Rick Wise - HOF trade bait

36 years ago, Rick Wise, pitcher for the Phillies, hit two home runs to against the SF Giants. It was the 2nd time in that season of '71 that he hit two home runs in a game. The other time (Jun 23rd vs. Cin) he also pitched a no-hitter. Now that's a good day of baseball!

He finished the year with 6 home runs, 17 wins and a 2.88 ERA. And then he was traded to the Cardinals for Steve Carlton.

It wasn't the last time he was traded for a future Hall of Famer. In 1978 he was part of a trade from the Red Sox to the Indians for a Dennis Eckersley

Who has been traded for the most Hall of Famers in their career?

Cain is Able

The Giants have had trouble scoring runs for their starters all season. Recognizing this, Matt Cain after dropping to 3-12, decided to take matters in his own hands.

In the month of August he leads the Giants in slugging percentage (.900) and the only players with more home runs are Bonds (6) and Molina (3)

Hopefully, his teammates will get inspired.

New K King in Town

Earlier in this space, I predicted that Adam Dunn would break his won record of 195 strikeouts in a season, possibly even breaking 200.

Dunn has slowed down his strikeout pace. With 138 he's now on pace for 182.
Plus, it looks like he won't lead the league for a fourth straight year.
Ryan Howard has shot past him, sitting on 149 K's before reaching 100 Hits for the year. Howard is on pace for 196 strikeouts so he could take a run at Dunn's record.

The last player to lead the NL in K's for four straight years was Vince DiMaggio (1942-45). Mr. K himself, Reggie Jackson, led the AL in K's from (1968-71)

If Dunn should pass Howard, he would be the only one to lead the majors in 4 straight years.

Dunn has already passed Sosa for most strikeouts for a four year span (2004-2007). With 25 more K's this year (which he should have by early Sep), he'd average a whopping 180 strikeouts a year for 4 years! Hear footsteps, Reggie?

Maps

Frandsen vs. Hennessey

One of the young guys the Giants are counting on for their post-Bonds era is Kevin Frandsen. Maybe they should instead take Brad Hennessey out of the bullpen and give him a few more ABs.

Career stats:
Frandsen .219 Avg, .300 Slg
Hennessey .222 Avg, .325 Slg

Also, Hennessey homers an unimpressive once every 40 at bats. Unimpressive until you see that this is more than twice as often as Frandsen who homers once every 82 at bats

Omar Still Rolling

Early this year, 40 year old Omar Vizquel was hitting in the low .220's and it looked like it may be the end of the road for the perennial Gold Glover. A true professional, he quietly built his average up to .257.

In the last two months, he's hit .292, the most of all Giants who've played in 20 or more games.

And he's still playing better shortstop than most players 15 years younger than him. Check out his recent play on the best plays of the year tapes.

With 2,564 career hits, he's solidifying his Hall of Fame credentials.

A-Rod and Barry: Men of the Month

Get ready for a huge August from Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds. Based on there pattern this season, they will alternate between a great month and a sub-par month.
After a phenomenal April, A-Rod had a dismal May. June looked like he was back on track, yet July disappointed again (primarily since he finished the month going 0-15 while trying to get that 500th home run)

Barry Bonds:
Apr & Jun: .360
May & Jul: .190

Alex Rodriguez:
Apr & Jun: .379
May & Jul: .221

A-Rod Stats:

	H	HR	TB	AVG	SLG
Apr	33	14	82	0.355	0.882
May	24	5	43	0.235	0.422
Jun	39	9	75	0.402	0.773
Jul	20	7	46	0.206	0.474

Look at the sub-totals for the hot months (Apr-Jun) and the cold (May-Jul)
He batted .379 in Apr / Jun but only .221 in May / Jul

	H	HR	TB	AVG	SLG
Apr / Jun	72	23	157	0.379	0.826
May / Jul	44	12	89	0.221	0.447

... so the pressure is on for a huge August (followed by a tepid September)