Tigers players don't believe Ausmus is to blame for poor season

Brad Ausmus continues to have the backing of his players.

A day after a report surfaced that the Detroit Tigers will fire their second-year manager at the end of the season - which was immediately followed by a statement from the team saying no decision on Ausmus' future has been made - his players addressed the situation with the media, choosing to place much of the blame for Detroit's disappointing season on themselves.

"It's been a rough year, not just for him but for everybody," second baseman Ian Kinsler told reporters. "I think a decision will be made at the end of the year. It's not my decision. My stance is I just want to win, regardless of who's managing the team. I think Brad wants to win also, and we'll see where it goes from there.

"He won the division in his first year as a manager, and I think there's something to be said about that. This year has been kind of a mess. We were injured early. There's been some injuries that we've had to fight through as a team throughout the year. I think obviously we didn't live up to expectations, but I don't know how much of that is his fault and where the blame is to go around if you want to point the fingers at one individual."

The Tigers' once-powerful lineup has been forced to live without star sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez at different points this season thanks to injuries; the deadline trade of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets further weakened the club's bats. On the pitching side, Detroit has been forced to use 12 different starters this year.

But the Tigers say they won't use these events as excuses, and that Ausmus shouldn't be blamed for the underwhelming performance of his players.

"I think he's done a good job," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "Obviously, this year, he's kind of been dealt a tough hand with the amount of injuries and poor play from some of the guys who were expected to play well. A lot of that doesn't go on him. More times than not, a manager is as good as his players. And we haven't played well this year."

Detroit won its fourth consecutive American League Central title in 2014 with a 90-72 record, but have fallen to the division basement this season, stumbling to a 64-76 record entering Saturday's play.