Detroit Tigers 20.jpg

Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia tags out Prince Fielder on Saturday night in the sixth inning.

(AP Photo)

BOSTON -- Prince Fielder is either a very well-adjusted human being and father who understands what's most important in life or he doesn't choose his words very well during postgame interviews.

Or, possibly, both.

While many of his Detroit Tigers teammates talked about how tough it would be to wake up Sunday morning with no more baseball to play following

to the Boston Red Sox, Fielder said it wouldn't be that difficult to turn the page.

"It's not really tough for me," he said. "It's over. I've got kids I've got to take care of. I've got things I've got to take care of. For me, it's over, bro."

Someone suggested to Fielder that Tigers fans might not understand how it would be so easy for him to move on.

"They don't play," he said. "I mean, if you have responsibilities it should be, you know, you shouldn't take your work home, you know? I've got to still be a father and take care of my kids, so, you know, I've got to move on."

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Tigers in Game 6. Jose Iglesias committed a costly error. Fielder made a baserunning gaffe that helped kill a Tigers rally. The bullpen surrendered a grand slam.

But the lack of offense that hurt the Tigers during the final month of the regular season once again surfaced. The Tigers did not have an extra-base hit in Game 5 or Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. That offense was hurt by an ailing Miguel Cabrera. It was also hurt by Fielder, who struggled terribly throughout the playoffs.

Fielder hit .225 (9-for-40) with eight singles, one double, no home runs and not a single RBI in 12 postseason games this year. He has not had an RBI in 18 consecutive playoff games and has gone 20 straight postseason games without a home run.

Fielder said he found the postseason frustrating not because of his personal performance but because the Tigers did not reach their ultimate goal.

"It's a team," Fielder said. "We're here to win. Doesn't matter if I didn't get any hits, if we would have won, everything would have been all right."

Fielder said he hopes to set a good example for his two young sons by taking the ALCS loss in stride.

"You've got to be a man about it," he said. "I've got kids. If I'm sitting around pouting, how am I going to tell them to keep their chins up or their heads up when something doesn't go their way?

"Yeah. Definitely. It's over."

-- Download the

for

and

.

-- Like

page.