Detroit Tigers Links: Brad Ausmus defends bullpen management and Alex Avila stays the course

This morning we take a look at two stories from yesterday. The first involves manager Brad Ausmus defending his management of the bullpen. Um, okay. And the second is about how Alex Avila has felt much better the last couple days and has no plans to give up baseball or give up the catching position anytime soon.

In other news, Dave Dombrowski is set to meet the media for the first time since the Detroit Tigers dropped out of the postseason last Sunday, which should provide a plethora of stories for Wednesday’s morning links.

Ausmus defends bullpen moves after Tigers’ bitter exit – Lynn Henning, Detroit News

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"Most aggravating to fans was Ausmus’ decision in Game 2 to dismiss Anibal Sanchez following two scoreless innings of relief and bring on regular eighth-inning man Joba Chamberlain, who often had been pummeled during the regular season’s second half. Chamberlain also had been a participant in the previous evening’s eighth-inning, eight-run Orioles onslaught.“Even before Sanchie came back,” Ausmus said, “I said from the get-go he would be used for one, maybe for two innings, depending on the pitch-count.“We’re talking about a guy who hadn’t pitched out of the pen in about five years. He had had one inning of work in his last 50 days.”Ausmus said he had been criticized for not using Sanchez more frequently in pre-playoff games as a way to strengthen his arm and endurance. But a pitcher who appeared to be on his way to missing all of September and October had only been cleared to pitch in the regular season’s final days.“People say I should have gotten him into other games, but we were also trying to win the division,” Ausmus said, pointing to the regular season’s final series against the Twins, which saw the Tigers lose by big scores Friday and Saturday."

Alex Avila says he is symptom free, remains focused on continuing career with Detroit Tigers – Chris Iott, MLive

"Many have raised questions about Avila’s future after he dealt with multiple head injuries late in the 2014 season. But Avila told MLive.com on Monday afternoon that he has had no second thoughts since the season ended regarding his future as a catcher in the major leagues.“No,” he said. “I’ve had three mild concussions in my career. I had a CT scan and an MRI checking my brain and my neck and the arteries leading to it, and everything checks out normal and healthy. And talking with the neurologist that examined everything, I shouldn’t have any concern. It’s like any injury — you have to let it heal 100 percent.”"