Talk » the car better, so I am confident going

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers werent about to make a change for the sake of change.Brad Ausmus will return next year for a fourth season as Detroits manager after the team announced Wednesday it was exercising the 2017 option on his contract. The Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday, but a 12-game improvement from 2015 was enough for Ausmus to keep his job.I think the team is prepped to compete and improve going forward, and I think Brad had a big part in that, general manager Al Avila said.Ausmus is 250-234 in Detroit and the Tigers have finished first, last and second in the AL Central during his tenure. He took over after the 2013 season, when Jim Leyland stepped down. After leading Detroit to its fourth straight division championship in his first year, Ausmus has presided over a decline that may have been in some ways inevitable as the Tigers have battled age, injuries and the departure of some key stars.Detroit made a run at a wild card this year, going 86-75, and Avila said missing the playoffs wasnt necessarily a reason to switch managers.Its not as simple as, `Hey, you didnt get in, you ought to whack a guy and move forward, he said.With Ausmus coming back, the Tigers could begin next season with plenty of continuity. If they pick up options on closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Cameron Maybin, they wont have any major free agents who might leave this offseason. The core of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez was able to stay fairly healthy this season, and Verlander re-established himself as one of the American Leagues top starters.Ausmus is looking forward to the opportunity to keep managing a team with a chance to win, and theres never been a hint of discord between him and Avila, who just finished his first full season as GM. Although Detroit fell short of its goals this season, the manager and front office appear to be largely on the same page.Im excited about it, Ausmus said. Al and I work very well together. We get along great, which from what I hear isnt always the case.There was speculation toward the end of the 2015 season about whether Ausmus would be back, but the team kept him for 2016. His position seemed particularly tenuous this past May, when the Tigers lost 11 of 12, but they fought back and were only a half-game out of a postseason spot before dropping their final two games at Atlanta last weekend.Detroit stayed in it thanks to the performance of Verlander and rookie Michael Fulmer, who boosted a rotation that was hurt by Jordan Zimmermanns injury problems and Anibal Sanchezs continued decline. Justin Upton struggled for most of his first year with the Tigers but went on a late-season hitting tear that nearly lifted the team into the postseason.Ian Kinsler had a fine season at second base, and Cabrera produced his usual outstanding line with a .316 batting average, 38 home runs and 108 RBI.Detroit has a clubhouse full of veterans, many of whom have accumulated their share of individual accolades and experienced plenty of team success. Avila gives Ausmus some of the credit for the fact that the Tigers were able to stay in contention all the way until the end this season.A manager obviously manages people, manages situations, Avila said. In this case, I think he manages the clubhouse very well.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Wholesale Vapormax . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. Fake Vapormax . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. https://www.cheapvapormaxoutlet.com/ .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Vapormax Store .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Vapormax From China . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Daniel Ricciardo says he is confident his Red Bull team can challenge Mercedes in Sundays Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.Mercedes topped the timesheets in both practice sessions on Friday, with pacesetter Lewis Hamilton over 0.5s clear of both Max Verstappen and Ricciardo in fourth and fifth respectively during FP2. Although Mercedes appears to be in control of proceedings at this stage of the weekend, Ricciardo believes Red Bull can put pressure on the Silver Arrows duo in both qualifying and the race.If we put it all together tomorrow we are more or less there, the Australian said. Vettel put in a quick time. I think we will find that little tomorrow, and it will be a good fight for third place. Mercedes as expected are ahead. But I dont think they are miles ahead. Looking at today, maybe we could still race them on Sunday.On one lap we can still find a few tenths, maybe everyone else can as well, but I am confident that we can make a small step from where we were today. The long run today was good, and on the long run we can also find a little bit.The race sim looked promising this morning, and this afteernoon we seemed to be competitive enough.dddddddddddd We can still make the car better, so I am confident going into tomorrow we can be strong. But even more confident going into Sunday.Nico Rosberg heads into the weekend with a 12-point championship lead, and knows he only has to finish in the top three to secure his maiden Formula One title, regardless of where teammate Hamilton comes.When asked whether he believes Rosberg was taking it easy on Friday in order to save his engine, Ricciardo replied: Yeah, it is a dangerous circuit around here, lots of walls and stuff! No, I dont see any reason to hold back in practice. If it is Monaco I understand maybe you want to be careful with your equipment.But here you can definitely push and go on the limit, so we will see tomorrow. Maybe he is holding back a bit, not showing Lewis too much, but it is going to be interesting. Everyone predicts Lewis to take the pole, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out tomorrow. ' ' '