The sense of urgency is greater for some players than others. [Torii] Hunter, 38, has played 1,234 big league games and been to the postseason seven times with the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels and the Tigers, but he’s still waiting for his first World Series appearance. Although he’s confident that Dombrowski will make the tweaks necessary to address Detroit’s problems in the offseason, he knows he doesn’t have much time left to chase the ultimate prize.

“We can always say, ‘If, if, if,”’ Hunter said. “You can look back at certain pitches or situations where guys didn’t come through and second-guess. You can say we should have won one of these games and it should be 3-3 right now. But why? It’s over with and we can’t do anything about it now. It’s just tough for me because the door is closing. It’s the same old song.”

Moments after the cameras dispersed and Hunter had done his obligatory duty with the media, he sat on a couch in the middle of the clubhouse and spoke quietly, almost to himself. The words came out softly, but his voice was filled with a sense of disbelief and raw emotion.

“When you put your heart into it, it hurts,” Hunter said. “It’s like somebody just ripped it out.”

via MLB – Detroit Tigers fall short of expectations in ALCS – ESPN.

You played so well all year. I really feel like we got robbed again. I’m so sorry.