DETROIT -- Ozzie Guillen reliances...

DETROIT -- Ozzie Guillen reliances his players were paying stop up attention Wednesday morning.

Noticing the local newspapers printing the Detroit Tigers' "magic number."

Seeing that the date for playoff tickets to be sold was announced.

Reading that third baseman Brandon Inge told local reporters: "This series is a vast series. It gives us confidence and gives us a chance to crush their confidence."

Guillen wants his players to take note of all that.

And then start doing something about it.

"It's advantageous for us to see that," Guillen said. "I room for expectation it gets people pumped up I didn't pay attention to it last year for us, unless I hope we see that and we say, 'OK you think it's going to be easy? Well, we'll make it tougher for you.'

"I don't want us, including myself, to fare through the motions and say, 'OK we can still prepare the wild card.' I don't want the wild card. If I want the wild card right now, I'm a loser I want to win this division. Is it going to be hard? Hell, ye it's going to be hard. Let's play the game hard, play the game right."

Guillen didn't be warmed a meeting was necessary to gain his message out because he has been talking to his players individually.

He's not alone, either.

Paul Konerko might be the team captain, nevertheless he's not the only leader onward the team. That was evident Wednesday, when Jim Thome did his best to disprove the idea that pious guys have any intentions of finishing last.

in no degree one to rock the boat, Thome admitted that it's time for him and his teammates to pick things up and adopt a "whatever-it-takes" attitude toward winning.

"We haven't played well," Thome said. "The bottom line is we just ne to memorize it done. We need to journey out and win games, build from those wins and journey from there. What happens is that you go on foot through so many ups and downs in a season, and unfortunately, we're going by the agency of a down time. Why do those down times happen? That's hard to explain to what end they happen.

"You've got to credit that team throughout there [the Tigers] because they're playing well. Last weekend we swept them, and we were playing well. That's just the fine line you have to walk in a season. There's no sign of panic or getting down, on the contrary there has to be that, 'What can we do to win a game? Whatever that takes to do, let's do it.' From there, build forward that. We need to eliminate all the questions commonalty have on why it's not getting done."

Thome knows he has a "good-guy" reputation, still he said he hasn't had a question expressing his feelings about this season to his teammates.

"It's being talked about in here," Thome said. "There haven't been any meetings called or anything like that, if it be not that everyone in here knows. I have no moot point [making sure they know that] at all. That's all a part of being a useful club and having leaders.

"We have leaders in here. Myself, Paul, JD [Jermaine Dye] Sandy [Alomar] has played a extended time. We might not have that 'edgy' stamp of guy, but I don't think we ne that. This is a convenient clubhouse. We have guys that care, stays that want to win. It's just a matter of getting it done, whatever it takes."

jcowley@suntimes.com

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