ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Travis Hafner was off Wednesday. The Angels started left-hander Scott Kazmir and the Indians are off today. It fit the Indians' schedule for Hafner since he came off the disabled list Aug. 15. Four to five days on, one day off, in order to keep his right shoulder strong. But while he was off, the conversation...
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Travis Hafner was off Wednesday. The Angels started left-hander Scott Kazmir and the Indians are off today.
It fit the Indians' schedule for Hafner since he came off the disabled list Aug. 15. Four to five days on, one day off, in order to keep his right shoulder strong. But while he was off, the conversation about hitting never really stops.
View full sizeIndians DH Travis Hafner is hitting .304 (21-for-69) with two homers and 11 RBI since coming off the disabled list Aug. 15.
The Indians have the youngest team in the big leagues. When the young position hitters want to talk hitting, they seek out hitting coach Jon Nunnally and Hafner.
"Grandpa Pronk," said Hafner, 33, with a laugh. "Somebody said that right away."
Hafner, who doubled and homered in Tuesday's 6-1 victory over the Angels, said the abundance of conversation about hitting has a lot to do with the Indians' youth.
"It's something you always do," said Hafner, "being a younger team, it seems like we talk about it more than in the past."
Hafner said the group can include up to seven or eight players.
"It's actually been great, we've actually got quite a few guys on the team who sit around and talk hitting a lot. It's helped me out a lot, too. You bring up things you used to do.
"There are quite a few guys on the team . . . probably seven or eight us. We talk in the clubhouse, in the batting cage, on the plane. It's fun."
Said Trevor Crowe: "We talk with Nuns [Nunnally], but a lot of guys talk among themselves. We've seen each other play, we're facing the same pitches. A guy like Jordan Brown has seen my swing for seven or eight years.
"It's always nice to have veteran players like Hafner around so you can pick their brains. He knows the swings so well, he's easy to talk to."
Hafner isn't just dispensing knowledge, he's learning as well.
"It's good if we're going over pitchers, mechanics or approach," he said. " You'll get to talking and realize things you used to do and maybe have gotten away from. You try to incorporate that into your approach or swing. It's helped me out a lot, too."
Hafner is hitting .274 (93-for-339) with 25 doubles, 11 homers and 43 RBI for the season. He's hitting .304 (21-for-69) with two homers and 11 RBI since on Aug. 15.
"Other than the amount of home runs, we should be pretty happy with the at-bats he's giving us," manager Manny Acta said. "The second half, he's been very good batting-average wise, on-base-percentage wise and slugging wise.
"It he can finish the season the way he's hit in the second half, continue to get healthy, who knows what can happen next year."
Hafner is hitting .347 (34-for-98) with 11 doubles, three homers and 14 RBI since the All-Star break.
Nominated: Jensen Lewis is the Indians' nominee for the Roberto Clemente award. Every team nominates a player based on performance on and off the field. The winner is chosen during the World Series.
"It's a great honor," Lewis said. "After getting called back up [Sept. 1], it's just really a nice surprise."
Swing away: In Sunday's 3-0 loss to Felix Hernandez and Seattle, Michael Brantley had one of the Tribe's four hits. He hit the ball hard two other times against the Mariners' No. 1 starter.
In Monday's 3-2 victory over the Angels, Brantley started the Indians' winning rally with a line-drive double with two out in the ninth off hard-throwing closer Fernando Rodney. He singled earlier in the game against starter Dan Haren.
Tuesday night, in the Tribe's 6-1 victory, Brantley had two hits against starter Trevor Bell.
"He's not intimidated," Acta said. "He's had some great at-bats against good pitchers . . . like Monday night against Rodney.
"Mike is going to hit up here. There's no doubt. He's done it his whole life. He's a lifetime .300 hitter in the minor leagues. He's very young. Very coachable. He's able to make adjustments."
Brantley is hitting .294 (32-for-109) with 18 runs, three doubles, two homers and 12 RBI since being recalled from Class AAA Columbus on Aug. 6. It's his third tour with the Tribe this year.