Hafner hoping to use spring to regain swing

The Tribe’s heavy hitter wasn’t the same last season.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — As the firecracking sounds boomed out of the outdoor batting cage and bounced off the aluminum-sided walls on Wednesday, one thing became apparent: Travis Hafner was near.

Bravely standing 10 or so feet in front of Cleveland’s DH, Indians hitting coach Derek Shelton underhanded baseballs toward Hafner before ducking for safety behind a protective screen.

CRACK! THWACK! KAPOW!

For 15 minutes, Hafner blasted balls to all corners of the netted cage, fine tuning his powerful swing.

The same one he couldn’t find in 2007.

“It was a constant battle,” Hafner said.

By Hafner’s high standards, last season was a major disappointment for the good-natured 30-year-old, best known to Indians fans by his “Pronk” nickname. He batted .267 with 24 homers — six grand slams — and 100 RBIs, numbers and a season that would make most major leaguers proud.

Not Hafner. After setting career highs with 42 homers and 117 RBIs in 2006, he expected more of himself. It’s not that he was an automatic out, he just couldn’t string together hits as he had in the past.

“I guess I never really got into a groove last season,” he said between fork fulls of a post-workout lunch of rice and chicken. “I kind of didn’t have the feel that I’ve had for most of my career as far as my swing.”

Hafner’s bat didn’t have its customary pop in ‘07. Balls that normally found the gaps fell into gloves instead. Groundballs that squirted through the infield, turned into routine double plays. And every time he got on a roll, it didn’t last.

Although he’d never admit it, Hafner may have been distracted by contract negotiations that dragged on before he signed a four-year, $57 million deal in July.

“The whole year felt like, ‘OK I’m close and a couple good games I’m over the hump,”’ he said. “I just never got to the point where I was comfortable and I was able to get up there and hit like I wanted to.”

Unfortunately for the Indians, Hafner’s April-through-September struggles spilled over into October. In the AL playoffs, he batted .250 with one homer as Cleveland ousted the New York Yankees.

But against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, Hafner hit only .148 (4-for-27) and struck out 12 times as the Indians blew a 3-1 lead and finished one win shy of the World Series.

“It was just a continuation of the regular season,” he said. “It seems like when you’re not swinging the bat well, your hitting zone is smaller and you can’t handle as many pitches. I wasn’t as tough an out as I have been in the past.”