Framber and King Tuck
Christmas Eve Day is two weeks from today. Hope it is going well for you.
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It looks like I may have been wrong about the Texas House Speaker’s race. I said last week that the race would be decided by the GOP Texas House members. One GOP candidate for Texas House Speaker has released the names of the Texas Democratic State House members who are supporting him. This House Speaker candidate is already calling himself “Speaker-Elect” in fundraising invitations. The other GOP candidate is reaching out to Democratic House members.
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I have seen a few posts on social media on the enormous resources poured into catching the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Low profile murder cases don’t get this type of attention. What else is news.
Meanwhile, Cancun Cruz just loves to make stuff up. See this from Yahoo News:
In response to the news on Monday that police in Pennsylvania apprehended 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, the prime suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is using him as an example of “leftist” views being a mental illness.
In a post to X made shortly after Mangione was identified, Cruz shared an article by the New York Post and wrote, “Leftism is a mental disease. The suspected murderer, an Ivy League graduate, ‘subscribed to anti-capitalist and climate-change causes, according to law enforcement.’ And the murderer has been widely celebrated by leftists online. Tragic & sick.”
In the wake of Mangione’s arrest in Altoona, Pa., a rush of information on the suspect’s background has been circulating online, with The New York Times reporting that he attended high school at the Gilman School in Baltimore, where he was an athlete and the valedictorian of his graduating class in 2016, delivering a speech describing his class as “coming up with new ideas and challenging the world around it.”
With the only prior criminal activity linked to Mangione being a citation for trespassing in Hawaii, the suspect’s online presence shows a split in his path, with a Goodreads review he left on Ted Kaczynski’s manifesto referring to the Unabomber as an “extreme political revolutionary,” and friends and loved ones expressing concern for him on social media a month prior to the shooting of Thompson, according to The Daily Beast.
None of this, however, backs up Cruz’s statement.
“Person of Interest in the UHC CEO killing Luigi Mangione is being painted as left-wing by the New York Post but his X account shows someone whose thinking is shaped by the Online Right,” writes journalist Ari Drennen in a post to X.
I just saw on “Today” that the alleged killer’s brother is a GOPer serving in the Maryland state legislature. Yeah, and Cancun is also a product of Ivy League schools. Cancun is being Cancun.
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On the Christmas season front.
Buttermilk, dried figs, whole-wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and seasonings (cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt), eggs, bread crumbs, butter, almonds, orange marmalade, orange zest, and orange-vanilla flavoring are ingredients you need if you want to make figgy pudding. Now you know.
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The Astros sent me this yesterday:
The Houston Astros are excited to announce the annual FanFest returns on Saturday, January 25th.
Don’t miss your opportunity to see your favorite Astros and experience autograph sessions, photo opportunities, games, field access, and so much more! Vouchers for FanFest are $2 and benefit the Astros Foundation.
Be on the lookout in early January for more details on purchasing your voucher.
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The featured photo is from a headline on the front page of the Sports Section in today’s Chron hard copy. Yep, Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker could very well be on the trading block. Here is from the Chron story:
(Astros General Manager Dana) Brown, asked if he believes the Astros could contend in 2025 even after trading one of Tucker or Valdez, answered: “Yes, I think we could. “I think the team’s good enough to,” Brown said. “It depends on what you get back in the return if you decide to go that way. But we will not make any trades that don’t make sense in terms of winning the division, getting back to the postseason and all that. We’re not trying to break the team down. So the trade would have to make sense in that we’re not weakening our club.”
Tucker, about whom The Athletic reported the Astros are already receiving trade inquiries, could be the more difficult of the two players to replace. Houston received sporadic offensive production from its outfield group this past season, though it did win the AL West despite losing Tucker for three months to a right shin fracture. He has developed into one of the game’s best all-around offensive players.
Valdez, though, anchors a rotation that dealt with myriad injuries this year and harbors questions about its depth entering next season. He has made 90 starts with a 3.13 ERA over the last three seasons.
That the Astros could deal either and still contend for the AL West reflects a flawed division. It also begs the question of whether the team is operating under any constraints this winter, though Brown said the front office does have financial “flexibility” to pursue improvements.
Here is the entire Chron story on the possible trade: Houston Astros wouldn’t rule out Kyle Tucker or Framber Valdez trade.
I am not going to get worked up about this. I just want the team to stay focused on keeping Alex Bregman.
