Travis Hafner Sighting, Looks Tiny

Really stretching for hope here, but perhaps he’s been extremely limited in the workouts he’s been able to perform since his surgery. That could have resulted in some massive muscle mass loss. In fact, I’m sure to some extent that has happened. Still, it’s very difficult to imagine him gaining his size back in the next few months.

and second baseman!

Hell, at least he’s a switch-hitter.

He looked significantly smaller than he does in that photo, which was taken right around this time last year.

One anagram of “pronkta claus” is “lack at run, ops”, so color me scared (of course “a scrotal punk” is another, but I’m not sure how to interpret that one)

I don’t know that any of our current core is going to make for a logical extension anyway. Lee looks great right now, but he’s entering his 30’s at the end of this deal, and who knows if he’s going to have even one great season out of the next two? Martinez is a catcher, by definition they don’t age well, and he’s a bigger injury risk every year. Peralta, nobody wants to see how his defense at SS is in his 30’s, and nobody can say that his bat will play at 3B for very long.

I’m glad the club showed it’s willing to do at least a small version of a “big contract,” but I can’t say it’s the worst thing if we don’t do many more of them. The key thing is making sure we can do these lockup deals with an extra year or two tacked on, that’s where the value is. If the next true long-term extension we do is Grady, that’s probably a good thing, and that’s two or three years away from even being negotiated.

Why can’t I hate on Hafner? He’s going to make 200x what I make to play baseball at a sub-replacement level. Or he’ll make 200x what I make to NOT play baseball. Meanwhile, that’s $11M that can’t go to pay another player or players who could actually contribute to my favorite sports team winning a championship.

Also, the FO has given me many more positive things than negative, so I can forgive the unfortunate turn of events from their standpoint. Mostly.

Why is he more likely than ever unable to contribute significantly? I’d say his 2008 is the worst of it. If he’s healthy—and there’s been no indication otherwise—the worst production is behind. If the expectation is that he return like the gangbuster he was, then you’ll have to just your expectations accordingly.

The greater point is that for Hafner to earn his keep doesn’t require him to return to a 170OPS+ level. Maybe he’s Paul Konerko from here on out and settles in the 120-135 range. If that’s the case, he’s pretty much getting paid market rate. Hafner didn’t sign for $15-$18M per season. His $11.5M this year is one big question mark, but if he’s healthy and throws up a .275/.385/.500 line, the Indians have themselves a good hitter for a fair price for three more seasons.

The “blocking talent” argument is legit, but the Indians, you, and I are not missing out if Ryan Garko or David Dellucci can’t get 500 ABs in the DH role. Even in his “down” 2007, Hafner’s discipline was still solid. I’m willing to give him a pass on 2008. If he struggles in 2009, I’ll start worrying. Right now, though, it’s just suspended optimism that when healthy, Hafner is going to be among the most productive hitters in the lineup.

It was actually a very calm, normal discussion. Why am I a 15 year-old-girl for not wanting to be the kind of d-bag that demands a pic while interrupting someone’s night out?

My point of worry was that he’s lost so much muscle mass (I would guess about 30 lbs) due to not working out that his chances of contributing to this year’s team are much lower than I had previously hoped. Given that they were low in the first place, I felt justified in describing a first-hand account of why expectations might need to be further lowered.

If you’ve seen him in the past 12 days, and got a better look than I did, please respond to that. Tell me he looked like he’s lost maybe 15 or 20 pounds. Tell me you think he’ll be able to gain back what he lost to atrophy by March. Don’t presume to think that I brought this up solely to bitch about him. I brought it up so I could update people on his status, even if it was an iffy, take-it-for-what-it’s-worth kind of update.

Mentioning the consumption of Christmas Ale during said sighting never helps your credibility either.

Sound reasoning here.

agh. McCarthy’s and Johnny Malloy’s mask a somewhat decent bar in the area, The Drink Cafe.

I totally agree, which is why I was the one defending his right to refuse. I was a little annoyed at the way he did it, but it wasn’t worth thinking about for more than a few seconds.

And this is exactly why you don’t draw conclusions from ancetedotal “evidence” like “I saw him and he looked small therefore he must have lost 30 lbs in muscle therefore he must be injured next year”

I appreciate you reporting your newsowrthy Hafner siting, but you shouldn’t jump to extreme conclusions.

Also, good for Hafner. I’m optimistic he’ll be a valuable player next year. IMO, Hafner’s greatest strength has always been his plate discipline anyways.

Haven’t noticed anyone commenting on this yet…when I read the article, I thought Soloff was saying that Hafner was slimming intentionally:

“He’s at a juncture in his career where he has to examine every avenue to improve,” said Soloff. “One avenue is his body structure and shape.”

Perhaps to keep proper mobility in his shoulder he needs to be thinner and more flexible? Does anyone else see Soloff’s comments this way, or am I crazy/drunk?

In a related story, Hafner vows to steal 40 bases next year.

So PR implies the weight loss is, if not intentional, not completely unintentional. Is the “goal” perhaps to be able to pin down 1B? That seems to be his only chance of increasing his value to the team.

I also wonder how he’s working out. It can’t involve much, if any, upper body strength building. My guess is its largely conditioning, which while certainly a positive, won’t have much bearing on his ability to hit. As the article (undoubtedly fed by the notoriously vague and often intentionally misleading FO public injury PR team) states, Hafner is still 4 weeks from swinging a bat. While that could mean two months or two years in reality, the point is that we can be very sure that he won’t pick a bat up for the next month.

That, again, doesn’t leave very much time to reach an equilibrium between swing mechanics and body size (unless he wants to stay at his new weight).

If that was me, my apologies. Can you re-post it and just substitute another word for the offensive one?

Are you sober already?