The Tigers finished the series in Minnesota with an 8-4 loss Wednesday. Neither the pitching or the small ball were particularly sharp, two areas I’d like to address before we play the Royals tonight.

We all know how hard we’ve worked and how far we’ve come to even be in this position on Friday night. It reminds me of when we get guys on base but don’t bring them home to score.

Wednesday, in the later innings, Detroit twice left men at third base with under two outs. In the postgame news conference, Manager Brad Ausmus denied the bats under performance with one general swoop – “well, the bats swung well. Not gonna blame the bats.” Or something close to that. Dude, blame the bats. If you don’t keep stealing bases, bunting, sacrifice flying, and forcing runs to score with one out or less – it’ll really hurt us when it counts. This is playoff baseball.

We are really going to need Ausmus to be at the top of his game during these final weeks, basically week. The manager I want is the assertive general who trusts himself. I know you’re smart, but you cannot learn the type of stuff in a book you’ve experienced over 150 games growing, winning, and losing together with Tiger nation. Even though the late-inning substitutions are working on paper, they’re not in the real game. Let those experiences dictate your decisions, not just some statistics.

What happened to the walk? Are we using it or swinging for the fences? We sure can swing, but a healthy balance will go a long way. Plate discipline, defense, and the bullpen are all things we take for granted, yet they’ll be pivotal down the stretch. All those areas should be cemented by this time of the season.

I’m looking to our leader for consistency. We just need to know what to cheer for. We started out the season hella aggressive on the basepaths, and it worked. We started the season great in April. Now, we’re peaking at the right time, but we’ve kind of neglected our ability to manufacturer runs. I believe that’s the biggest reason we traded Prince Fielder and upgraded our defense. So, what’s the point in running in April and committing to a new strategy if we’re not gonna use it?

Finally, know when to talk to your players. We all want this so badly, I see us coming together and being unstoppable as long as we’re on the same page. I know our pitchers are Cy Young winners and MVPs, but they’re still your players. Yours. They want feedback. If Price is giving up runs in the first inning, go out there and fucking talk to him! He’ll settle down. They need you, though. Make the adjustment.

Ausmus, you’re a rookie. So trust me, as a lifelong Tiger fan: you got this. We got this. It’s a stable of veterans on the cusp of the World Series. Four straight seasons we’ve been here. No one’s getting any younger. The time is now. If you manage our pitching (which is excellent), we play small ball, and you stop substituting like a mad man – we’ll see you in October.

We’ve come this far in an unbelievable season filled with remarkable comebacks like I’ve never witnessed before. Let’s go out there and finish what we started, Tigers!