Forget about those weak 1-inning saves when taking about righty John Hiller. Back in 1973, Hiller was the best closer around in the major leagues. He pitched in 65 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in 1973 and he was 10-5 with 38 saves, a 1.44 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He only gave up 89 hits in 125 1/3 innings while whiffing 124 batters which showed how nasty he was. He led the majors in saves in 1973 while finishing 4th in the voting for each the Cy Young Award and the MVP Award in the A.L. Hiller backed up his big 1973 season with a strong year in 1974. Hiller pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in 1974 and he was 17-14 with 13 saves, a 2.64 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Hiller gave up only 127 hits in 150 innings that season while whiffing 134 batters. 1974 was the only season that Hiller made the All-Star team. Hiller pitched in 545 games (43 starts) in his 15 years with the Tigers and he was 87-76 with 125 saves, a 2.83 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Hiller is the Tigers’ all-time leader in games pitched with 545. He is also #3 in saves (125) and #7 in ERA (2.83) in Tigers’ history.

37-year old righty swinging RF Magglio Ordonez just can’t seem to stay healthy. He only played in 84 games last year due to a broken ankle and that ankle is giving him problems again this year. Ordonez has only played in 10 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 6 for 33 (.182 avg, .502 OPS) with 1 run scored. He has not been overmatched at the plate though as he has walked 5 times while only whiffing 3 times so far. Ordonez can still hit the heck out of the baseball but it just doesn’t matter if he can’t stay on the field.

The Tigers have placed 32-year old switch hitting DH/C Victor Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right groin. Martinez has played in 16 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 15 for 60 (.250 avg, .709 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. The Tigers will likely use the brittle Magglio Ordonez as the DH until Martinez returns to action in an effort to keep him healthy. Brennan Boesch and Ryan Raburn will likely start at the outfield corners until Martinez returns to action which should improve the Tigers’ defense. The Tigers have called up 29-year old righty swining catcher Omir Santos to back up Alex Avila until Martinez returns to action. Santos has played in 4 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 6 for 14 (.429 avg, .866 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 4 RBIs. I think Santos will do a decent job backing up Avila as he was solid for the Mets in 2009.

The Detroit Tigers are very happy with lefty starting pitcher Phil Coke so far this year. He has pitched in 4 games (2 starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Coke has only given up 9 hits in his first 16 innings this season as he seems to be adjusting well to his new role in the starting rotation. The Tigers are hoping that Coke can convert to starting pitching from relieving just like C.J. Wilson did for the Rangers last year. They hope that Coke can give them 180+ solid innings in 2011.

Expectations are very high for starting CF Austin Jackson after the rookie season he turned in for the Tigers in 2010. The magic just hasn’t been there for Jackson so far this year. Jackson has played in 12 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 9 for 45 (.200 avg, .613 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Jackson is still whiffing at a high rate (14 times this year), so it’s going to be really hard to bring up his batting average. It’s looks as if the pitchers have figured Jackson out, so he will need to make some adjustments so he can start being an asset to the Tigers’ offense again.