OT - Former Tiger pitcher throws CG no-hitter
Fresh from being traded to the Phillies, Michael Lorenzen throws a unicorn complete game no-hitter. Congrats to him, he's by all accounts a great guy. But dadgummit...will el tigres ever make a good trade?
August 9th, 2023 at 11:54 PM ^
Togers gonna Tog.
August 10th, 2023 at 8:00 AM ^
Tuggers gonna tug.
August 9th, 2023 at 11:54 PM ^
Aren't no-hitters normally complete games?
August 10th, 2023 at 12:05 AM ^
Becoming more rare indeed..."unicorn" might be too strong. More like "yellow subaru", 5 out of past 11 no-hitters were CG's.
August 10th, 2023 at 8:55 AM ^
Only 5 out of 11? Is that all??? This stupid middle relief, short relief, closer thing has gotten out of hand! Let the players play!!!
August 10th, 2023 at 10:16 AM ^
CG no-hitter equates to a single pitcher throwing the no-no and differentiates from a combined no-hitter which uses more than one pitcher.
But there is also the shortened no-hitter which occurs when a no-hitter is going, but the game is called after 5 innings but before completing the full 9 (or 8 1/2) innings due to weather. So all no-hitters are not complete games. I don't believe those count in the record books as a no-no though.
That said, you were probably just being facetious, but /nerd
August 10th, 2023 at 2:19 PM ^
I saw "CG" and thought, "Computer Generated? Was this an e-sports thing?"
Curious to know what the criteria are for an incomplete game no-hitter. I mean, I've never given up a hit to a major leaguer. Ever.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:00 AM ^
In the past 6 weeks, he made his first all star game and threw a no hitter. Not a bad little summer.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:37 PM ^
And his timing is perfect, as he's a free agent after this season. His agent will be getting plenty of calls this winter.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:50 AM ^
Figures.
Maybe the Lions curse has moved on to the Tigers, not holding by breath though. We'll see in a month or so.
So far not impressed with the new Tigers GM.
August 10th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
I'd take that curse moving across the street! At least I have the '84 Tigers in my memory, along with Wings glory and Pistons championships... The Lions also giving me something to remember would complete the circle.
August 10th, 2023 at 1:11 PM ^
Is your opinion on the GM about this particular trade or the trades that the new GM was unable to make? The OP suggests this wasn't a good trade because the piece they gave up did well, but wasn't that the point of the trade? Phillies get value now and the tigers are hoping for value later?
Comment was meant for the post above.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:27 AM ^
Oh lawd, what a horrible trade: the Tigers got a top-tier prospect in exchange for a guy who was going to walk at the end of the year. What will a sub-.500 team ever do without those meaningless 10 starts????
August 10th, 2023 at 6:43 AM ^
And they can sign him again next year.
August 10th, 2023 at 9:18 AM ^
I'm not sure Lee qualifies as a "top tier prospect." He's a lottery ticket, nothing more, nothing less.
August 10th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
I wouldn’t call him a top tier prospect either. But he’s a solid prospect and for a one year rental, about the best level of prospect we should expect. Issue is we should have gotten at least 2-3 more around his level through other trades to maximize our chances of developing a couple into everyday major leaguers. Disappointed Harris didn’t more at the deadline but this trade was sadly better than anything Avila got in a trade with far better assets
August 10th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
To a certain extent, every prospect is a lottery ticket, so the classification isn't that helpful. He's certainly not a very top prospect either though, since he's not on top 100 lists. He's projected to be a starter with plus hitting eventually, so I'd say he's a good prospect and has a good chance at making a major league impact, which is more than you get from your average lottery ticket
August 10th, 2023 at 11:46 AM ^
"who was going to walk at the end of the year."
I don't follow the Tigers at all these days so my question is definitely rooted in ignorance, but couldn't the Tigers sign him to a new contract at the end of the season?
August 10th, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
Its a 2 way street and right now the Tigers are not a FA destination location. Particularly for a Pitcher that will demand a ton of money next year.
He will get interest from teams that are playoff contenders. So given other factors considered equal (money and length of contract). Do you sign with a playoff contender or a struggling franchise that can't seem to get the correct direction....?
August 10th, 2023 at 12:36 PM ^
He could still sign with the Tigers at the end of the year after they traded him, but in all likelihood he wouldn't have either way. This way they at least got a prospect back that has a decent chance to be a good hitting infielder in the next few years - something the Tigers badly need
August 10th, 2023 at 5:45 AM ^
no. no, they will not.
August 10th, 2023 at 7:38 AM ^
I remember thinking that maybe the Tigers knew what they were doing when they let Verlander and Scherzer walk. I didn’t think that pitchers could survive the long term contracts they would get intact. I know nothing.
August 10th, 2023 at 7:51 AM ^
The Tigers are altruistic, making trades good for other teams.
August 10th, 2023 at 7:53 AM ^
It was a good trade. Lorenzen was on a one year contract. The Tigers are definitely not going to go deep in the playoffs, if they even get there. They need more bats, and they can resign Lorenzen in the off season.
August 10th, 2023 at 8:06 AM ^
Ha! Name 3 decent pitchers in the last 10 years that got traded and then after the season signed with team that traded them.
August 10th, 2023 at 8:50 AM ^
1. I'm not saying that Lorenzen will sign with the Tigers. I'm saying the Tigers will have the opportunity to sign him. The same opportunity they would've had anyway, since he was on a one year contract.
2. Show me one baseball expert that thought Michael Lorenzen was anything more than a long reliever, or a back of the rotation starter on a bad team at the beginning of the season.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:22 PM ^
I think that is exactly the point of trading for something of value rather than letting him walk at the end of his contract (or overpay to keep him).
August 10th, 2023 at 8:35 AM ^
saying [Pitcher] threw a no-hitter already shows it was a complete game.
there's been a heck of a lot more combined no hitters lately -- since workhorse pitchers are a dying breed -- but those aren't true no hitters, and would be differentiated by saying that a team or group of pitchers threw the no-hitter. -- If lorenzen pitched seven no-hit innings and two or three other pitchers finished the no-hitter, you wouldn't say lorenzen threw a no-hitter
August 10th, 2023 at 12:35 PM ^
He threw 124 pitches, which is very rare these days-in fact if he was still a Tiger it's guaranteed that he would have been yanked before the 9th. Because of the mistaken belief that 100 pitches is some kind of marker for tired arms or preventing injuries-neither of which has any data behind it.
August 10th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
Lorenzen's wife and mother's reactions in the stands were great. Good for him.
Surprised more isn't made of Cabrera's latest hitting spree ( 3 for 4) that pushed him past the great Robin Yount for 19th on the all time career hits list.
Miggy now has 3,145 career hits and is nine hits away from hitting machine George Brett. Beyond Brett is Cabrera’s longtime friend Adrián Beltré at 3,166 hits, followed by Cal Ripken Jr. at 3,184.
August 10th, 2023 at 9:23 AM ^
Beltre had the quietest HOF worthy career I can ever remember.
August 10th, 2023 at 9:29 AM ^
I couldn't believe when I saw him on the all-time hit list last night.
August 10th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Very true! He also won 5 gold gloves with a very unorthodox style of defense ( not textbook foot work).
August 10th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Included in his unorthodox style was his decision to play sans cup. There are many positions you can get away with not wearing protection. Third base is not one of them.
https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2010/3/3/1335540/adrian-beltre-testicle-cup-red-sox
August 10th, 2023 at 12:45 PM ^
Didn't know they were friends. I bet there is a lot of good natured trash talk going on between those two as Miggy closes in. Another name coming up is Paul Waner. I've been a pretty serious baseball fan my whole life and have never heard of him.
It would be great if he can catch George Brett, one of my favorite non-Tigers players I ever saw. I saw him go after Milt Wilcox one time at Tiger Stadium. Early 80s when the Tigers contended every year and the Royals were good too. George Brett used to just kill Tigers pitching. In this game he crushed one to the upper deck in right and the next time up Wilcox threw one at his head and just barely missed him. Brett jumps and starts jawing and pointing. Things settle down, Brett gets back in the box, and Wilcox drops him again! He didn't charge the mound this time either, but a couple pitches later he popped out and after rounding first base he went right after Wilcox. Per baseball, not much more than pushing and shoving. George Brett was just pure ballplayer. A total red-ass.
August 10th, 2023 at 4:28 PM ^
Paul Waner (3,152) and his younger brother, Lloyd (2,459), hold the career record for hits by brothers (5,611) ahead of the three Alou brothers (5,094): Felipe , Matty and Jesus Alou, and the three DiMaggio brothers (4,853).
The story of his middle name is great , his born middle name was John but changed it to Glee after an uncle Glee gave him a shotgun at the age of 6. In fairness he was born in Oklahoma a few years before it became a state.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
Lorenzen, like Jim Bunning, pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies after being traded from the Tigers.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:52 PM ^
Plus one, informative.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:13 PM ^
As a Phillies fan, I think we won the trade, but I don't think the Tigers lost it. If you aren't going to make the playoffs, may as well trade an expiring contract for a lottery ticket.
Lorenzen had been pitching well immediately before he got traded, but I don't think anybody expected this. Now we have to see if he keeps it up, since we did trade a decent prospect for potentially a rental.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
It's not really a win/loss situation between these teams since he could have stayed on the Tigers and won 80 percent of the games he played the rest of the season and thrown three no hitters and it still wouldn't have helped the tigers make the playoffs or anything. They had to get a prospect of of value for him and did. I'd be comparing the Phillies more to the teams they're competing for the wild card with in terms of who won or lost the trade deadline
August 10th, 2023 at 9:55 PM ^
That's what I mean, actually. When I say Phillies won the trade but Tigers didn't lose it, I mean that there was no downside for the Tigers in trading him.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
triple post somehow, I blame Bezos
August 11th, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
Why does it matter? He would have gave the Tigers 3 more wins this year which won't matter and they can resign him this summer if they want him back. It's a good trade - they got something back in a meaningless season.