Elated To Be In Playoffs, Optimistic Torii Hunter Says: 'It'll Be Nice To Kind Of Clinch At Home'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
COMERICA PARK (CBS DETROIT) - The Detroit Tigers won Wednesday afternoon, the Seattle Mariners lost Wednesday night, and the Tigers officially claimed a postseason slot. No matter what the team does in the next four games, Detroit will be in the playoffs.
Of course, with the Tigers three-time defending champions of the American League Central Division, a wild card berth will not satisfy anyone. The Mariners loss that made the postseason reality for Detroit was met with fairly lukewarm sentiment.
"I was watching the Cleveland game, and I was keeping track of the Seattle game, so I knew as soon as the Seattle game ended," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said, "but I wasn't really doing anything. I was just hanging out with my wife and some friends of ours at home, so it was really quite boring."
To be sure, the Tigers are happy to be a lock for the playoffs, but they want the division, not the wild card.
"Only five teams [in the American League] go to the postseason, and we're guaranteed to go to the postseason, but the wild card, single game, is just that - it's a wild card," Ausmus said. "Anything could happen in one game, and that's why I think it's so important to try and win the division."
The sentiment was the same among players. Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander joked Wednesday that while news of a sure playoff spot might elicit a few high-fives and congratulations in the clubhouse, players certainly would not be going out and getting hammered in celebration.
Veteran outfielder Torii Hunter expressed a similar feeling.
"We're actually excited that we [got] a playoff spot, but like I said, our main goal is to win the division," Hunter said. "We still have our sights on that ... Everybody should be excited, but trust me, it's a bigger goal in play.
"We have to get these wins the next couple days, and hopefully the Royals go out there and lose, too, and we can get it done, but right now, like I said, you don't want to celebrate prematurely in your mind or anything like that," Hunter added. "You want to go out there and try to get this celebration tonight with the win."
In recent years, the Tigers have clinched on the road. This season, if they do indeed win the division, they will do so in their home park.
"It'll be nice to kind of clinch at home and win this division at home and have a party here in our home city with the fans, in our clubhouse, and make a mess so our clubbies can clean it up," Hunter said with a smile. "Poor guys - tips are great, though."
