Was this season's downfall a case of Brad Ausmus mismanaging the bullpen or general manager Dave Dombrowski putting his manager into a no-win situation?
A little of A, and a little of B.
To blame Ausmus for every bullpen disaster wouldn't be fair. The Tigers' bullpen isn't the worst in any meaningful statistic -- they're just near the bottom of all of them.
You try to get a lead to the ninth inning when your choices for middle relief included at points this season Tom Gorzelanny (6.38 ERA), Joba Chamberlain (4.09), Bruce Rondon (7.