Ausmus on sweep: "You feel like you let the fans down and you feel like you let the organization down"

The Tigers won 90 games to take the American League Central and were seeking their fourth straight appearance in the AL Championship Series. So to call being swept in the AL Division Series a letdown doesn't quite capture what first-year manager Brad Ausmus was feeling after Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Orioles. "It's disappointing. You feel like you let the fans down and you feel like you let the organization down. You feel like you let the Ilitches down," Ausmus told reporters at Comerica Park. "So it's disappointing, no question. But there is nothing we can do about it now. ... "It was kind of an up-and-down (season). We started hot and got extremely cold. Seemed to be a bumpy ride there after the All-Star break and really we weren't even in first place, I believe, going into the last month of the season or close there to. But the truth is the resiliency was always there and ultimately we did win the division, and that was the first goal. That was the first goal. The second goal was to win the World Series, and clearly we're not going to reach that one." The main problem for the Tigers was the bullpen blowups in the first two games of the series. Is there anything that Ausmus might've done differently to avoid a quick playoff exit? "I don't know that there is a ton that we would do differently," he said. "Quite frankly, I think Game 2 was probably the game that hurt us the most, obviously, having a lead going into the eighth inning. But again, I would have to reflect upon it to tell you what I would do differently." Ausmus said the differences in a tight Game 3 were fairly obvious - Nelson Cruz's home run that landed just fair and the mound matchup. "It was a well-placed home run, but Nelson Cruz is a pretty darn good hitter with the ability to hit the home run anywhere in the ballpark. So that happens," Ausmus said. "Really the story today was a pitchers' duel between David Price and Bud Norris, and the home run by Cruz. That's what it boils down to. Norris pitched outstanding. I don't know if our right-handers got a hit off him. To me, that was it." There were two close plays in the contest that resulted in Detroit outs. Andrew Romine's bunt to second in the second was scooped to first by second baseman Jonathan Schoop, and the runner was ruled out. The play was upheld on a challenge. In the third, Don Kelly was called out on a fielder's choice after a collision with Schoop near second. Schoop was shown dropping the ball and then while tangled up with Kelly, picking up the ball and tagging the runner before he could reach out to touch the bag. One could argue that Schoop obstructed Kelly on the play. Ausmus weighed in on both key moments. "The play at first was pretty straightforward. We challenged and the umpire or umpires in New York said that the play stood. I don't know that even I agree with that even now having seen the replay," Ausmus said. "The play at second, it's not really a challengable play anyway. There is some question as to whether or not Schoop fell on top of Kelly and blocked him, but it was probably more incidentally than anything else going after the ball. I don't know that anything could be done in that situation. ... "(I don't think it was obstruction) because I thought the throw brought the fielder into Donnie. I don't think he was intentionally trying to block him. I think that's just where he was. And the throw came off his glove and he tried to reach for it. Again, I've seen the replay. I don't know if anything could have been done differently. I don't know if the umpires could have seen it any differently." In the ninth, the Orioles gambled successfully after the Tigers had pulled to within one. With a man on second and one out, Orioles manager Buck Showalter chose to intentionally walk Nick Castellanos. The move paid off as pinch-hitter Hernan Perez then grounded into a series-ending double play. "It didn't surprise me," Ausmus said of the intentional walk. "Buck has been doing this a long time. I don't think he would do anything that would shock me. He would rather face the hitters coming up behind Nick Castellanos as opposed to Nick Castellanos." Ausmus received plenty of experience in his first year at the Tigers' helm, from winning a heated division race on the last day of the regular season to going through his first playoff series as a manager. He hopes that will be a positive for next year and beyond. "I think every experience helps you improve, and certainly as a first-year manager, there have been a number of things over the course of the season and certain things in the playoff that you learn from," Ausmus said. "I can't put my finger on any one thing, but certainly I will reflect back and there will be some things I point to that certainly I've learned from."