Light Up
Now that the holidays are coming to an end and the first full week of 2026 starts next week, local Democrats can probably expect to be hit by ads from various candidates. I am sure Amanda Edwards and Christian Menefee will tee it up with just 29 days to go before the runoff special. Look for Cong. Jasmine Crockett and State Rep. James Talarico to launch their ads soon. We kind of know what to expect from Edwards and Menefee. I am curious what the Crockett and Talarico messages will be about. Let’s bring them on.
Afterall, mail ballots for the March 3 primary elections will be hitting mailboxes at the end of this month – January.
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On the first day of 2026, the Astros made a huge move. See this from Tags at MLB.com:
HOUSTON — The Astros made baseball’s first big splash of 2026 by agreeing Thursday to a three-year, $54 million deal with Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The club hasn’t confirmed the move.
Tatsuya can earn $3 million in incentives if he throws 100 innings in 2026, according to Feinsand. If he does, Imai’s base salary becomes $21 million in ’27 and ’28. He had longer-term deals with lower AAVs on the table, though he chose to go to Houston on the shorter-term, higher-AAV deal with opt-outs.
Imai was posted by his Nippon Professional Baseball club, the Saitama Seibu Lions, on Nov. 19, opening MLB teams’ 45-day window to negotiate a contract with him. He’ll join Kaz Matsui, Nori Aoki and Yusei Kikuchi as the only Japanese players to have played for Houston.
The signing underscores the Astros’ desire to be more competitive in signing players from Japan and Korea. A month ago, the Astros signed free-agent right-hander Ryan Weiss to a one-year deal after he pitched the last two seasons in Korea. Imai and Weiss are two of four starting pitchers acquired this offseason by the Astros, who are expected to lose workhorse lefty Framber Valdez in free agency.
The Astros also acquired Pirates right-hander Mike Burrows in a three-team trade on Dec. 19, and signed right-hander Nate Pearson to a one-year deal in October. Houston’s rotation will be anchored by Hunter Brown, with Cristian Javier, Spencer Arrighetti, Lance McCullers Jr. and Jason Alexander among those returning behind him.
Houston has built some quality starting pitching depth following a season in which its rotation was ravaged by injuries.
I am glad to see the Astros make this move. I hope it works out.
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The featured photo, is you guessed it, from the Houston Astros Light Up the Park. You have from now until this Sunday to check it out at Daikin Park.
Have a safe weekend.