Posted on 09/10/2006 9:08:16 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
CHICAGO -- Upon further review, Travis Hafner's hand injury is as bad as had been feared. Hafner has a broken metacarpal bone below the ring finger on his right hand, an injury that will bring his impressive 2006 season to an end.
The break came Sept. 1 in Texas, when Hafner was hit by a fastball by Rangers reliever C.J. Wilson, but it did not show up on an initial X-ray. A second X-ray taken Friday night in Chicago revealed it.
"Obviously, I would have loved to finish the season and be out there with my teammates," Hafner said. "I love competing. It's frustrating that I don't get to play the last month."
Hafner found some solace in the fact that the Indians, as a team, don't have much left to play for this season.
But the man known as Pronk did.
With MVP-caliber numbers -- a .308 average, 31 doubles, 42 homers and 117 RBIs in 129 games -- and six grand slams, one shy of breaking the big-league record, this could have been a September to remember for Hafner.
Instead, he'll spend the next four to six weeks recovering from the broken bone, which doesn't look likely to require surgery, according to head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff.
"It's a small, hairline fracture in the shaft of the metacarpal," Soloff said. "There's a remote possibility of surgery."
Hafner will travel to Baltimore on Monday to have the injury examined by specialist Dr. Tom Graham at the Curtis Hand Center. Because the fracture is incomplete -- meaning it does not run from one end of the bone to the other -- it will most likely heal without surgery.
The injury is yet another blow to an Indians team that has been completely reshaped as this year has progressed, but manager Eric Wedge will try to make the most of it, giving more playing time to youngsters like Kevin Kouzmanoff, who was in the lineup at designated hitter on Friday.
"We have a number of different guys we can mix and match in positions on the field and in the DH spot," Wedge said. "That's how we're going to play it."
But to play without Hafner will have an impact on the Tribe.
"It's very tough for us as a club not having him in there," Wedge said. "He's a tremendous presence in our lineup for what he does for the people around him."
Hafner was in his best stretch of the season when Wilson's pitch struck him. He had hit .361 with 13 homers and 30 RBIs in 28 games in August, and he was on pace for 49 homers on the year. He ranked second in the league in homers, third in RBIs, tied for third in runs scored (100), fifth in total bases (299), second in walks (100), first in on-base percentage (.439), first in slugging percentage (.659) and third in extra-base hits (74).
Though the Tribe's place in the standings would have hurt him, Hafner certainly was on pace to have his name in the MVP conversation.
"It would have been nice to see what happened, as far as that goes," Hafner said.
A more achievable goal was the grand slam record, which Hafner will now likely share with the Yankees' Don Mattingly, who also hit six in 1987. In fact, Pronk was up to bat with the bases loaded when he was hit by Wilson's pitch.
"I guess it would have been nice to get a couple more chances with the bases loaded," Hafner said. "Because that [record] is the kind of thing that's never going to happen again in your career."
Hafner, who broke Andre Thornton's club record for home runs (39) and RBIs (110) as a DH, certainly made some career strides this season. But for the second straight season, he will miss significant time after being plunked by a pitch. He missed more than two weeks of the '05 season after a Mark Buehrle pitch hit him in the face, causing a concussion.
The lesson? Get out of the way of those fastballs.
"All offseason," Hafner said, "I'm going to work on getting quicker."
Never any good news for the Tribe.
A real man would play through the pain. Hafner is a wuss.
ping
Tough luck... Matsui had it happen early on this year.
It's a shame, guy should be a perennial all-star. Hopefully he'll bounce back next season as will the Tribe
-Eric
Most of what I say during baseball season would get zotted, too.
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