Baseball Tidbits, Featuring: Gil Hodges, CC Sabathia, Cody Bellinger, Mike Moustakas, & A Stogie

On the morrow, I shall sit and type up 'clever' boxing words over a good 'nuff for the likes a' me cigar. I'll be doing that for my side-gig as columnist extraordinaire over at Ringside Report. You can check out my latest there, Kap’s Smoke Ring Vol. 1: Rocky Marciano, Floyd Mayweather, JR, Andre Ward, Gennady Golovkin Vs Canelo Alvarez & More.

Long story short, so's I figured "Why not baseball?" Why not baseball. I figured that for the first time, and shortly thereafter wearing a thick polyester green uniform with loud yellow trim. It itched badly. Only sorta fit. I was about 13. "Kings Bay" shouted its front across my narrow chest. The thing must a' already been a decade old hand-me-down. I wore #34. Nolan Ryan. "Baseball itches, that's why not." I maybe thought and maybe aloud as I sweat'd up the outfield in mid-summer sun.

But I put in my time, and showed some promise. 'Nuff to land a spot on the Gil Hodges travel team. Those unis were much lighter-weight polyester and of a hunter orange hue. Black and white trimmings. I was about 15. Gil Hodges to me, signified an accomplishment. I studied up on the fella. He held his own with anyone throughout the '50s.

Then, two days ago and some decades later, I'm cruising Facebook on my PNW porch of wildfire smoke... to learn Hodges ain't in the Hall. How'd I miss such a glorious opportunity to gripe? I hate on the record and repeatedly-so that Craig Biggio is in the Hall of Fame. Lettuce compare, gentlepersons: In 20 years of MLB ball, Biggio hit .281 to Hodges' .273 after 18 years. Have I mentioned Hodges managed the '69 Mets to their Miracle? Biggio: 3,060 hits. Hodges: 1,921. I feel polyester piping closing in 'round my neck... Homers: Biggio 291, Hodges 370. Better... RBI: Hodges 1,274, Biggio 1,175. Runs: Hodges 1,105 to Biggio's 1,844.

Ya know what else I ain't sure of any longer? The LA Dodgers. They got it all-but punched, their play-off ticket -- but how far will they go once they leave the post-season station? It's begun to look like they're slumping at a bad time. As I pound the keys a' my Chromebook, they're down 6-3 in the final stanza to the Fathers of San Diego. Lettuce take the 10 games prior, of which they've dropped seven. 3 -7 is bad, soitenly, but it's HOW they've been failing that's where the failure either lies or lays. They've been coming up short in the same modus operandi they were previously winning with, namely the H-wood theatrics of coming from behind. They didn't start and sadly end six down against the D-Backs for instance; they come back. Just not all the way, and stoped at a 6-4 L. This would scare my blue blood had I have any Dodger juice to loose.

At least they got the long-lived happy of having one Mr. Cody Bellinger in their line-up. He just tied Mike Piazza's rookie record of 35 humdingers, round-trippers, fence-jumpers. With plenty of games left to exceed the mark. Bellinger's is a lasting talent, one which'll grow. Not like his Junior League counterpart, Aaron "Dave Kingman" Judge.

At 'bout the same time, another HR record was paced. Mike Moustakas, KC's Moose, hit his 36th to meet Steve Balboni's '85 mark. Amazing its stood that long, really. Has anyone ever seen Balboni and the Brooklyn Brawler in the same room at the same time? Inquiring and novel minds (mine) wanna know. The pesky and rugged Royals may play spoiler, and then next year go back to feeding more populous baseball towns with many a talent. Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Jason Vargas and Alcides Escobar are all set to test the market at this year's wrap. My hope is for Moose to be the attainable priority to re-sign. He seems as good for moral as he is for their line-up.

With this stogie reaching its end, and BOY-O, can ya really taste the homogenized binder, can we give CC Sabathia a quick looksie? I mean the fella is, shall we say, hard to miss. Recently, the not-so-svelte veteran hurler belittled BoSox buntings 'gainst him. “It’s kind of weak to me,” Sabathia told the NY post rag. “It shows what they’ve got over there. … I’m an old man. They should go out there and try to kick my butt.” Perchance their feet ain't big 'nuff. Mayhaps his love of seconds and thirds and dare-say fourths is what kicked his butt. Real ball-players come in all sizes -- but so do dinner plates.

“I [said] ‘I’m sorry,’ but I have to do it, that’s my game,” Nunez said too to the rag. “I feel bad, but if I have to do it twice, I’ll do it. I don’t care if he’s mad or not.” In sports, you attack weaknesses. In buffets, CC attacks carbs. Nunez owed no apology. I might. Meh.

With a hot nub and palate, I'll lay down both literal stogie and figurative pen. But(t) first, like a breech birth: Please DONATE just a few shekels during this month of Shemptember and its inherent spirit of giving. Keep me going. Going is good. Thank-you, gentlepersons and keep hitting 'em where they ain't.