Tigers players take blame for skid, defend Ausmus

12:52 AM ET

BALTIMORE — Manager Brad Ausmus is not the person to blame for the Tigers’ ugly, debasing downward spiral.

At least not according to some of the players surveyed after the club’s abysmal 9-3 defeat to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night, the team’s 11th loss in its past 12 games.

Ausmus’ job security appears more and more tenuous as the club’s decline continues, but he’s not the one who should be held accountable, some say,

“I wouldn’t put any of the blame on the coaching staff or Brad as the manager,” catcher James McCann said. “I’d say put it back on the players.”

While Ausmus has been relentlessly scrutinized throughout the team’s perplexing skein, it’s the players who have failed to live up to expectations.

“[The] manager is not the one throwing the ball over the plate, not the one fielding, he’s not the one hitting it. There’s only so much blame you can throw that way,” McCann said. “Right now, we’re not pitching good enough, we’re not hitting good enough, bottom line.”

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Speculation about Ausmus’ future is a consequence of an underperforming 15-21 Tigers club that is in danger of being swept for the third time in four series – a club with a large payroll and lofty expectations.

Fair?

“No, not at all. That’s how this goes, but I never quite understood that, because he’s …

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