Travis Hafner: further down the spiral
Written By: Mike | Category: Cleveland Indians | Comments: 11
On a night in which we watched former slugger Travis Hafner struggle once again with that impressive 2-foot drive with the bases loaded on Wednesday, I can’t help but wonder if this is actually not a slump anymore and rather a new phase in Pronk’s career.
It really is frustrating to watch. In a relatively short time, Hafner has gone from challenging David Ortiz as the AL’s premier DH to now swinging the bat like the Buddhist version of Pedro Cerrano in Major League 2.
Some people have their theories as to what the problem is. I’ve heard some drunks at Johnny Malloy’s swear Hafner lost his swing the moment he got married (Keep in mind one of these guys was such a knowledgable sports fan, he kept bitching because teams in the top half of the NFL draft were passing up on Colt Brennan. Have another beer buddy!). The only thing more goofy about that assertion was hearing local sports talk hosts say the same thing a week later on the air. Huh? So does this mean Pronk’s swing was better off when he was sitting home alone and watching WWE and playing video games?
At the plate, the guy looks so mechanically messed up that you’d swear he’d been shot with an elephant gun. ESPN’s Buster Olney and Steve Phillips broke out the video archives and believe they see something like 8 or 9 things wrong with Travis’ swing. Think about that for a minute…they think they’ve nailed the problem to just 8 or 9 discrepancies. Likely translation: don’t expect this issue to be resolved anytime soon.
So when is a slump not a slump? Well…I would think it ceases to be a slump when it has been over a year now since we’ve seen the Hafner of old. I hope I’m very wrong, but the truth is Hafner may be another another case of a hitter with a bigger body type who loses his skills quickly after turning 30. When them big boys lose dem skills, theys sure lose ‘em fast.
I have to admit, I read a prediction of this scenario taking place in the 2008 edition of Baseball Prospectus. At first I hoped they were off the mark. After all, this isn’t an exact science we are referring to here. However, their comps to Hafner seem to make sense in the likes of Boog Powell and Kent Hrbek in terms of age and career production trends. Throw in the fact that MLB is now actually testing for PED’s which allowed players to delay their decline by about five years, and perhaps Hafner’s career downturn may indeed be right on schedule.
Trust me, I’d like nothing more than to be off the mark and see a bunch of e-mails and comments this fall tell me what an idiot etc. I am when Hafner is leading the Tribe to a World Series. I just don’t see it happening.
I’m glad to see you write about Hafner because I was just thinking the same thing after yesterday’s game. The first paragraph pretty much sums it all up. Wedge tried to give a morale boost with a shot at free RBI’s at least, and then he hits the most embarrassing double play ball I’ve seen all year.
The fact he’s hitting 4 for 25 in last 8 games played would be considered a slump… batting .211 for the year and .266 the year before … is a waste of 8 million dollars.
If ESPN has really found that many things wrong, then the Tribe needs to hire them for consulting.
I think I read somewhere else about that marriage thing too…
Did I mention a new hitting coach?
All I know is I suddenly feel like listening to Nine Inch Nails.
If ESPN employees have published their “findings,” the Indians might want to read them, but I don’t see why they would want to set up an additional salary line for anyone.
Hafner has been painful to watch, but given all he has done and likely can still do, it would be premature to push him down or out at this stage. The worry is warranted, however, and we all need to keep our eyes and ears peeled.
For the time being, can we Tribe fans take a break from our sorrows and smile at the fact that the Indians have just stymied the Yanks for two games straight, including in a deliciously aesthetic performance on the part of Cliff Lee? I am truly excited about this season. Aside from some turbulence in the back end of the pitching staff that goes by the name of Joe, this looks like a dream pitching staff at this point. Even Byrd has been sharp of late.
Clue Heywood to Travis Hafner last night:
“You really hit the shit outta that thing.”
How bad are the Yankees, though? Their run differential projects out to 80 wins, and with Hughes on the DL and Kennedy gone, are they better off or worse?
Meanwhile, there is some good news for the Indians…..thanks to their stellar pitching, their run differential is still in the positive column and in fact, their run diff projects to 86 wins, which just might be good enough to win the Central…..assuming Detroit doesn’t find some pitching at some point in the season.
As for Hafner, its time for him to go. We’ve let him linger around and destroy RBI opportunities for far too long, dating all the way back to April of last year. All we ever do is say “well, maybe this is wrong with him or maybe that is wrong.” But the point is, we don’t know, and even worse, clearly the Indians’ front office and coaching staff have no clue either. Frankly, I’m sick of it.
If I had to point to anything as the start of the slump, I have to go back to when Mark Buerhle hit him in the face. He’s been a dead pull hitter since then. Hasn’t gone the opposite way for any sort of power that I can recall. Someone last night at the bar even suggested sending him down for a couple weeks, which seems laughable
I love when ‘Indians fans’ suggest that the Tribe should do something ‘radical’ and send Hafner or Sabathia down to get things straightened out, or send a message. There’s a reason you don’t hear about teams doing that…
YOU CAN’T SEND DOWN VETERAN PLAYERS! They don’t have minor league options left! At least our readers understand that…
Rick, if they did, it would just mean that there’s another player in AAA that is better than Andy Marte.
I couldn’t resist.
McFad makes a great point, but he did go .308, 42, and 117 that year after getting dotted by Buerhle. It just seems like he hasn’t been the same since breaking his hand against the Rangers 9-06