Babe Ruth's single-season slugging percentage and walks records aren't the only Bambino standards that Barry Bonds might break.

Take Bonds' slugging percentage and skew it with other considerations, and Bonds continues to set new highs. Isolated power -- slugging percentage minus batting average -- measures extra-base hits alone. In a category that awards his abundant homers and few singles, Bonds' .513 mark will obliterate Ruth's previous record of .472, set in 1920.

Ruth owns the top two marks and four of the top eight, with Mark McGwire owning third through fifth places, his highest being .454 from the historic 1998 season. By comparison, Sosa's 66-homer season of 1998 produced an isolated power total of .339, good only for 49th.

Bonds' 2000 stats produced the 11th-highest percentage at .381.

The same fate could await Ruth's record for total average, a stat created by Tom Boswell that denotes bases gained divided by outs made. Ruth owns the top two averages and four of the top eight, led by his 1920 mark of 1.803. No one has posted a top-10 average since Ted Williams in 1957. Mark McGwire's 1.512 during his 70-homer season of 1998 was only good for 19th.

Bonds' mark of 1.7566 through Thursday would rank second.

Bonds likely won't break Ruth's record OPS -- slugging plus on-base percentages -- but he'll come close. Ruth not only owns the best-ever at 1.379, but he owns the top three and six of the top eight. Bonds' current OPS of 1.326 would rank third.

Ruth's records for extra-base hits and total bases look safe as well despite Luis Gonzalez's summer-long challenge to the latter.

Go get 'em, Tigers

If you had to watch the Tigers offense day in and day out, you'd be as frustrated as Phil Garner. Bobby Higginson, who homered 30 times last season, went two months and 179 at-bats between home runs before hitting his 13th of the year on Wednesday. He hit his 14th of the season in the next at-bat. He also ended a drought of one RBI in his previous 52 at-bats, with that lone RBI coming from a bases-loaded walk.

Tony Clark's RBI triple that day wasn't only his first three-bagger since June 25. It marked his first RBI in 32 at-bats. He hadn't homered since July 27 before he did so Friday against the Red Sox.

Higginson and Clark are the third and fourth hitters in this lineup. They hadn't enjoyed multi-RBI efforts in the same game since July 6.

The Tigers have had at least one 20-homer player every non-strike year since 1976, a streak at risk of ending this season unless Robert Fick can hit one in the remaining games. Detroit more likely will go without a 100-RBI hitter for the first time in a non-shortened season since 1989, the year before Cecil Fielder arrived.

Brad Radke's six perfect innings nearly led to the 13th no-hitter against the Tigers in franchise history, including a Nolan Ryan gem in 1973 during which Norm Cash stepped to the plate with a table leg instead of a bat. Cash had struck out in his previous three at-bats. Only the Athletics have been no-hit more often among American League clubs with 14. The Red Sox have suffered a dozen no-hitters as well.

It's not just the Tigers

The Tigers aren't the only team with a power problem in the middle of the order. The Reds didn't have a 20-homer hitter this season either. Ken Griffey Jr. needed 65 at-bats to power his 20th.

They're still waiting for a hitter with 100 RBI. Sean Casey is the closest with 88 through Saturday. That's not a rarity, considering Cincinnati went nine seasons between such players before 1999.

Double-doubles

Todd Helton's double Wednesday against the Diamondbacks gave him 50 for the second consecutive season. For a reference, only two National League players have posted more 50-double seasons in their careers. Paul Waner and Stan Musial did it three times, and never in consecutive years.

His total over that span through Thursday stood at 109, fourth-highest over consecutive seasons in major-league history and only 11 behind Joe Medwick's record with the 1936-37 Cardinals.

Jimmy on the run

Jimmy Rollins is on track to set one rookie leadoff standard even Ichiro can't match.

With 44 stolen bases and 11 triples, the Phillies shortstop is expected to hang on and become the first player to lead the National League in both categories since Lou Brock in 1968. Five other players have done so since 1900, including Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Honus Wagner and Max Carey as well as legendary basethief Maury Wills.

Mickey Rivers is the last player to lead the AL in steals and triples in the same season, having done so in 1975.

Rollins' pace has rubbed off on the team as well. The Phillies, who haven't had a player lead the NL in steals since Chuck Klein swiped 20 in 1932, haven't led the league in stolen bases as a team since 1886.

Even more numbers

5 -- Seasons with 100 losses for the Pirates since 1901. The Buccos entered the final 16 games of the season needing to finish 9-7 to avoid a sixth such season. By contrast, the Phillies have 14 100-loss seasons over that span, one more than the Braves. The Cubs, surprisingly, have only two, same as the Dodgers and Cardinals. The Reds and Giants have one.

7 -- Phillies hitters with at least 50 RBI, most among major-league clubs.

10 -- White Sox pitchers to undergo arm or shoulder surgery in the past 12 months. The latest, Rocky Biddle, will have arthroscopic surgery next week.

14 -- Seasons since a Twins hitter homered 25 times and drove in 100 runs in the same season. Gary Gaetti had 31 home runs and 109 RBI in 1987. Corey Koskie needs one more RBI to end the drought.

50 -- Home losses by the Reds this season with six more dates left in Cincinnati. They'll miss the National League record of 58 set by the 1962 Mets, but not by much.