Sitemap - 2023 - Orange Fire

Will the Astros Trade Framber Valdez?

Lance Berkman, Chase Utley and the Many Ways to Create Value on a Baseball Field

Why the Astros Are Not Likely to Re-Sign BOTH Altuve and Bregman to Contract Extensions

Standing Pat, Also Known As Going for It in 2024

Just a Backup Catcher, Except Not Just a Backup Catcher

Is Dana Brown Gaining Influence?

The Espada Hire Values Continuity. But No One Really Knows How to Identify the Qualities of Good Managers

How Much Luxury Tax Will Jim Crane Pay? A Small Shopping List; My Offseason Preview

Jim Crane's Bad Year

Dusty Baker: The Ultimate Player's Manager

A Collective Failure

Crestfallen to Angry to Elated to Anxious to Victorious. The Roller Coaster of Emotions of Game 5 of the ALCS

The Hits Were Hard and the Hits Were Timely. My Game 3 Analysis

Both Offenses Did Nothing, but the Astros Did More of Nothing: My Game 1 Observations

Two Big Offenses; Will Anybody Be Able to Get Good Pitching? My ALCS Preview

The Astros Keep Defying the Odds. And That Makes The Winning More Enjoyable.

The Bullpen Seals the Deal. My ALDS Game 3 Analysis

The Astros Hit the Ball Real Hard. My ALDS Game 3 Analysis

Bad Framber. Good Pablo. The Simple and Unhappy Story of Game 2

A Small Ball Rally—and Stopping the Twins from Doing the Same—Made The Difference in Game 1

Astros Bats and Twins Arms Square Off in an Evenly Matched Series: My ALDS Preview

Reflections on 89 Wins and What's To Come

4 Key Factors on Why the Astros Won the Series in Seattle

A Disaster and the Silver Lining

Observations on a Bad Week (That Didn't Turn Out that Bad)

Are Free Agents Worth It? The Case of Michael Brantley Suggests The Answer is No

A Satisfying Series

The Not-So Lost Weekend

An Offense-First Team

"A Thousand More, Please" Assessing What It Will Take for Jose Altuve to Reach 3,000 Hits

The Man of Extremes—Yainer Diaz—is Playing More Often. Somewhat More Often.

"I was raised to be a strong and silent Southern man:" Jason Isbell and the Power of Relatability

Dealing for Justin Verlander Cost the Astros Half of The Value of Their Farm System

Parades over Prospects? No, Prospects Lead to Parades

The Verlander Trade Means the Astros Have Decided to Focus on 2023 and 2024

A Modest Addition for a Modest Cost.

Urgency and Balance in the Chase for the AL West Crown

The Astros Went 6-3 On This Road Trip. Yet, Astros Fans were Big Mad.

A Clear Need and Limited Resources Will Push the Astros To Acquire Rental Starting Pitching: A Trade Deadline Primer

The Bad Vibes of the 2023 Astros Season

The Job Share in the Outfield Is Working Out Better Than Expected

A Losing Sixth, for the First Time in Two and Half Years: A Third Sixth Report

The Astros Defense Has Declined, Especially Among Its Best Defenders

How the Losing Skid Has Damaged the Astros Playoff Chances

An Offensive Decline, but Especially From Key Every Day Players

Lance McCullers' Surgery Hurts the Astros in the 2023 AND 2024 Season

How Should We Approach Losses in the Middle of a Division Race?

The Alvarez Injury Compounds the Bad News from a Bad Series

Framber > Shohei. Heck, Framber Might Be > Than Just About Anybody Right Now

Run Prevention Leads to Winning Baseball: A Second Sixth Report

A Pitching-First Team

Travis Sawchik's List of Astros Long-Term Concerns Should Be Taken Seriously

Alex Bregman Will Be Fine

How Will the Rotation Muddle Through?

A Winning Record Despite A Frustrating Start: The First Sixth Report

Bryan Abreu Has Risen To Near the Top Of The Bullpen

Baseball Brings Us Together. A Meditation on Friendship via Baseball

The Astros are 6-7...again. Why History Shows That the Sluggish Start Won't Last

Why Are The Astros Striking Out So Much?

Observations on the First Week of the Season

A Time Capsule From a Different Time and Emotional State, or Why The Suffering Makes Winning the World Series Even Sweeter

What Would It Take for the Astros to Lose the AL West?

The Bullpen Again Look Strong and Stable Amid Injuries and Uncertainty Elsewhere

Can Chas McCormick Remain an Above Average Major League Hitter? I Say Yes

How Will the Astros Handle Jose Altuve's (Reportedly) Broken Thumb?

Can Jim Crane Sustain the 5-Year Rule?

The Optimist's Case for Jake Meyers

Luis Garcia Must Get a New Windup. What He Really Needs is a Better Fastball.

McCullers Injury Raises the Question of Starting Pitching Depth

Drellich's Book Focuses on Front Office Culture, But, Oddly, Not on Results

Change...And More of the Same

The Most Important Decision in the AL West This Offseason: The Mariners Didn't Spend

What's the Long Term Plan at Catcher?

The Dana Brown Hire: One Step Forward AND One Step Back

David Hensley Has Walked His Way to the Utility Infield Job in 2023

This Offseason MLB Teams Tried to Follow the Phillies Model