Although Dave Dombrowski has not yet conducted his usual end-of-season press conference to wrap up the 2014 season, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News caught up with Brad Ausmus recently and confirmed that the Tigers' rookie manager will indeed be back with the team next season.

It was also made clear Sunday by Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers president and general manager, that Ausmus and his coaching staff will be returning intact for 2015. "All are under contracts, so we usually do not make any announcements with this type of situation," Dombrowski wrote in a text message to The Detroit News. "However, we do expect the staff to be back next season."

The entire article is worth reading, especially for the remarks made by Ausmus concerning the hot topic of his bullpen management in Game 2 of the ALDS.

Particularly noteworthy:

Ausmus does not second-guess his usage (or rather, lack thereof) of Al Alburquerque: "No, for me, Albie, who had a great year, his best place is in the sixth or seventh inning ... There's really only one time we might have used him, in Game 2, and we had Sanchie."

He also does not question his decision to only use Sanchez for two innings in that game: "To be honest with you ... the way [Sanchez] was used [in Game 2] is exactly how I'd have used him if I had it to do all over again."

Perhaps not what the fans wanted to hear in this case, but there it is.

See you in 2015, Brad.