland

Daniel Hudson, 22, will be making his second big league start today for the White Sox.

"He's got good stuff, boy," Leyland said. "He's got a live arm, a good slider and a good changeup. I was impressed."

Leyland watched Hudson limit the Minnesota Twins to one earned run on four hits over five innings Monday.

Hudson threw 98 pitches, walking four and striking out four. Minnesota scored three times against him in a 7-0 win. Hudson began the season at Class A and moved all the way up to the majors.

Hudson and Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge both were born in Lynchburg, Va.

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