On your mark ...

BARRY BONDS: 734 AND COUNTING...

The “if” in Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Hank Aaron’s home run record has been replaced by “when.”

Last spring, Bonds -- coming off a season in which he played only 14 games -- was wracked by knee and elbow pain. He even talked about retiring after the season, though he backtracked later that day. Forget Aaron’s 755; the seven home runs he’d need to pass Babe Ruth at 714 didn’t even look like a sure thing.

But after trudging through the first two months -- getting No. 715 on May 28 -- the Giants slugger finished fast, hitting 12 of his 26 home runs after July 31. This spring, the knee doesn’t seem to be bothering him and he’s been driving the ball.

So when should we expect to see No. 756? An educated guess based on last year’s production would be Aug. 10, at home against Pittsburgh.

But that’s only if ...

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TOM GLAVINE: 290 WINS...

If New York Mets pitcher Tom Glavine can win 10 games this season -- a pretty safe bet, considering he has done it in 17 of the last 18 seasons, including 14 in a row from 1989 through 2002 -- he’ll become only the fifth left-hander (and 23rd pitcher) to win 300 games.

And, like many of the recent 300-game winners -- Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Phil Niekro and Tom Seaver, to name a few -- he’ll do it for a team other than the one with which he was most closely associated. Glavine, a former Atlanta Brave, would be the first to do it pitching for the Mets, a little payback for the franchise with which Seaver and Ryan started their careers.

On deck for 300 wins after Glavine, 41, is another forty-something left-hander, Arizona’s Randy Johnson, 43, with 280 wins.

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CRAIG BIGGIO: 2,930 HITS...

If Houston’s Craig Biggio becomes the 27th player to reach 3,000 hits this season, he will be only the third player to reach the mark who played a majority of his games at second base (Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie are the others). Other club members who played a significant number of games at second are Rod Carew (1,130), Pete Rose (628) and Paul Molitor (400).

Biggio, 41, also would become only the second member who played catcher, joining Cap Anson (105). Biggio has appeared in 1,875 games at second and 427 at catcher.

The other player close to 3,000 hits is ... Barry Bonds. He needs 159, so he’ll have to improve on his 2006 total of 99 if he’s to make it this season. The last season Bonds had more than 150 hits was 2001, when he hit 73 home runs.

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TREVOR HOFFMAN: 482 SAVES...

He’s already the all-time saves leader with 482, but San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman is fast approaching a number -- 500 -- some might have thought unattainable given the high burnout rate of closers.

Even more amazing is that Hoffman, 39, has posted three consecutive 40-plus save seasons since having two shoulder surgeries that sidelined him for almost all of 2003.

While there’s no chance of Hoffman’s being caught by Nos. 2 and 3 on the saves list -- Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424) are both retired -- he can’t rest too comfortably. At No. 4 with 413 saves is the New York Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, who is two years younger than Hoffman. Assuming Rivera plays two years longer than Hoffman, that 69-save lead could evaporate quickly.

And they both might want to keep an eye on the Angels’ Francisco Rodriguez, tied for 99th with 106 saves. Rodriguez, 25, is the youngest pitcher to reach 100 saves. To put that into perspective, Hoffman recorded his first save when he was 25.

On the other hand, Gregg Olson, who had been the youngest to get 100 saves before Rodriguez, finished with 217.

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BIG BATS

*--* Baseball’s career home run list: Player HRs 1. Hank Aaron 755 2. Barry Bonds 734 3. Babe Ruth 714 4. Willie Mays 660

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*--* 5. Sammy Sosa 588 6. Frank Robinson 586 7. Mark McGwire 583 8. Harmon Killebrew 573 9. Rafael Palmeiro 569 10. Ken Griffey 563 Reggie Jackson 563 12. Mike Schmidt 548 13. Mickey Mantle 536 14. Jimmie Foxx 534 15. Willie McCovey 521 Ted Williams 521 17. Ernie Banks 512 Eddie Mathews 512 19. Mel Ott 511 20. Eddie Murray 504

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*--* 21. Lou Gehrig 493 Fred McGriff 493 23. Frank Thomas 487 24. Stan Musial 475 Willie Stargell 475 26. Jim Thome 472 27. Manny Ramirez 470 28. Dave Winfield 465 29. Alex Rodriguez 464 30. Jose Canseco 462 31. Gary Sheffield 455 Note: Shading indicates active player

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Sources: baseball-reference.com and Los Angeles Times