Tigers' Ausmus acknowledges hot seat already 'on broil'

Failing to reach the postseason for the first time in five seasons left Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus' job in question last year.

The Tigers' free-spending offseason that's included more than $270 million dropped on free agents has only increased the temperature of Ausmus' hot seat.

"It was already on broil when it was announced I was coming back last September," Ausmus told reporters Thursday.

It was reported last September that Ausmus' days in Detroit were numbered after less than two years on the job. Members of the Tigers quickly came to his defense, saying their skipper was not to blame for their disappointing season, and general manager Al Avila opted to hold on to Ausmus.

"I told (Avila) this after last season, that the easiest thing for him to do would have been to let me go," Ausmus said. "That would have been the easy thing for him to do. The hard thing to do was to keep me. But I think he thought he made - what he thought - was the best baseball decision. GMs and presidents of clubs, in all sports, ultimately cannot let public opinion decide the course of the team."

Ausmus said the "fast-food society" that now exists only increases the pressure to win immediately. He also sympathized with Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, who was reportedly close to being fired himself earlier this winter before the football team opted to keep him.

"I was supposedly fired before the season was over, so I can appreciate better than most what coach Caldwell went through near the end of their season," Ausmus said. "I did read some of the stuff, and I knew exactly what was probably going through his mind. And they played well at the end of the season.

"The fans want to win now, and I don't blame them. But it's not as easy as it seems in any sport. You look at this team on paper. You look at the Lions on paper, and you think they should win. Well, it's not that easy. There are a lot of things that are out of the manager or head coach's control."