Orange Fire

Orange Fire

Home
Archive
About
Pitching is Carrying the Astros to the Top of the AL West Once Again
The Astros lead the AL West by 6.5 games at the halfway point of the season thanks to excellent pitching from Cy Young candidate Hunter Brown, the…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
Why Are the Astros Better Than The Pirates? It's Not Ownership; it's Player Development.
An experiment in studying another team for a week led to a clear conclusion. The Astros success is predicated on their ability to draft and develop…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
1
Jason Alexander and the Sugar Land Express
Called up after Lance McCullers Jr hit the IL, Alexander gave Houston six efficient innings built on sinkers, sequencing, and soft contact, another…
 • 
Jules Hughan
It's Not Devil Magic. The Astros Are Actually a Good Team
Some may say the Astros winning stretch is a matter of good luck. But the numbers show this team is as good as it record, thanks to an outstanding…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
1
The Cam Smith Experiment is Working...for the Most Part
Smith's high-quality defense and slowly but surely improving game at the plate indicates that his quick promotion to the majors has not stunted his…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
1
The Astros Are Playing Better
Don't Look, but the Astros have won 8 of their last 11, 17 of their last 27, are scoring more runs and have greatly increased their place in the…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
The Astros at Memorial Day. Theme #5. The Rotation Hanging on by a Thread
Due to injuries to Arrighetti, Wesneski, and Blanco, the Astros have relied on rookie in the rotation. I examine how the rookie starters have done and…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
1

May 2025

The Astros at Memorial Day. Theme #4: The Defense Has Made Improvements
This offseason, the front office decided to prioritize infield defense and sacrifice some outfield defense. That decision has worked to the Astros…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
1
The Astros at Memorial Day. Theme #3: The Offense Has Struggled
The Astros are 21st in the majors in scoring runs. Obviously, that's below average. I run through the numbers and find reasons to be optimistic that the…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
The Astros at Memorial Day. Theme #2: The Bullpen Has Been Great
The Astros bullpen is 2nd in the majors in ERA. They had done it by identifying promising pitchers off of the scrap heap and developing them into…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
3
The Astros at Memorial Day. Theme #1: As .500 a team as a .500 team can be
The 2025 Astros are right about .500 as they reach Memorial Day. And have been right about .500 all season. I examine how .500 the Astros have been in…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
1
Lance McCullers and Shifting Public Sentiment
Lance McCullers was one of the Astros most popular players when he was on the mound. That changed while he has been out injured. I explore why this…
 • 
Orange Fire (Brian Arbour IRL)
© 2025 Breathin' Orange Fire
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture