Ausmus adjusts to managerial role in regular season

DETROIT -- Brad Ausmus is about one regular-season week into his first job as a Major League manager. Is it what he expected?

There's been no shortage of drama. The Tigers won on a walk-off on Opening Day, blew a save in the next game and nearly blew a 7-1 lead in the ninth inning Saturday. But through it all, the Tigers were 4-0 entering Sunday, the lone undefeated team in Major League Baseball. Ausmus had yet to talk to the media after a regular-season loss at that time.

More than anything, Spring Training prepared the 44-year-old former catcher for his new role.

"That's what I enjoyed when I was playing, the cerebral part of the game where you're thinking things through," Ausmus said Sunday. "It's funny. In Spring Training, it's a lot more hectic, because there are a lot more people on your lineup card and moving parts during the course of a game. In Spring Training games, I'd find where I wasn't paying attention, didn't know the count and [third-base coach] Dave Clark would fill me in.

"I've found, in these games, it comes a lot easier and a lot more intense. Part of that is because there are fewer names on the roster to worry about. You don't have to worry about getting guys in. The game dictates when they're in. I have found it's not difficult to concentrate on the game at hand."

Ausmus knows he's not far removed from his playing days, but there's no itch to be playing again. He has texted with former Tigers manager Jim Leyland a few times since Spring Training for some advice and general comments. Ausmus' favorite part of the job is the camaraderie with the team, no different from his playing days, but there's a different perspective.

"You have more on your plate pre- and postgame in terms of preparation, media," Ausmus said. "During the game, there's not that much more on my plate. When you're a player, you have a lot more going on when you're on defense. If you're not hitting in the bottom half of the inning, there's nothing to do but watch. As a manager, you do have stuff going on in the bottom and top half."