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Tigers have one postseason goal: Win

Chris McCosky
The Detroit News

As clubhouse celebrations go, the American Central Division-title clinching party the Tigers had last weekend was maybe a little less wild and spontaneous and a bit more routine than those in the past.

Dave Dombrowski, president and general manager of the Tigers, had that observation standing in the hallway, out of harm's way from the cork-popping and champagne-spraying revelry. And he knew why.

"There's a different feeling," he said. "This is a step for us, but now you want more. You don't want to finish after the first one. You want to keep going. For us, there are other steps."

The Tigers had every right to celebrate. Four straight division titles, four straight trips to the postseason — that's a significant achievement. And while they wanted to enjoy the moment, things were somewhat restrained by the work that remained and by the sobering memory of the last three seasons ending with them watching other teams celebrate.

"(The division) wasn't the goal," said reliever Phil Coke, one of three Tigers with a Series ring. "I said it the other day when somebody came up to me and asked me if I was excited, and I told them, 'No.' He's like, 'What do you mean, no? You guys are in the playoffs.'

"It's because we haven't accomplished what we're here to do yet. We're not done. We haven't accomplished anything. We're not going to back in and be happy with that. We want to win. Period."

■In 2011, the Tigers watched the Rangers win the American League pennant at their expense.

■In 2012, they had the ignominy of watching the Giants party on their field after being swept out of the World Series.

■In 2013, they got chewed up and spit out during the Red Sox's unwavering march to another Series title.

That's a lot of bad endings, a lot of empty, unfulfilled dreams.

"Having been part of a bunch of postseasons is always special, but the ultimate goal is to win it all," said pitcher Justin Verlander, who will get the ball in Game 2 at Baltimore. "I've got a lot of cherished memories and some bitter ones, too. Hopefully this is the year.

"It's not going to be easy, it never is. We're playing some real good competition. But I like the way this team is built, I like the way we had to battle through adversity this year — I like the way we're set up."

It's time to write a different ending to the script.

"Everybody in here understands how hard it is to win a World Series; a lot of things have to go right for you," pitcher Rick Porcello said. "Here we are again with another shot. It's a new team, a new journey. I don't necessarily think we are carrying over frustrations from year to year. You just play as hard as you can and see what happens at the end.

"In the postseason everybody is good and playing good baseball. We just need to get over the hump."

One mission: Win it all

The argument could be made, and has been made, that the Tigers' window of opportunity for winning a World Series is closing. Key players such as designated hitter Victor Martinez, Game 1 starter Max Scherzer, outfielder Torii Hunter and reliever Joba Chamberlain will be free agents this winter.

Foundation pieces such as Verlander, (31), Miguel Cabrera (30), Ian Kinsler (32), Anibal Sanchez (30) and Joe Nathan (39) are all in their 30s.

"The window is always narrow," catcher Alex Avila said. "That's why you can't take for granted the fact that we've done this four times in a row. There's no guarantee that you will get even one chance. In my mind, the window is always down and that's the way you have to look at it."

Verlander has heard the closing window theory before, after the Tigers lost to the Cardinals in the 2006 World Series.

"Yes and no," he said when asked if he could sense the window closing. "You do look around and you see guys who are going to be free agents, but at the same time, since I've been here it seems like that's been the case a few times. A lot of credit goes to Mr. (Mike) Ilitch and Dave Dombrowski and management, they seem to always find a way to keep a winning product on the field.

"It's tough when you see your friends leave, but our focus is on one task ... to win a World Series."

Dombrowski has made no bones about what the mission is — the only goal is the ultimate goal, to win the World Series now. That's why he traded starting center fielder Austin Jackson and prospects for left-handed pitcher David Price. That's why he traded prospects to get reliever Joakim Soria. That's why he brought in Kinsler, Chamberlain and Nathan last offseason. It's why he signed Hunter before the 2013 season.

"You know what, there's no secret — this team has been built to win," Martinez said.

"Like I said before, the fans were really frustrated, as we were, too. It was going to be a big disappointment if we couldn't make it. But at the same time we just stayed together and controlled what we can control, which was show up to the ballpark, keep playing the game hard and see what happened.

"At the end, we gave everybody what they were expecting (winning the division). We're not stopping, we still have a lot of work to do."

Not motivated by failure

The postseason has broken a lot of hearts in the Tigers clubhouse over the years. But it may surprise you to hear them talk about how little those heartaches fuel the journey they embark upon today.

"I don't think it means a thing," Nathan said. "Just because (the Tigers) have been there for three years doesn't mean this year we deserve something. This game never owes you anything. You have to go out and earn it every time.

"Does experience help? Sometimes, but at the same time, you still have to go out and do it. You just hope you are playing your best baseball at the right time."

Past failure as motivation? Avila scoffed at the idea.

"I don't need any more motivation," he said. "Every player wants to win a World Series. That fact that this is my fourth time in the playoffs doesn't make me want it any less or more. It just, I still want to win a World Series.

"If I would've been able to win one in each of these last three years, I still would want to win this one, too."

Kinsler hasn't lived through the Tigers failures the last few postseasons, but has his own nightmare to deal with. He was part of the Rangers collapse in the 2011 World Series. He's with Avila and Nathan on this — the past has no bearing on the present.

"If we win a World Series this year or four years from now, whenever it happens, I don't think I will ever forget 2011," he said. "It's still going to be there. I don't think it's going to erase the memory of that. It would be nice to put (another memory) in front of it. It would be nice to have a positive memory of the World Series.

"But we still have a lot of steps to go before we get to that point. We face a good Baltimore team first and that series is the biggest as of now."

Bruised, but battle-tested

So, the question remains, are they better equipped to go the distance this season?

In some ways, yes. The bullpen is more stable, despite its ups and downs, than last year. Cabrera is healthier than he was in the postseason last season. The addition of Price has made the starting rotation stronger, even with Sanchez being relegated to the bullpen because of a pectoral injury in August.

In other ways, they may not be as strong. The left side of the field will be manned by playoff newbies — third baseman Nick Castellanos (rookie), shortstops Andrew Romine (first full season) and Eugenio Suarez (rookie), and left fielder J.D. Martinez (fourth year, first postseason).

The Tigers also are uncertain of the availability of starting center fielder Rajai Davis (pubic symphysis strain), which would press another inexperienced player into duty (Ezequiel Carrera).

"I think everything we went through the whole year makes everybody stronger," Victor Martinez said. "My first year here, I think we won the division by, I don't know, 14-15 games. At the end, we didn't come up with the big prize. This year has just been special.

"Kansas City took this team out of first place for a good time, we were just able to hang in there and we came back and took it away."

This Tigers team may be the most battle-tested of the four division championship teams.

"I think we've been playing playoff games for the last six weeks or two months," Martinez said. "Every game did count. We were basically playing every game like it was the last one. So that's what you have to do in the postseason. There is no room for mistakes.

"Short series, you just don't know what's going to happen. You have to make sure that you bring your 'A' game. In the postseason, that's what counts, whoever does the little things, whoever does things better, those are the ones who are going to come up with the win."

Nathan, though, said being battle-tested is a double-edged sword.

"Sometimes it does (benefit a team), sometimes it doesn't," he said. "History has shown a mixture. It helps at times because we've been so battle-tested. We've gone through a grind to get here. But sometimes that can take a toll on you."

'Baseball at its core'

The Tigers have all the requisite pieces of a championship team — that's the consensus among national pundits. But whether those pieces can come together, stay together and perform at a high level of efficiency for the duration of the postseason — well, consistency hasn't exactly been a hallmark of this Tigers team.

But first-year manager Brad Ausmus, who played in 35 postseason games during his 18-year playing career, said getting to the playoffs is like hitting a reset button. The postseason is a different beast.

"It's baseball at its core," he said. "As a player, you play an entire season, and because of the nature of the game, and the dollars involved, and it is these players' jobs — and they obviously want to keep their jobs — there's a lot of focus on how the player's playing, what his statistics are.

"And the truth is, postseason baseball is like baseball when you're in Little League. It's about one thing and one thing only: winning. And everyone's pulling in the same direction.

"No one cares about whether they're arbitration-eligible or if they're a free agent. It's about winning. So it's kind of baseball in its simplest form. And it's a good way to have it."

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

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